Hello, I am the proud owner of my first British Double.. a 16 gauge boxlock Lang. I have never owned an oil finish gun before and I was wondering if anyone here has some tips for maintaining/cleaning the wood. I plan to hunt seriously with this gun.
Thanks!
If it is just a bit grungy, lemon grass oil works well. I've used it with a tooth brush to clean checkering out, as well.
Best,
Ted
Let's see some photos and a description of your new Lang. The J Lang guns are pretty darn nice IMHO. What year was it made, barrel length, chokes, etc?
An oil finish on a pre-war British boxlock is not responsive to "cleaning" other than a wipe down with a damp cloth to remove blood and mud, and maybe an old toothbrush to clean gunk from the checkering. Anything else will just damage the delicate varnish that remains.
Other than the above suggestions, just use it and wipe it down with Clenzoil after each use until you're ready to have it refinished.
JR
Try Formby's wax remover. Available at any big box hardware store. Very gentle so you won't run a risk of doing something you'll regret.
On my other guns, a parker, and 2 berettas I usually put a tiny bit of hoppes #9 on a silicone cloth and go over the stock very gently before storing. Is this something I wouldn't want to do to this gun?
First of all, NEVER let anything with silicone even close to a oil finished stock. Refinishing can be a nightmare if any of that stuff is in the wood. Its darned near impossible to remove. And it seems to me there's no benefit to rubbing it with Hoppes--though I use it for everything else, including curing the common cold.
The Brit traditional cleaner for oiled gun stocks is 1 part Turpentine 1 part Methylated Spirits (Denatured Alcohol) 1 part Vinegar. It does remove old hard wax and dirt without affecting the finish. Yes it does sound strange but it works well.
Turpentine and denatured alcohol are both solvents.Solvents break down and remove old varnish. Remember that.
Never use Hoppe's #9 on an old stock that has a linseed-based varnish, which they all had.It will soften and just further deteriorate it.
JR
John Roberts.
I will repeat my self OILED GUN STOCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Did I say VARNISH?????
I clean all my oiled gun stocks with RAW LINSEED OIL. Nothing else and then wipe down with a clean cloth.
John Roberts.
I will repeat my self OILED GUN STOCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Did I say VARNISH?????
Damascus,
Did not mean to insult or demean you in any way. Sorry if I offended you.
An "oil finish" gunstock is 99% of the time one that has a thinned, linseed-based varnish that is built up over many repeated applications until you have what is known as a "dry-film thickness" or "varnish".
If you are referring to wood that has been sanded and had 3 or 4 coats of linseed oil rubbed in and has no finish above the surface, then I defer.
JR
Ok I accidentally used hopes the first day I got it. It doesn't seem like it hurt anything.. I will not do this again.. Is there anything I can do to gently remove the hoppes? It was a very light amount applied to a soft cloth and gently applied to the stock. I'm guessing more was soaked into the cloth than the gun.
Is linseed oil the best route? Any certain brand?
Don't worry about removing the Hoppe's. Just don't use it again.
If you don't do anything to it other than a wipe with a damp cloth every now and then to remove any blood or dirt/mud, it will be just fine. Don't over-think this.
JR
When I attended stockmaking school at the Colorado School of Trades in Denver during the '50s, we were taught that once completing "dewiskering", to heat marine spar varnish in a double boiler, completely wet down the stock with the hot varnish, let drip-dry for a day, then sand with fine sandpaper down to the wood. Repeat until the pores were filled flush with the wood, then hand-rub a linseed oil mixture (similar to True Oil) until a minimum of four complete coating are applied. I found that 6 - 7 coats were needed to give the "depth of view" we wanted. To clean an oil finished stock further, when a damp clean cloth was insufficient, we could gently wipe with a turpentine wetted cloth, making sure not to scrub down to the wood.
I seem to remember J. Purdey cataloging finishing and cleaning materials for oil finished stocks. I imagine their cleaning mixtures were proprietary.
Jim Haynes
I have been restoring/refinishing wood articles for the better part of 50 years and I believe I've literally tried everything under the sun over that time.
For the past few years I've been using Howards "Restor-A-Finish" on everything from an 18 Century grandfather clock case, to pieces of furniture to multiple gunstocks with both oil and varnish finishes. It does an excellent job of getting discoloration out of the finish including white rings in furniture. The producer maintain it's a finish penetrating restorer that blends out existing scratches while cleaning the surface. You just put some on 4/0 steel wool and gently scrub the surface. I use a relatively stiff toothbrush for the checkering.
This product is readily available in multiple tones at Home depot or Lowes.
Jim
N.B: There are probably as many different answers to the original question that started this thread as there are members of this forum. My response is based upon personally trying what has been proposed so far multiple times over the years.
I have absolutely no idea what the Howards "Restor-A-Finish" consistes of but a Home Brew mix which works very similar & was published by a British restorer of early Sewing Machines which he called "Fenman's Magic Elixer' consists of equal parts of a solvent (turpentine/mineral spirits etc) Vinegar (Fenman preferrred Malt Vinegar) & Linseed oil (Fenman liked Raw). For severely dirty applications a half part of de-natured alcohol can be added. I have not tried this mix on a gunstock but it does work wonders for its intended use. I used Turp, Malt Vinegar & BLO. Most of the early sewing machine cabinets were finished with either oil or shellac & it works great on either.
I know I'm straying a bit here but here are pictures of a antique Scottish Grandfather clock I restored awhile back. When I bought it the finish was so grungy it was hard to tell it was over fancy mahogany veneer. This is what it looks like now after treatment with Restor-A-Finish. Before someone asks I have absolutely NO financial interest in the company that makes this product.
It only took me a couple of hours to do the cleaning which I followed up with a coat of furniture feeder.
Jim
