I have a Parker DH stock that needs to be cleaned before I add some oil or French Polish to it. What do you guys use to clean ther grime out of the stock. I don't want to sand it, I want to keep the patina that is there just clean it. Thanks Eric

Murphys oil soap, paste variety is best.

I use Murphy's Oil Soap with warm water and a soft toothbrush or nail brush. Go slow and work at it carefully. I dry witha hair dryer set on low heat.

If it needs it, I will follow with a clean cloth with a little turps on it. Any additional work / agents depends on what you're trying to remove, and from where.

You may have to use heat and a cloth with acetone (multiple passes) to get oil out of the head of the stock. If you are going to use real French polish, be aware that this is a shellac and alcohol mixture applies with pads and special technique. Do not do this if the original finish is not French polish. Use a tung oil mixture for your oil finish.

Eric,

I think the Murphy's advice is generally bad (!).

I tried it on a hammer G from 1883 that had the usual dark, oily stock and it removed the grime pretty well - but it also removed whatever finish there may have been, too. If I were a country boy I would now descrice it as "bare-ass wood".

I am sure I could re-apply a finish of oil or shellac or whatever but there won't be any patina from the old days left.

My advice...if you must tangle with it... try whatever you are going to do on some other gun that you don't care about first. Or better yet just sell me that 8 (?) and you won't have to worry about it!

Greg

I have cleaned quite a few old grimey guns I use windex on the checkering -- apply it with a tooth brush -- really cleans years of sweat & dirt quite easly without removing the old finish. For the rest of the stock I spray the windex on cloth or shop towel & rub it down, then dry with another towel. After drying I apply a coat of stock wax. For stock wax, I like carnauba auto wax - water proof,uv protected. ---Great stuff
Cheers.

The original finish was shellac, knowing methonal disolves shellac try that first with some 4 O steel wool. Then refinish with french polish. If you really want to be picky use button lac
bill

I had heard about Murphys soap and likie Greg had heard that it takes the finish off and sometimes raises the grain. I don't want to refinish the whole stock and I was thinking of using turp and OOOO steel wool for the stock and turp and a toothbrush for the checkering followed up using a rag to wipe down the stock. I may try the Windex on a small area and see what happens with that, never heard of that method.

Bill, what is button Lac?
Greg,nope on the 8 ga !

Eis, you should know that windex contains ammonia which is a good cleaner but will also turn tannic woods black. If your stock has any bare wood unprotected by old finish you could end up with a dark spot. I like the turps/mineral spirits route, they will loosen most undesirable stuff but won't do harm to wood or dry finish. I would also stay away from water and water based cleaning unless the original finish has no breaks in it.

Id also stay away from the steel wool and use the soft tooth brush....

Thanks Hansli, I never thought about the ammoinia, so scratch that idea, the gun does have some bare spots so that would turn it black. Guess I'll stick to turps but a toothbrush seems small to clean a whole stock, what about a course rag? Eric

The methods posted above are all satisfactory, but, the finish on an older gun such as this won't take very intense cleaning, or very much of it. The problem you are trying to avoid is an "overcleaned" appearance, and I think you would get just that with any method listed above.
Try this. Stop in at at a hardware store and purchase a bottle of lemon oil furniture polish. The label may say lemon grass oil, but it is the same thing. Put just a touch of water on a white cloth of some sort, and put the oil on top of that-the water keeps the oil "up" on the cloth, rather than soaking into the rag and your hands. Gently work the cloth over all wood surfaces, I prefer to have the wood off the gun when I do this. Allow to stand someplace warm (not hot) for a day or two-a sunny corner of the room is excellent. The sun/warmth will bring some of the dark lubrication and sweat/oil out of the head and checkering areas. Repeat this process a few times until you are satisfied. You can use a lemon oil dampened toothbrush to work the checkering as well, if it is really grimy. After the last application, allow to stand a few days, and finish with your favorite, true oil or tung of some sort are both excellent.
Best,
Ted

Thanks Ted I will give that a try, matter of fact I think I have some lemon oil around the house somewhere. Now if I can only find it, probably go to the hardware store and just buy another can.Eric

Eric, I would advise against buying a new can. Somehwere in your house is a shelf which is probably sagging under the weight of lemon oil bottles - each purchased in lieu of finding the old one. Adding one more at this point could create a home accident. I know - this happened to me with caulking guns.

Mineral spirits on a soft rag. Stay away fron soaps. They contain water which will raise the grain. If you've got blood, boogers, snot, slobber, or candy on the wood, take a VERY lightly dampened cloth and remove after scraping off the biggest parts with your fingernail. Then, mineral spirits followed with CCL Conditioning Oil.
JR

Eric,
I used Murphy's on one of my Parker Forearms. It cleaned it and took what little finish was there off too. I redid it with French Polish. Let me know what you end up doing and how it works. Thanks, Dave Miles
This was posted on the Parker site:
Cleanser-conditioner

Fill glass container 1/4 full of gum turpentine and 3/4 full of a comercially prepared boiled linseed oil. (if covered tightly, this mixture will last indefinately)

* spread thicvk layers of paper under the wood to be cleaned in a well ventilated room

* place the the jar of conditioner on a tray with three soft cloths, 3/0 steel wool and an old toothbrush

* heat some water and pour into a cup or small can placed on a saucer

* shake the cleanser/conditioner and pour enough into the cup to cover the surface of water. Do not stir!

* dip the cloth into the oily layer and apply solution to a small area. Dip steel wool into oily layer and rub lightly with grain to remove dirt etc. Dip clean cloth in clean warm water and wipe surface. Use toothbrush dipped in oily layer on checkering. Wipe any excess off. Discard conditioner that remains in cup when it becomes cold. Do not reheat - its flammable and will become gummy.

This process will clean up any oil finished gunstock. You can re-finish/add an oil based finish when the stock has been cleaned and is dry. You will be amazed at how much grime comes out of the wood and brings the natural grain to life with this cleanser-conditioner.

The source of this receipe is from a guide written by Gena Thames titled "Furniture Restoration, Cornell Miscellaneous Bulliten #23. June 1970.

I would go the mineral spirits route. Have used it many times on old varnish and shellac piano finishes that are dark to black with age. It is very gentle and will also remove any built-up waxes and polishes that may have been used. Also, doesn't stink nearly so much as turpentine. I would shy away from the turp - it is a much stronger solvent and will dissolve many finishes. A toothbrush would work well in the checkering. If you want a bit more aggressive cleaner on the straight wood, mix just a bit of pumice powder in with the mineral spirits. Pumice is used to polish shellac, lacquer, and varnish finishes.

GregSY,

That is funny about the caulking guns. I am now tempted to label each one for a specific day of the week!

Duke