doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Cleaning dirt, grime and grunge off an old stock

You must have been very careful. Looks good from a distance anyway...
JR

This traditional furniture cleaner works remarkably well.
1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of distilled Vinegar
One desert spoon of Linseed Oil
10 drops of detergent.
Place all of the above in a bottle and shake well before using, apply with a soft cloth, you will be surprised how much dirt wax and other crud it will remove from a gun stock.

A Birmingham gunmaker/gunsmith used plain old Brasso, a few drops on a cotton rag, on old English linseed stocks and they cleaned up nice. If I had not seen it demonstrated I would not have believed it.

I can see that working, Brasso is loaded with ammonia and has an ultra-fine abrasive in it.
JR

I would bet that Murphy's mixed with rottenstone to form a paste would work great.
JR

50/50 BLO or refined linseed oil (available at artist supply shops) and turpentine followed by RLO.

I understand how abrasives like rottenstone and Brasso work. My question would be how to you remove them from the wood pores and the chequering because they each dry white and are so tenacious to remove if they find their way into them.

I used BLO with 4-0 steel wool on an old wall-hanger I keep because it belonged to my GrandFather. You do have to be a bit careful about getting bits of the steel wool in the pores, but I had no particular problem with this. Results were indeed amazing. Wood was nearly bleached white & this brought back both the color & the figure. The 50/50 mix of LO (boiled or raw) & pure gum Turpentine might be even better.

There is a mix known as Fenman's Elixir which I have used in restoring Antique Sewing Machines (I have other interests as well) but have not used it on a gun stock. Most of the very old Sewing Machine cabinets were either "Oiled or Polished". The polished finish was a shellac finish, Fenman' Eelixir works on either. It consists of equal parts of LO (Fenman prefers raw but I have used boiled with good results) ; Vinegar ( Malt preferred but cider, distilled white & others can be used; Mineral spirits or pure Turpentine. A faster version can be mixed by using 1/2 part of Denatured Alcohol, thus 1:1:1;1/2. You have to work a lot faster with the alcohol added. This mix cleans & restores but does not Strip old finish. This to me is a very desirable feature on both old guns as well as old sewing Machines, the old nicks, scars etc are a big part of their history. I am not big on total restoration on much anything old except when there is absolutely no other choice.

An old toothbrush, mineral spirits, and a microfiber cloth will get all of it.
JR

I've used this product to improve the looks of a cleaned stock that has some dullness. Good product.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000LNSIM8/ref...la-312331425023
JR