1914 Mauser grips

[Battis]

I have a 1914 Mauser .32acp with the worse smelling wooden grips ever. I have soaked them in various soapy waters, I stripped them with 5F5 and refinished them with linseed oil. But, the smell will not leave. It's an oily, machine smell that I'd like to make go away. Any suggestions?

[Johnch]

IMO Easy Off Oven Cleaner will most likely get the nasty oil out of the grips

I bet it soaked in from the gun
So maybe use a heat gun on low setting to warm the grips up

As I did that on a gun stock and oil that had soaked into the wood first came out with the heat gun
Then I used the Easy Off and no more oil in the wood problem ( Or at least MOST of the oil is gone LOL )

John

[Battis]

I will try that. Thanks.

[2152hq]

Soak the grips in lacquer thinner or acetone might help too.

The oil might be Kroil penetrating oil,,to me that stuff is really bad smelling and I hesitate to use it at all.
Some people seem to like it and use it like Rem-oil.
I used to get gun parts sent to me by one customer for work (well known Restoration 'Smith) that came wrapped beautifully but covered in some kind of foul smelling oil that I just could not deal with. The smell just penetrated everything including the packaging.
You could smell it w/o unwrapping the box.
I told him not to use it anymore or I'd return the packages. He didn't,,I did.

Anyway, I use LaqThinner quite alot as a first soak for oil saturated stocks I'm going to refinish.
Acetone will work too,,I just prefer to use L/T

Pour some in a jar, place the grips right in it, cap it and let it set.
Swirl it around every once in a while when you think of it, the oil will get drawn and disolved from the wood.
A couple to a few days is not uncommon for me to leave the wood in there.

When you pull the wood out,,it'll dry of the thinner in a matter of a few minutes.
Try the smell test.
You may want to give them another bath in clean LT again.
I always follow up using Whiting Powder coating to draw oil residue from stocks, but that might not be necessary here.

It takes a while to get oil from wood
The wood is like a sponge holding the oil. You are trying to draw it out. But unlike a sponge,,you can't just squeeze it a few time to push it out and rinse it away.

Oven Cleaner (Lye) works to clear oil from the surface and just below it. The lye will turn oil and grease to soap and then will water rinse clear of the wood.
It won't get any that is deeper down however and that may weep to the surface after a while or may still hold the smell in the wood.
It can be helpfull though in clearing the surface.

Once done, the wood will often look kind of 'dead' or weathered. Different colors of grey, brown and black,,even green! from the oil staining, dirt and the processes to remove it.
To brighten it back up, use Wood Bleach (Oxalic Acid) .
I used to buy it as just that, Wood Bleach in crystal form at any DIY/ Home Depot type store. Lately I can't find it.
Must be a hazard or something.

So instead the last time I resorted to buying 'Deck Cleaner',,,,same stuff and in liquid form.
Look at the lable,,,,must say 'Oxalic Acid'.
There's another deck cleaner that has something like calcium something or other in it. That's the stuff for the pressure washer. A slight grit to peel the wood surface down for new staining.
You just want Oxalic Acid.

Pour a little into a jar (love those Jars!)
Put into the MicroOven for 30seconds to warm it up,,not HOT.

Take a small paint brush and brush the grips liberally with the stuff and they will almost instantly brighten up and the dull off colored patches disappear . When to your likeing, rinse with cool water (no it won't hurt the wood) and let dry on it's own.
No need to force dry w/a torch or under a light bulb. That just might crack the wood.

When dry (day or so),,ready for your finish. Simple oil or you can stain then lightly first. Touch up any dents, dings first. The hot Wood Bleach treatment often pulls small dents in the wood back out for you so they can be finished off.

Do not use common laundry bleach for the Wood Bleaching process.
Yes it will lighten the wood and it's right there in the cellar by the washing machine now nice and handy.
But the Sodium Hypochlorite chemical in Laundry Bleach that actually does the work is a very heavy oxidizer (rust maker) and any residue in the wood after the treatment will lead to rusting of the grip frame on the pistol. Especially if the grips absorb even the smallest amt of humidity from the air at any time.
It's the same caution as to why you should never wash old gun cases and gun rugs with a splash of bleach to get rid of any musty smell in them.
You can't rid the case lining of the laundry bleach residue and any gun left in them for a while comes out a rusted mess.

[Battis]

When I bought the gun, the salesman said, "It smells like it's been stored in a tank." I have tried several things, so I'll try the lacquer thinner, acetone, oven cleaner - whatever it takes. I don't want to ruin the grips but that smell has to go. I figured the 5F5 would strip the smell, but the linseed oil seems to have sealed it back up.
Thanks for the suggestions.