Getting Old Stain & Oil out of Stock (help!)

trstone

October 05, 2003 05:49

I'm refinishing a Swede Mauser, and I need help with the wood portion of the program. I stripped the original crud off the stock and handguard using Easy Off oven cleaner, then scrubbing with Dawn dishwashing dtergent, then a thorough rinse, drying and sanding. The problem is, when I attempted my usual trick of rubbing the stock with lemon oil, the finish came out blotchy---some parts darker than others. I tried walnut stain, and it was still blotchy. I haven't varnished or sealed the wood yet, so I figured I'd back up and try for a lighter color. Question: what can I get, say, at Home Depot, that will take all the oil and stain out of the wood? Please note: I sanded the finish thoroughly before I crudulated it up with the lemon oil and stain.

Landru! Help me, Landru! (Old "Star Trek" reference)

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  Tailgunner1954

  October 05, 2003 06:29

  Soak the stock in HOT water and automatic dishwasher soap or "Simple Green", scrub it with a stiff nylon brush while soaking. (1/2 hour or till the water is cold, whichever is longer). Rinse well and repeat until the soak water no longer shows "oil scum" (doing this in the bath tub will cause domestic discord, BTDT [:D]). Allow to dry. This will get out most of it.
  Mix up a paste of Ditanacious earth (Fullers earth), it's used in swimming pool filters, and a NON-petrolium solvent (acitone, MEK, terpintine etc, not minerial spirts or kerosene) and coat the stock well. Place it in the sun (or other warm spot) to dry. Scrub off the remaining paste with a stiff nylon brush. Repeat the paste/dry treatment until no more oil comes out (oils will stain the D-earth, so it's easy to tell). This will get out everything thats going to come out in your life time.
  I don't like using caustics on wood (oven cleaner is a caustic) due to the chances of breaking down the wood fibers.
  

  ---

  Some guys like a mag full of lead, I still prefer one round to the head.

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  Wheelgun

  October 05, 2003 07:10

  [?]
  
  Tailgunner,
  
  Is there something more I should know about why not to use mineral spirits? I've had good luck using it to remove oil from old handgun grips. Never had any problems (that I'm aware of).
  
  Mark
  
  Wheelguns is REALGUNS! [;)]

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  Tailgunner1954

  October 05, 2003 08:19

  Only that (in my mind) it is more of a thin oil itself. If it's working for you, than go with it.
  I spend a lot of time around oil removial (from steel) and Stodards solvent and Minerial spirts are what we use to cut the heavy oils/greese, with the majority of our cleaning used to remove the remaining oils and Stoderds/MS residue. With the process I work around, the oils in a couple of fingerprints is enough to contaminate 10K worth of product so we tend to go a little overboard to avoid having to rework the parts.
  

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  Some guys like a mag full of lead, I still prefer one round to the head.

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  Wheelgun

  October 05, 2003 08:50

  quote:Originally posted by Tailgunner1954
  ....I spend a lot of time around oil removial (from steel)
  
  Same here, only not to the degree that you're dealing with. That's where I first got the idea to try it (mineral spirits) on the grips. Works like a charm, and the spirits don't soak into the wood... [;)]
  
  Mark
  
  Wheelguns is REALGUNS! [;)]

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  jmabbott888

  October 05, 2003 10:32

  I've had good luck using an old camp heater to heat the stock (be carefull not to burn it) then wipe the oil that bubbles out of the stock with an old rag. It's messy & these other ways said here might work better but if all else fails try the heat.
  
  Buy & Sell as Califc&r

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  Bert H.

  October 05, 2003 10:58

  trstone... give it a 24 hour soak in acetone (just be sure to do this in a WELL ventilated space). The acetone will remove all traces of oil and stain, and will not raise the wood grain like water does.
  
  Bert H.
  
  Real Men use a SINGLE-SHOT!

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  FrancF

  October 05, 2003 13:27

  I did my M1 Grand (gi issue) with Jasco Zip strip Just brush it on and wipe it off. If you try it, were gloves is nasty stuff, but it gets the job done.
  
  
  
  Proud Member of
  The Secret Society of
  Black Helicopter Pilots

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  joeaf1911a1

  October 05, 2003 14:38

  Furniture stripper, with gloves and cousce steel wood after well
  bubbled. Then lightly sanded and finished with maching stain and
  finish to match.

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  intercessor

  October 05, 2003 19:37

  I use mineral spirits for the initial cleanup, doesn't raise the grain like water based things. Then I clean like Tailgunner, only I use whiting with a solvent. Whiting available from Brownells for just this purpose.

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  trstone

  October 06, 2003 06:59

  Thank you, one and all, for your input---I tried the acetone, and I tried mineral spirits, and I think I'll give the ol' Zip-Strip a try.
  
  Thanks to you all for alot of good ideas that I can try out on my next experiment!

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