How To Clean A Wood Gun Stock

01-10-2011, 01:31 AM

I just picked up an old Springfield trapdoor and want to clean (not refinish!) about a 125 years of crud off the stock.
I was thinking a mild soap and water solution with a soft scrub brush followed by a linseed oil wipe down or two.

Any better ways to do this????

01-10-2011, 02:29 AM

Sir, I'd be leery of soap and water on such a long, skinny stock. Seems like it would be easy to inadvertently warp or crack it. Was it me, I'd slather it with boiled linseed oil, scrub vigorously with a rag, and then wipe off the excess with a clean rag. It may take a few treatments, but this is the gentlest method I know.

If the stock's really nasty, you might try using one of those 3M green scrubby pads instead of a rag. Just don't scrub quite as hard. Oh, and don't use a kitchen pad with soap infused in it.

One thing to be aware of with boiled linseed oil (and many other stock oil finishes) is rag disposal. Rags soaked with boiled linseed oil have been known to spontaneously combust if just thrown straight into the trash. Hang them outside someplace where they can get a lot of air around them until they dry completely. This may take a couple days. Then they're safe to throw away.

Hope this helps, and Semper Fi.

Ron H.

01-10-2011, 10:21 AM

Thanks Ron!!

I also might try my old standby.... Hoppes #9 and 0000 steel wool.

Quote:

Hang them outside someplace where they can get a lot of air around them until they dry completely. This may take a couple days.

Around here it might take until Spring...
(You have to be here to understand. See my location.)

11:25 AM

Be very careful with an old military stock. If you take too much crud off you will destroy the patina, the old linseed oil in the stock that oxidizes and gives it that dark reddish brown color we all know and love.

I vote for a cleaning with linseed oil wipe down as mentioned. Boiled linseed oil would have been appropriate for that era rifle. Tung wasn't used until sometime in WW2.

01-10-2011, 11:26 AM

Quote:

want to clean (not refinish!) about a 125 years of crud off the stock

Don't!
You clean all 125yrs of crud off and the value goes in the toilet, not to mentiion it will look ridiculous.....
Easy does it, and less cleaning is better.

01-10-2011, 11:38 AM

In my book there's a difference between patina and crud. I want to remove the crud, so "easy does it".
(Crud is just plain old surface dirt, grease, etc. The kind if stuff you can scrape off with a fingernail.)

I think I will go for the rubdown with linseed oil.

01-10-2011, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OKFC05 View Post

Don't!
You clean all 125yrs of crud off and the value goes in the toilet, not to mentiion it will look ridiculous.....
Easy does it, and less cleaning is better.

Never use water. Leave it alone. If it is Cosmoline or so bad you can not pick it up without getting greased up. try a small spot with a little mineral spirits on a clean white rag. see how much comes off.

08:56 PM

I have used Howard Restor-A-Finish on Mil Surps with good results.
Howard Restor-A-Finish

This dissolves the finish and spreads it around. It will take the crud off and leave the original color. I have fixed cracked stocks then used this to spread the finish over the repairs.

It is available at Lowes and Home Depot.

They also make another product, http://www.howardproducts.com/feednwax.htm that I have used on stocks it is a combination of beeswax and carnauba wax.

Do not use these products indoors.

If you want to test the cleaner before you put it on visible wood, try a little under the barrel or under the butt plate.

10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spricks View Post

What's the difference between raw linseed oil and boiled linseed oil?
Would the results differ?
spricks

raw is just that it is the pure oil squeezed from flax seeds. It takes forever and day to dry.(like extra virgin olive oil)

Boiled is not actually boiled. It has solvents in it to dry quickly.

They are usually used as paint additives.

Linseed oil was one of the main ingredients in "true" linoleum flooring" the word is still used for vinyl sheet flooring.

01-11-2011, 11:31 AM

As a former collector of antiques and having worked in an antique shop part time to satisfy my fetish, the best thing, and what we used to remove surface "crud" without harming the patina, was GOJO hand cleaner and a cloth. For more embedded "crud" fine steel wool.

Use the Original Formula GOJO, not the "perfumed" or abrasive type. Wipe with a cloth after cleaning and for detail a soft toothbrush.

