I came by a Like new 20 ga superposed lightning field 1967.

It was advertised as a Citori and got is so cheap I was not going to let the salt-wood issue stop me.

Ok the salt-wood has stopped me just a wee bit. I took the forearm wood and buttstock off the metals. The barrel/latch assembly metal shows no signs of rusting except the cross bolt has a fine dusting. However, the frame does have some lite intermittent rust in the stock wood to metal contact surfaces. No pitting though. From looking at the gun assembled it looks perfect.

It came with a round knob stock but I am more in favor of a straight stock. Will an earlier non-salt wood stock theoretically fit this gun?

Has anyone come up with a method for neutralizing the salt or some other solution.

It is a beautiful gun and fortunately not damaged but I am thinking of best way to move forward and get some good use out of her.

As a side note I noticed the machining in the back of the frame looked like it had provision for making the gun configured for a lefty. Is this a possibility and how would I complete that? It looks to make a little sense.

Finally, I can't believe someone actually thought salt in any form or fashion was going to be good for a gun.

Thanks

Not all stocks in that period had salt issues and chances are your stock may already have been replaced. I would test your stock for salt. Scrape the wood to get a fresh surface, apply a 1% solution of Silver Nitrate, if it turns white you have a slat wood stock, if it turns purple you don’t. Easy test that is 100% fool proof. Just pick a spot out of sight for the test. The salt wood kept showing up until about 1971-72 but mostly was earlier. Good luck.

It was used to draw moisture out of the wood to have a shorter turn around time for using the wood

This link is to a thread on this forum about restoring a salt wood Superposed.
https://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=546572&page=all

I may be mistaken - others will know for certain and will certainly correct me but I believe the Citori model is not a Superposed.

Quite a number of differences, including ability to shoot steel shot, and the country where they are/ were made; Belgium vs Japan, etc., balance, etc., etc.

I think the statement that the Superposed was (mistakenly) advertised as a Citori was made to explain why it was obtained at a good (low) price.

Yes that is correct. It is a Belgium superposed but was advertised as a Citori.

Browning for decades would replace salt wood under warrenty, but I believe they stopped this several years ago. The salt I don't believe will cause a problem without the presense of moisture. Guns not hunted with often don't show symptoms even if they contain the salt.

Your stock may have well been replaced. I would test it to be sure. If there is salt and no real metal symptoms, you might try something I have considered in the past. If you can seal the salt away from the metal, there would be no effect. I have often thought about sealing the metal and wood in the inletting to create a barrier. There are laquer coatings for metal that can seal the metal surfaces. For the wood, a couple of good coats of a saturation epoxy for boatbuilders, such as Gudgeons or System Three would stop the migration and shouldn't ad enough thickness to affect the inletting.

If you decide to swap for another factory stock, check the new wood before starting.

Here's the ugly duckling now...





Blanks were stacked on pallets and covered with salt.
Moisture was drawn out of the wood to the point
where you could see the water running out of the "pile".
Bottom of the pile blanks were more greatly affected than those stacked on top.
It wasn't hunting or ambient moisture that activated the salty wood.
Niel Young said it best,"Rust never sleeps".
If the salt hasn't degraded your gun by now, you're probably going to be OK.
How about some images of your new Super?

Bob, thanks for the before and after pics. Could you show us some closer views of the finished work to display the restoration of the affected receiver metal and of the new wood?

Contrary to what some believe,
It's only SaltWood until it's not.

Salt wood can not be sealed or made safe. From your description it does not sound like salt wood but there is an easy test to know for sure.

Look on You Tube for Art's Gunshop videos. He explains how to determine if the gun is a salt gun and how to restore it.

I restocked several doubles that were salt wood and had to throw away a couple stocks after all that work! I still have a beautiful crotch blank that has some salt in it. Bobby

Bob, that is fantastic. From the previous thread it is easy to tell that you stopped posting due to the unfounded negative comments by a few. Nice to see the result of your restoration. I am sure you are enjoying it.

Naaahhh, The thread got locked.