Originally Posted By: Michael Petrov
Originally Posted By: Tom Davis
If the stock has years of built up crud, do you clean it prior to the linseed oil?


I'm kind of jumping ahead but every stock I have had to clean in the last decade I have used nothing but raw linseed oil, a tooth brush for the checkering and in some cases 0000 steel wool.

Some have been very dirty and a good coat, lather it on until the stock is wet allover. This will do wonders for cleaning the wood and not removing the underlying stock finish. Let it soak and take your time, wipe with a clean cloth or paper towel.

If the stock is in such bad shape that the original finish has to be removed I try to stay away from them.


You just might want to try a product called Restor-a-Finish which is available at Lowes or Home Depot. This comes in various shades but of course I use their walnut the most. I also use 4/0 steel wool and tooth brushes for the checkering and the results I've produced had been amazing.
I got a WW I vintage Luger with a real dingy pair of grips awhile back that I though would have to be re-checkered. Yes; they were that bad. A careful scrubbing with this product and a toothbrush removed all the crud from the checkering and revealed a very nicely grained set of grips.
The next time I get something like this in I'll shoot some before and after pictures.
Jim

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