Best way to refinish a military stock?

[gnoahhh]

Ok....

[Nick Adams]

Hick, how do I strip the old oil? I saw some info on using boiling water,crud remover, cheese cloth and and iron to steam it out.

Old military stocks first need to be properly cleaned of all the old stain, grease, oil, dirt, et al., that's built up from years of service, poor storage conditions, and/or abuse by incompetent refinishers.

The cleaning process, followed by a couple of days of letting the wood sit to dry out, needs to be done before you start applying the BLO or whatever new stain you want to use.

The best cleaning agent I've found is to use Purple Power (PP) degreaser in a spray bottle (fully concentrated, don't dilute).

The easiest set-up for cleaning the stock is a basement utility sink. Turn the hot-water tap on and let it run.

Hose the stock down with PP until the old stain, oil, grease, etc., starts to run off. As the PP loosens the old stain and crud, using a nylon bristle brush to scrub up and down the wood will hasten the process. Rinse the stock and brush frequently with the hot water.

Once you've got all the old stain and crud off, the wood will look a pale blond-ish. Put the stock aside for two or three days to let it dry out thoroughly.

Then, once the stock has dried, you can begin applying the BLO until the tone or color you want is achieved. Sanding lightly with very fine steel wool (0000) will help with the look of the final finish.

[Tripplebeards]

Well to follow up I never messed with the rifle stock and just rubbed it by hand to remove the wax build up. I bought a rear W marked hand guard that was close to the stock in color but the front hand guard I could find W marked was new, unissued. It literally looked like brand new. It had a few stains on it that I rubbed out with mineral spirits. I then applies three coats of dark oak minwax oak stain. It was still way too light so I grabbed some black shoe dressing and a toothbrush. I first let it soak in for a good minute and then wiped it off and then put some more dressing on my toothbrush and scrubbed it in. I applied one coat of boiled Linseed oil and called it a day. After it was set and done I had the idea I should have put some water on it to raise the grain a little to match the aged other wood stock set. Guess I’ll try it next time. I was going to add a few dents and dings to it as well so it doesn’t look so smooth but I’m sure I’ll do it by accident...just give me time.

Before....




After...






I wanted to keep it old, aged, and original looking so I decided I didn’t want to refinish the stock as the “die hard” collectors would shun it.

[Nick Adams]

Well to follow up I never messed with the rifle stock and just rubbed it by hand to remove the wax build up. I bought a rear W marked hand guard that was close to the stock in color but the front hand guard I could find W marked was new, unissued. It literally looked like brand new. It had a few stains on it that I rubbed out with mineral spirits. I then applies three coats of dark oak minwax oak stain. It was still way too light so I grabbed some black shoe dressing and a toothbrush. I first let it soak in for a good minute and then wiped it off and then put some more dressing on my toothbrush and scrubbed it in. I applied one coat of boiled Linseed oil and called it a day. After it was set and done I had the idea I should have put some water on it to raise the grain a little to match the aged other wood stock set. Guess I’ll try it next time. I was going to add a few dents and dings to it as well so it doesn’t look so smooth but I’m sure I’ll do it by accident...just give me time.

Before....



After...




I wanted to keep it old, aged, and original looking so I decided I didn’t want to refinish the stock as the “die hard” collectors would shun it.

Looks good! Nice work.

[JoeJames]

I used to use easy off oven cleaner, which will work but it is pretty tough to handle. I used it on an old K98K stock and had to rinse it constantly afterwards. The last time I had to remove varnish on an old Mark IV Enfield Buttstock I used citri - gel which seemed milder, but got the job done.