doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com How to remove 127 years of grime from a stock

I just picked my first damascus shotgun. A couple of questions. I think the wood has some pretty good figure but is buried under years of grime. What’s the best way to clean it up? I typically just wipe down my barrels with an oil rag. Would waxing be better for damascus?

This question gets asked a lot, here is a link I found useful

Michael Petrov on stock cleaning

Murphy's Oil Soap will remove grime, gunk, and old flaking varnish. Scrub using a washcloth over and over until the cloth no longer picks up the black stuff. Use a toothbrush to scrub out the checkering. Murphy's Oil Soap will remove varnish.

Another option for cleaning years of gunk from a stock is Meguiar's Fine Cut Cleaner
https://meguiarsdirect.com/products...kDHNbBLApvW_x8wdCcZU9alfapoDTPeHk6HZRHiL

Howard Restore-A-Finish Dark Walnut does a remarkable job in blending out scratches and restoring faded finish.

Damascus barrels require no special care.

Oven cleaner and cold water.

Are you looking to simply clean or refinish? I get the impression you don't wish to mess with it any more than necessary. Considering the original finish was probably oil, which will darken the wood, you may need more than cleaning to reveal the grain.

If you don't want to damage whatever old finish is left, try mineral spirits, it's pretty much safe with any finish, although, at 127 years old, there may not be much finish there. If you're not seeing what you want, you'll probably need to consider stripper. Personally, I'm partial to methylene chloride.

If you're considering the above suggestions, I'll only say oven cleaner is pretty harsh, though it works well, and I've always avoided water on refinished wood, it often involves sanding.

Good luck, Tim

I've used linseed oil and a rag. Light rubbing. Maybe a soft toothbrush for the checkering. The oil seems to lift off the grime and show the grain, at least in my experience. The oil also countered old white blooms of mold I had on an early commercial mauser sporter.

It depends on the LEVEL of cleaning you want. People are talking here about everything from light cleaning, oiling dry wood, to stripping off any remaining finish. Big difference. Most of these old guns have their original finish so dirty that nothing remains of it underneith. Just more dirt, then bare wood. Still, I try to NOT take off that finish...keep the gun looking old, get rid of the black dirt only.

What I do for a gun that is very dirty but I want to PRESERVE the originality as much as possible is:
1. First use some tap water with Dawn dish detergent in it. Wet a terrycloth rag wipe the gun with it to remove any dirt. That removes most organic dirt (handling prints, regular dirt).
2. If that didn't brighten it up enough, I try Mineral Spirits on a rag. This is a mild solvent that will not immediately start stripping the old varnish finish. Just wipe it quickly, it evaporates in seconds.
3. Follow up by an overcoat of diluted True Oil (in Mineral spirits) if the finish is an oil type. If varnish, just wax it with Johnsons Wax or similar (it's not made anymore)

If the stock is OIL-SOAKED you have to remove that by soaking the stock in Acetone. THAT will remove any and all original finish. You can soak, wipe, repeat many times for a few hours or days, eventually the oil will be gone. Then refinish. I like the natural type oil finishes. Nothing modern or "plastic" with poly in it.

Here is an uncommon Stevens 525 Trap gun I cleaned. The wood is always nice on this model, they were special order only. But it was black and you could not see any figure. Some oil soaking at the wrist and forend. I decided I had to strip it, but did NOT SAND IT. I don't like the "fresh as a modern Ruger" look on 120 year old guns. I try to take one from a poorly kept look, to a nice survivor look. Not a refinished by bubba look.

The stock indeed has beautiful figure, which you can now see. I did not sand it, or try to recut the checkering. I did not try to remove or fill the deer head and initials some owner had proudly pinpoint engraved in the butt, or the notches for the 13 deer he obviously shot with the gun.



The right side was worse, lots of oil.

I got most out except the top of the comb. Recoated when done with about 5 coats of traditional oil finish (Chambers):

Often, less is more when it comes to cleaning old stocks. Be very careful with Murphy's oil soap, it can damage an old Linseed oil based finish. I start with soft brushes on the checkering and raw linseed oil as a cleaning agent. YMMV.

Several options given. Thanks. Not sure which way to go yet. Don’t really want a full refinish. Want it to remain looking like the old gun it is Especially since the purchase before this one I did have a full refinish done so on this one I want to keep the age so to speak

Good choice. Then follow the first few steps of what I said - soapy water. If that doesn't work well enough, wipe it a little with mineral spirits. Then rub in a few drops of boilled linseed oil, to keep it thin so it will dry faster (about 1-2 days).

In the past, I have used a trick I learned as a kid hanging around a gun shop. Using a soft paintbrush, flood the surface with artist grade boiled linseed oil, and allow to rest on a few sheets of typing paper, outdoors. You don’t want to use newspaper, as the ink will bleed into the work. You can use a toothbrush to work the oil into the checkering. Give it an hour, and use clean paper towels to remove the excess oil. Change the towels frequently as they become oil soaked and dirty. Get as much of the linseed oil off as possible, you aren’t trying to add finish, just cleaning up what is there. Allow to dry for a day or two. The stock will be cleaner, but not refinished. You can rub a bit more finish on at this point, using whatever concoction you like, but, you don’t have to.

Put the oil soaked rags and paper in a place they won’t spontaneously combust, outside is best.

Best,
Ted

Do you mean boiled linseed oil? I start by thinning a bit with mineral spirits.

My father firmly believed in a good oil finish and just about every gun he brought home got the treatment ah la Modern Gunsmithing by Clyde Baker, beginning with the boiling lye water. This from page 188 from Clyde's book --

He wants to preserve the originality and just "clean it", not strip and refinish it. He's said so a couple times.

To the OP, I also would not get to ambitious with the boiled linseed oil until you clean the gunk off as I've explained. While any solvent or oil can loosen the dirt, dish soap in water will work better than creating a new finish out of the old, black dirt. Get it cleaned gently, then post a picture for us to reassess.

Generally, I never advocate stripping and refinishing antique wood (not on guns, colonial furniture, old string instruments). I know in the double gun world redoing wood is more acceptible than in the antique gun collecting world in most of America.

When I finally got home , I’m on the road most of the time, it didn’t look as bad as I first thought. I just washed it down lightly , put a coat of restore a finish on it and then waxed it. It did improve its look but I must say it looks much better outdoors with natural light than it does inside with artificial light. 2 weeks til South Dakota

Use the tried and tested Victorian furniture cleaner. 1 : 1 : 1. Raw Linseed oil, Vinegar, Turpentine using a course cloth. Youse a toothbrush for the chequering if there is a lot of rubbish stuck in it. It works wonders on any wood you want to clean.