Oil soaked gun stock problem
A very close friend has a CMP M1 .30 cal. carbine. He is in the 1st. stages of Parkinson disease. He is concerned about the stock leaving oil on his clothes every time he handles or shoots it.
I volunteered to refinish the stock. I stripped the original finish & have attempted to degrease with: 1. Greased Lightning 2. a citrus based product & 3. Purple Power. My best results so far are with Purple Power. I did try spot applications with acetone (outside use only). The acetone vaporizes very quickly.
I get the best results so far with Purple Power, but only if completely submerged. I tried a 5 gal bucket with PP + water solution which allowed submerging up to the lower part of the wrist (grip). The stock soaked in that overnight. I hosed it down with water & It looked good (slightly purple), but the purple color left as it began to dry in the morning sun (it get hot fast in Georgia). When I left it in the sun to make sure the core was dry, a slight oil residue rose to the top.
The end where the hand guard is secured was left overnight in a 303 can of full strength PP: same result.
I then considered letting the outside dry in the sun & let the core drying take place inside. This looked promising, but after a few days very slight oil residue appeared in several spots. 90% of the surface is OK: it's the other 10% that I'm trying to solve.
A son-in-law refinishes floors. I posed the question to him: if I sealed the stock with urethane before it rose to the surface, would the urethane keep the oil below the surface. He says not. He has that problem with heart pine floors. The leakage always appears by a window that allows direct sun light to shine on the floors. He always warns customers about this. After they wipe the residue with a clean cloth every time it appears, it eventually goes away.
I have Tru-Oil sealer & am thinking about trying it hoping it does a better sealing job & follow up with MINWAX Helmsman urethane.
I have an aluminum bluing tank & could submerge the entire stock in any solution that may completely remove the oil, but do not want to risk ruining the tank for bluing.
Any advise would be appreciated.
Henry