Gun Salvage

[Alstep]

A good friend of mine just lost everything in a house fire. We salvaged a couple of guns that were not directly in the fire, but the smoke and water made them a mess. I can clean up the metal, but does anybody here have any idea how to get the smoke stink out of the wood? The're so bad I can't even bring them in the house. I have them out in the shed, the metal is soaking in a bucket of kerosine, what can I soak the stock in? Thanks for any advise.
Al

[stubshaft]

Baking Soda.

[BOOM BOOM]

HI,
Heat may have affected the metal, if the wood is charred.:Fire::Fire:

[williamwaco]

He is not talking about heat. He is talking about smoke damage.

When My fathers home burned, one of the things he "salvaged" was a bottle of champagne. It was the old style bottle with the cork, covered by a lead seal half way down the neck and wired in place. It was in a closed closet two rooms away from the nearest actual flames. The clothes in the closet were ruined but not burned.

The label on the bottle was not even scorched but the inside of the bottle was completely black with smoke.


We salvaged all his handguns but all the long guns required new stocks Fortunately, none were burned, just smoked black.


.

[Mk42gunner]

Baking Soda.

This was my first thought, too.

What I would do, and I really don't know if it will work or not, is to make a paste of baking soda and paint it all over the wood surface. Let it dry, brush it off, rinse and repeat.

You will probably have to completely refinish the wood, so it might not hurt to use a citrus based stripper on it first.

Hopefully the guns are salvageable, even if he has insurance.

Robert

[Kraschenbirn]

As a renovation/remodeling contractor, I used to catch an occasional fire insurance job...mostly kitchen fires...and washing down wood surfaces (kitchen cabinets/door window mouldings/etc.) with a strong TSP (tri-sodium phosphate) solution always worked well for me. You might as well figure on refinishing those stocks from the get-go, though. Dunno what it might do to a polyurethane but TSP will cut right into most varnishes and oil-based stains.

Bill

[stubshaft]

I was thinking about getting a cardboard box and a few boxes of baking soda and just put the stock in the box and cover it entirely with baking soda. I've used it many times to take the stink off of pelts and it does an incredible job. I would try it dry first that way you don't have to refinish the stock.

[oldscool]

Nose plugs, unless you are wanting to sell them to an uninformed buyer.

[hornsurgeon]

Find a localfire restoration company and ask them to put it in their Ozone chamber the nexttime theyrun a batch.

[wgr]

what kind of guns, might be better off restocking

[thegatman]

I used coffee grounds either new or used, Cover the stocks in coffee grounds. It takes some time but works for me.

[quack1]

I have done quite a few stocks that were in a fire. If they are charred at all it will take some major reshaping, you'll have to remove all charred wood. Often there is more charring than can be removed and still save the stock as the edges and corners of the stock will char first. If no charring just strip the old finish off with a good stripper, scrubbing with a brass brush to get all the smoked finish out of the pores and checkering,then liberally wash with paint thinner. This should get most of the smell off. If there is some smell left in the inletting make a paste of baking soda and alcohol or paint thinner and paint the inletting, let dry and then brush out. Repeat as needed. Do NOT soak the stock with water, you will cause more problems with drying it out. After letting the paint thinner evaporate for a day or so the stock may still have some black streaks and stains. You will need to bleach them out. Oxalic acid is best, but regular bleach, used sparingly, will work. After all this the stock is ready for sanding and refinishing and in some cases recutting the checkering. Also you will probably need to replace the buttplate or recoil pad. Yes it's a lot of work, but necessary to make the stock look as it did before the fire and to get rid of the smell.
Hornsurgeon's idea of the ozone chamber might work, I have never tried it as there isn't a restoration company locally.

[geargnasher]

Ozone chamber, I learn something new here every day! Thanks Hornsurgeon!

Gear

[Alstep]

Thanks for all your suggestions. The stocks are not chared, just black from all the smoke, and I mean black. I spent some time today scrubbing them with solvent and an industrial Scotch pad. Will scrub some more tomorrow and then try soaking them with baking soda. We'll see what happens. This will take some time.
My friend is lucky to have gotten out, just him and his dog. His wife wasn't home at the time. Lost everything, doesn't even have a change of underware. Friends and neighbors are all helping out to get them back on their feet. Already have a place to stay. Old rural America at it's best!

[mooman76]

Might try getting some of the arm and hammer kitty litter or kitty liter with baking soda. It would cover better and has baking soda in it and made to absorb.

[troy_mclure]

murphys oil soap works great.

my grandfathers mod 12 was in the trunk of a car when the engine caught on fire. the stock smelled like burning rubber.

he got 1gal of murphys oil soap and 1/2gal of water. placed the stocks in a trash bag, and poured the stuff over it, squeezed out the air and let it soak for 3 days.

when he rinsed it off it didnt smell like rubber at all.

[Ozarklongshot]

I've used the murphys oil soap to get the nasty suit off then make a paste of oxy-clean powder and scrub with that. I've done several that way and it works well. They often need to be refinished though. The ozone chamber would be great if there is one near by

[Y2K]

When I was cleaning up from our housefire, I found a cleaner at the Dollar Store called AWESOME. It "EATS" smoke from anything. Spray it on and watch the smoke run like paint. For the odor, I used a lot of ODOR-BAN and Febreeze. Drench things and set outside in sun.

[level Joe]

As a renovation/remodeling contractor, I used to catch an occasional fire insurance job...mostly kitchen fires...and washing down wood surfaces (kitchen cabinets/door window mouldings/etc.) with a strong TSP (tri-sodium phosphate) solution always worked well for me. You might as well figure on refinishing those stocks from the get-go, though. Dunno what it might do to a polyurethane but TSP will cut right into most varnishes and oil-based stains.

Bill

I think this may be your best bet as well. When my son worked for my brother-in-law in his gun shop, his job was to sand the stocks that came in from a couple of house fires. He said the finish was ruined on the ones he did but yours are not ... so????
Let us know what you end up doing.