doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DIY Gunsmithing @ doublegunshop.com After effects of acetone bath on wood

I have used the acetone soak method for many years to de-oil stocks that were to be refinished. While it works for that purpose beautifully, there is an after effect I have noticed that is troubling. When the old wood dries it is almost always smaller than it was originally. Maybe it's because all the moisture has been driven from the wood along with the oils. The metal then stands proud of the wood, which looks really bad on an otherwise nice looking gun.

Is there a way to successfully reintroduce moisture and/or natural oils to the wood that will return it to it's dimensions before the soak, and also before the stain and stock finish is applied? I don't recall having ever seen this issue addressed, but can't believe I'm the only one to whom it has occurred.

Thanks SRH

Stan, I'm the unhandiest hand in the bunkhouse here, but I've had guns where that had happened and I liberally applied walnut oil out of my wife's spice cabinet to the wood. It soaked in pretty well and may have helped. It certainly smelled better...Geo

Might work, Geo. Since my only issue is with the head of the stock I'm wondering if steaming it would bring it back near original dims, then using a natural wood oil following that.

SRH

Stan, I had a forend machine copied for me in the Pacific Northwest. It is quite humid there. It was a good job and I lived in Anchorage which is quite dry, especially in winter. When I started to tend to the machined forend afer having it a few months, I found it ha shrunk and sort of twisted a bit .

I wrapped the forend in a damp cloth and let it sit for a couple of days. After that I found the forend had absorbed some moisture and had returned to the proper shape. I applied an oil finish over the entire forend and it never reverted to its twisted , shrunken shape. Why not with a buttstock, too ?

Excellent, Daryl. Thank you so much for that reply.

SRH

This may cause a smile. After the soaking in Acetone let the Acetone dry out of the wood. Next soak the wood in Vodka overnight of course do not use good quality Vodka though. As you would expect the Vodka soaks into the wood, then you allow the Vodka to dry off but only the Alcohol escapes the wood quickly leaving a small amount of water in the wood. You could use a low percentage industrial Alcohol but on this side of the pond they put all sorts in the stuff to make it smell and taste not so good to stop people drinking it, hence the Vodka.

I seem to remember maybe David Travallion (sp?) mentioning swelling the wood in a humidity cabinet then painting the inletting with water thin super glue to lock it in place. I've never tried it but it sounds like it may work.

I've only used built up finishes to correct slightly proud metal. I don't really like built up finishes but didn't know what else to do.

You know something, the original recipe for de-oiling a gunstock with acetone called for a subsequent soak in isopropyl alcohol. I got into the habit of skipping the alcohol soak, as I couldn't see where it was doing any good after the acetone. Perhaps I was all wet, pardon me, in thinking that the purpose of the alcohol soak was to further remove oil. Maybe the reason for it was to re-introduce moisture to the wood that the acetone had removed. Vodka, being about 60% water, would certainly do that. Isopropyl alcohol that was down around 50% water would, too.

Interesting stuff, damascus. Thanks.

SRH

You have figured it out. Acetone over dries the wood and pulls not only the extra oil out of the wood but also the natural oil of the wood and too much water as well. In a humid area like where you are the moisture will gradually re-enter the wood if it has time. Problem is that we refinish the wood too soon and seal most of the ways back into the wood.

I set the wood aside for a couple of weeks if I can. Worst place is near a heat source which will just keep it over dry. If in a hurry I wrap it in a towel and wrap that in another slightly damp towel and then in a plastic bag but not sealed. Change it several days and then let it rest. The damp towel just puts moisture near the stock, the dry towel keeps from raising the grain too much. You could do the same thing with a cabinet that had a slightly raised humidity like your humidor.

Thanks Jon. I think I'm on the way to resolving this issue now.

Thanks all! SRH