Oil soaked gun stock problem

[405grain]

Oven cleaners contain lye which can damage the wood. Soap & hot water treatments can cause warpage. Chemicals might remove the surface oils, but not the oil that has saturated into the wood. The best method to remove cosmoline from a stock is the black bag treatment. Place the stripped stock in a black plastic bag with a absorbent material and leave it in direct sunlight all day. One of the best places to put it is on the dashboard of a car in the summertime with all the windows rolled up. The heat will cause the oil in the wood to melt, and then it gets absorbed by the media inside the bag. This wicks the oil out of the wood. Kitty litter or ordinary flour work good. After a day of treatment, take the stock out of the bag and use a brush to remove all the caked on absorbent media from the stock. Replace the media in the bag with new, and put the stock back in the bag. Repeat the process at least three times. This should remove almost all of the oil and grease from the stock without damaging it.

[uscra112]

I've dealt with this problem for over a decade by putting it in a dishwasher, filling the soap dish with straight tri-sodium phosphate (buy it in the paint section), set the temperature as hot as it will go, close up and let it cycle all the way through. You will be amazed at how clean the wood will come out.

Sometimes I've had to take one or both racks out.

This is the modern version of the old gunsmiths' technique of boiling the stock in a TSP solution that I read about long ago. Doesn't require any nasty solvents at all.

Save the TSP. Add a little to your next load of dishes and see how much cleaner they come out. Also add to laundry.

[Jeff Michel]

Whiting mixed with alcohol, paint it on the stock. It will draw all the oil out of the wood but it's a process. I used it many times on military stocks. Do it once a day for a week to start. Non toxic, and will not injure your stock. An example, not a business endorsement.

https://www.thepaintstore.com/Wel-Co...p/fwht-500.htm

[oldhenry]

Gentlemen,
You amaze me.

I started the oven cleaner application & have black HD garbage bags @ stand-by. Up until now I have been wishing for cooler weather, but now I'm hoping for the high 90's to stay a while.

Thanks to all.
Henry

[ulav8r]

I have not experienced wood damage from using Easyoff.

[waksupi]

Over cleaner is essentially lye, so the lye mixes with the oil to form soap.

[canyon-ghost]

I've used rubbing alcohol to do that. Just paint it on, or literally soak it down and keep drying it off. My Winchester Wildcat came packed in new cosmoline in a plastic bag. I washed it down for three days and finally got it dry. Then the carnuba.

[centershot]

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...-a-rifle-stock

[uscra112]

Over cleaner is essentially lye, so the lye mixes with the oil to form soap.

And the soap is water soluble, so flush with lots of water to carry it away. That's how the original Gunk engine degreaser worked. Many's the filthy BSA part that I Gunked and then ran thru the dishwasher.

[oldhenry]

I've used rubbing alcohol to do that. Just paint it on, or literally soak it down and keep drying it off. My Winchester Wildcat came packed in new cosmoline in a plastic bag. I washed it down for three days and finally got it dry. Then the carnuba.

Thanks for this tip. I've been using acetone (outside) during daylight hours & have transitioned to wrapping with old towel & heating in our oven (I have a very understanding wife). Sometimes the process extends past the daylight hours & the rubbing alcohol allows me to get that oil off indoors without dangerous fumes.

[quasi]

I have always used paint thinner instead of acetone.

[uscra112]

Yeah - acetone is what makes meth labs blow up.

[M-Tecs]

Fingernail polish remover is nothing more than acetone. Acetone is used as a medical cleaner for removing things like tar from road rash. It's also you in some medications. Yes acetone is flammable and needs to be handled like gasoline but less BTU's than gas. It is also widely used as a solvent for industry and home use.

Meth labs use lots of chemicals way nastier than acetone. Per a LE friend it's the cooking process of various nasty chemicals that creates the explosive fumes and coupled with the fact that lots of the meth labs are boobytrapped and operated by not the brightest they tend to blow up. If it was from acetone only you really think you could still purchase acetone at every cosmetics counter, drug store, grocery store and hardware store in the US?

[oldhenry]

And the soap is water soluble, so flush with lots of water to carry it away. That's how the original Gunk engine degreaser worked. Many's the filthy BSA part that I Gunked and then ran thru the dishwasher.