01-11-2011, 11:40 AM

Some good advice above. As to the cleaning, indeed, less is more.

I would be tempted to wipe it gently with a soft cloth and a small amount of mineral spirits and reevaluate. If the rifle is nice, you will be glad you went slowly. After a gentle cleaning, some wax, perhaps Johnson's paste, could be good - and, again, reversible.

Best, from one Trapdoor-appreciator to another,

Dyson

01-11-2011, 11:42 AM

Thanks for all the suggestions!!

I went with a light rubdown using mineral spirits and #0000 steel wool followed by a coat of Renaissance Wax.
It accomplished exactly what I wanted. I was looking for signs of checkering and cartouches on a very worn stock. Found the checkering (which should have been there) and no signs of cartouches (which shouldn't be there.)

09-15-2013, 06:24 PM

I tried Murphy's on my Enfield Mk III with no visible results (the lily white rag turned a bit tan, at best) I just did the normal capful/gallon ratio they recommend on the bottle. Should I beef up the concentration a bit or just keep scrubbing and hope for the best? Is there another method/product I should use?

P.S. There's a ring of grime on the foam padding in mu gun case from where it sat, which is why I need to clean it.

07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyrano View Post

What kind of trapdoor has checkering? I have both a rifle and a carbine, and also a Model 1866 rifle in 50-70, and all are uncheckered. All have cartouches in varying stages of visibility.

I know this is a couple of years old and, at the time, I couldn't answer Cyrano's question. Now I can. It turns out what I have is an original, well used but not too abused, M1875 Officers Model.

(Not only checkering, but also engraving.)

09-15-2013, 08:20 PM

Spraying Pledge or most any of the other furniture dusting products will liven up the looks just like an end table, but I'd keep them off of a gun stock.
It contains Silcone (about 10%) as the main ingredient to shine things up and it's why the floor is so slippery if you dust it with the stuff.
Silicone in wood just causes headaches for you trying to get most anything else to dry and adhear to it afterwards. Tough to remove too.

Another 10% or so is Benzene. That'll remove the crud for you. Might take finish with it too.

The rest of the solid content is unfortunetly plain water. Not really great for the stock.

Propellant is Butane, Propane and probably other gases. Yea,,it'll 'flame-thrower' for you.

Old stock,,, I keep it simple with just boiled Linseed oil and a soft cloth. Oil of any sort cleans dirt. Clean oil or grease will clean your hands of dirty oil and grease.
Wipe away the 'patina',,wipe away value.
Collectors really love early attic condition.
They won't love heavy rust, but you won't remove heavy rust w/o showing that you did so anyway.
Any signs of work being done on an anitiques wood finish, the red flag is up and no matter how little you may have done, the suspect of re-done finishes stands and value goes down. Other fiddelin' with the insides is suspected too.
You've seen it right here when a single screw slot is buggered, the entire integrety of the piece is suspect by the end of the thread..
JMHO.

09-15-2013, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jswiney9 View Post

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This zombie thread was proudly brought to you by Bing

07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deadin View Post

I know this is a couple of years old and, at the time, I couldn't answer Cyrano's question. Now I can. It turns out what I have is an original, well used but not too abused, M1875 Officers Model.

(Not only checkering, but also engraving.)

Hi all new member here was looking for info on cleaning a trapdoor stock I just picked up. Saw this tread and was hoping it was not closed.

deadin that officers model nust be worth a small fortune now as rare as they are in any condition.

I have now have two, an original 1879 rifle in very good original condition with bayonet and one im building for a shooter from parts I have picked up real good barre, I will cut down to 29.6 length, and the rest is of the parts are in good shape also just need fixing up.
I got a stock that has been shortened and recontoured looks original even provisions for front barrel band and nose cap reinstalled. It still has the ramrod groove which I want to fill so need to clean it up some so the work can be done and it all look same color. This will be a shooter only not a collector so just need best way to clean.

02-04-2016, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Ive used car wax in this role.

Tony, do you use paste or one of the new high quality liquid waxes?

If you use a liquid wax, why not a liquid polish, which has fine abrasives?
Thanks.

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How To Clean A Wood Gun Stock