Well, I finally broke down and bought the M95 Dutch Männlicher that has been taunting me at a lgs for over a year. Turns out it’s a bit more of a project than it initially looked...because it’s was a KNIL rifle that spent most of its life in Indonesia.
The previous owner had put a poly coat on the stock, which I probably would have left alone, except all those black areas I believe are mold & rot. Indeed, after stripping the finish and applying a couple of OxiClean treatments, much of the black has turned to gray and more of the wood color is appearing on the outside. I’m concerned for the internals though.
As shown in the photos, there are cracks running through the action area of the stock, likely from possible attempts at firing by the previous owner long ago (still traces of cosmoline or something on several parts, so I’m not sure they even tried to fire it). I can deal with that as I recently did similar repairs on a sporterized Carcano long rifle. My issue with this one is that on drilling holes for the application of AcraGlass and pins, all the removed wood turnings were either black, or came out as an almost mud substance.
Given I did wash the stock several times today, but how long do I let it dry before putting in the AcraGlas? I don’t think it’ll fit in my oven, but I might be able to apply hairdryer heat to help those bits dry up.