We are part of a brotherhood. I was introduced to Gunk in '58 at the tender age of 19. My 1st. bike was a '51 Matchless G80 (500 single). My riding buddy had a '56 BSA B33 (also a 500 single).

At the Barber Vintage Festival a few years ago the T-shirt concession had one: "BSA: makes master mechanics out of ordinary people" .

[uscra112]

We are part of a brotherhood. I was introduced to Gunk in '58 at the tender age of 19. My 1st. bike was a '51 Matchless G80 (500 single). My riding buddy had a '56 BSA B33 (also a 500 single).

At the Barber Vintage Festival a few years ago the T-shirt concession had one: "BSA: makes master mechanics out of ordinary people" .

True 'dat. We also both know the secret of how to start those big singles.

In the '80 I ran a 250 Bultaco and a DBD-34 in Vintage racing (hence my moniker) One of my BSA chums wanted me to advertise myself as "Beef-n-Taco Racing". Sold the Bultaco in the late '90s, still have the Goldie. I hope I'll live long enough to get it back together.

[john.k]

The go to for removing oil is tri chlor ethane........called "safe solvent" and used in dry cleaning and the vapor clean parts washers..........this stuff will remove every trace of oil......and I mean every trace ........when it was banned by the greenies ,the power company put out a tender to dispose of thousands of gallons of the stuff in drums ......I got the job,only I didnt dispose of it how they thought.......I sold it all to guys with parts washing machines who couldnt get the solvent.........cause the greenies had banned it!

[oldhenry]

True 'dat. We also both know the secret of how to start those big singles.

In the '80 I ran a 250 Bultaco and a DBD-34 in Vintage racing (hence my moniker) One of my BSA chums wanted me to advertise myself as "Beef-n-Taco Racing". Sold the Bultaco in the late '90s, still have the Goldie. I hope I'll live long enough to get it back together.

We have even more in common. In '74 my son raced the 175-200 MX Class. We wanted a Bultaco 200, but the only 200 they made was the Astro. As it turns out another youngster wanted a 125 Astro (they didn't make one). The dealer swapped engines & everyone was happy. That 200 Astro/Pursang was a running machine. He ran it in the Open class one time & it would pass Yamaha 360s on the straights. We eventually ended up with that 200 + a 250 & 360 Pursang. Some Sundays he ride all 3 classes. He sold the 200 to Billy Lyles who flat tracked it. As you know Billy Lyles ended up as a factory MX rider later on.

[nicholst55]

Fingernail polish remover is nothing more than acetone. Acetone is used as a medical cleaner for removing things like tar from road rash. It's also you in some medications. Yes acetone is flammable and needs to be handled like gasoline but less BTU's than gas. It is also widely used as a solvent for industry and home use.

Meth labs use lots of chemicals way nastier than acetone. Per a LE friend it's the cooking process of various nasty chemicals that creates the explosive fumes and coupled with the fact that lots of the meth labs are boobytrapped and operated by not the brightest they tend to blow up. If it was from acetone only you really think you could still purchase acetone at every cosmetics counter, drug store, grocery store and hardware store in the US?

Actually, acetone is labeled as 'highly flammable,' while gasoline is merely 'flammable.' Pro tip: never, ever substitute acetone for charcoal lighter fluid.

[abunaitoo]

Many years ago, I tried to bed a stock.
It was so oiled, and greased, that the bed goop didn't stick in some places.
Had to remove it and start over again.
Tried all kinds of ways to suck out the oil/grease.
Brownells has this thing called "Whiting"
Tried it, and it worked.
Had to apply a few times, but it got all the oil/grease out.
Mines was only a small area.
Not sure if it would work on a whole stock or not.
A while ago a friend soaked a oiled/greased stock in washing soda.
Came out really clean.
Never tried it myself.

[David2011]

I know someone that has restored a lot of the old pump .22 rifles. He uses K2R spot remover in the aerosol cans to get the oils out of the stocks. It takes several applications and cleanings but it does a beautiful job. It revealed the beautiful grain in stocks that had been turned dark by years of gun oil, body oils and sweat. It’s available through retailers; just do an Internet search. It’s not cheap but it is definitely worth the price.