Cleaning up a stock.

[BJC]

What is a good way to polish up a stock. I have a stock that has a dark stain over walnut wood. The finish is nice with very few dents and chips but its set for so long it has a layer of grease/dirt on it.

What is the best way to remove it without scratching up the finish and what is the best way to polish it to a nice shine?

 

[eggwelder]

I would gently and non chemically remove the dirt buildup to see the original finish- plastic scrapers and perhaps hot soapy water if the original finish is in good enough shape. if you are refinishing, acetone will remove just about anything in your way on the stock. if any sanding is required, i like to finish up and de-fuzz with 0000 bronze wool when i can find it/steel wool will do, but clean it off very well as it will cause black,brown stains with any water base stain or dye. i use a rare earth magnet wrapped in thin cloth. i then wipe down with acetone to see if i actually want/need to stain the wood, as it will make the figure "pop" for a few seconds, showing what the wood will look like when naturally finished. there are far too many finishes and options for me to recommend a particular product

I`m sure there are other more difficult ways which will be recommended over and above my method, but this is what i do whenever i need to refinish a rifle or when making new wood parts.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

ACETONE?

No kidding? Well I just learned something useful. :bow:

I sure would like to find some of the 4-0 bronze wool. I've never even heard of it before. :shocked2:

I shall be trying the acetone on a couple test patches on two stocks today...thank you very much. :grin:

LD

 

[Pete G]

A trick that has been used for years on old antique rifles is to use "Brasso" to remove the buildup of gunk on the finish. Just to be clear, do not scrub, but just use it on a paper towel and wipe lightly. Used properly it will clean the gunk, but will not harm the patina.

 

[Dave Marsh]

After you get her cleaned up apply wax. I use Renaissance wax but Johnson's paste wax works well to. I just like the sheen that the Renaissance gives and just seems to be easy to work with.

Dave

 

[Billnpatti]

Yes, acetone will do the job providing the job is to remove the finish down to the wood.
That is how I start when I am refinishing a gunstock that has a finish on it that I don't like. It can also remove the stain if you use enough. When I re-finish a stock, I quite often want to get the stock back to the original wood so I use acetone liberally with steel wool to remove the finish and as much of the stain as I can. Then I put on the stain that I want. If, as I often do on plain wood, I want to add some hand striping to give the wood some figure, I do that next followed by one of the gunstock finishes such as Linspeed or Tru-Oil.

Acetone is great but it is aggressive in removing finishes. If you just want to remove old dirt and crud but keep the finish, I would recommend using Murphy's Oil Soap.

One important caveat, acetone is highly flammable so be very careful when using it. No smoking, no open flames and no sparks. Also, it is highly recommended that you use it out doors so that you do not breathe too much of the vapors. They ain't good for you. :thumbsup:

 

[Obi-Wan Cannoli]

If you don't intend on removing the finish, the dents can be lifted out by placing a damp cloth over the dented area, then place an iron over the damp cloth and apply steam to the area, remove and reapply the iron/steam about every one to two seconds until satisfied. Be careful to not over do it.

If you do plan on getting it down to bare wood, applying rubbing alcohol to the dents will gradually remove them as it evaporates from the wood.

 

[eggwelder]

i found Bronze wool a couple of times, one was a fancy boatbuilding store in Edmonton, alberta, about 17-18 years ago, and once at a machine tool supplier that dealt with oil field stuff. i used it to rub between coats of polyurethane on table tops that i made, and used the last of what i had on my Lee Enfield restoration. i`ve not seen any since those two purchases, and it was not that cheap.
Acetone-
What Billnpatti said, super flammable and evaporates fast.
the acetone i always use on wood before applying finish. it removes skin oils, waxes and other nasties that mess with fine finishes. it removes uncured epoxy too. it won't affect certain poly finishes.

 

[qtrhrs7]

Dave, you may want to look in an Ace Hardware.

 

[ord sgt]

Brownells carries bronze wool, along with other abrasive wools.

 

[Onojutta]

I'm not sure of the extent of the dirt on your rifle, but I would probably try Murphy's Oil Soap first.

If it is a production gun, it may actually be worth the effort to strip it down. A few years ago the finish on my Lyman Trade Rifle was damaged from an all day hunt in the rain. Whatever varnish was on there cracked from the wood swelling. I sanded the whole thing down to bear wood, and simply gave it a hand-rubbed tung oil finish (several coats). That walnut stock now looks many times better than it did with the factory stain and finish.