Cleaning a rifle stock ?

Radar

What do you use to clean the crud off of old US rifle stocks

charliemeyer007

You are likely better off leaving it there but I use lighter fluid (outside) on the old boiled in linseed oil ones. Then rub in LinSpeed oil. Less aggressive are the citrus based cleaners. Spray it down heavy with lemon pledge let it soak a little and wipe it off with a clean course towel.

navc130

Any soap and water or cleaner will generally clean up dirty wood. Oil soaked wood or grease is another matter. That takes a chemical (acetone, brake cleaner) or heat to remove. Leaving in hot sun and wiping with paper towels works well.

richarda

For deep stains, oven cleaner; but it is caustic and requires heavy gloves & caution.

brier-49

Murphys Oil soap then put on dashboard on heavy towels in the sun to get excess oil out,

truthful

Our "go-to" for old gun stocks at the museum is to rub it down well with a 50-50 mixture of boiled linseed oil and turpentine, then wipe it off with lint-free towels. After it has dried a few days we wax the entire gun, wood and metal, with Renaissance micro-crystalline wax. In addition to protecting the wood, the wax is way way better for protecting the metal from corrosion, finger prints, etc.

oldWinchesterfan

If it's just grimy and needs light cleaning, I've had real good luck with using simple rubbing alcohol on a soft cloth on both old Winchesters and old military stocks. Seems to take off most surface dirt and any sticky stuff without affecting finish at all and evaporates fast so doesn't soak in or raise the grain at all. Then I wax the stock to bring back the shine and make the figure in the wood glow. This is just something I tried and it's worked for me. If this approach horrifies the experts, I defer to their expertise.

nmyers

USGI stocks, even replacements or arsenal refinished wood, has become hard to find & expensive. I try to avoid water based products, caustics, &, above all, sandpaper; all will degrade the stamped markings & significantly reduce the value & collectibility of the rifle.

If you don't have soaked in grease, you can strip the wood with Formby's furniture stripper, rubbing the old crud off with 0000 steel or bronze wool. Refinish with Formby's tung oil (3 coats, smooth with the 0000 wool between coats.

Oil & grease stains can only rarely be removed. Saturated grease, found on many CMP "Greek return" 1903's, is a lost cause; nothing can get it all out.

Neal

spirits

I had an old stock for a Win 52B 22LR I purchased on ebay. It came from Alaska and the stock finish was heavily oxidized but the wood underneath the oxidation appeared to be in good condition. So I removed any metal parts (e.g., magazine release plunger, etc.) and took my time sanding the stock with silicon carbide 600 paper dapped with linseed oil. It took several days of completely sanding the stock and wiping off the excess afterwards but the stock now looks like it did when new.

perry shooter

BALLISTOL is my go to great stuff for lots of things non toxic will not harm wood metals or leather