doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DIY Gunsmithing @ doublegunshop.com Stock oil assessment and removal

I've stripped this stock with citristrip and cleaned it up with mineral spirits and acetone. I left it to dry in my dry box, which is staying at about 120F and 10-20% humidity.

I noticed what looked like an oil streak on the cheek, and I have tried to do a short acetone soak to get it out. The shape changed but still seems to be there.

Two questions: am I right that this is oil coming out of the stock? And, if so, what should be my next step to remove it?

(I did look back through old posts, and saw some ideas but would like opinions about how you all would address this specific situation. Thanks in advance.)

I've seen this happen several times after de-oiling a gun stock, and then letting it sit for awhile before finishing. An oil soaked stock is like a sponge that may have been absorbing oil deep into the wood over many decades. That why I feel that it is probably impossible to get all of the oil out without doing even more damage to the wood. Strong organic solvents can damage the structure of the wood, so it is best to keep solvent soaks as short as possible.

You probably accelerated bringing oil to the surface by putting the wood in a warm drying box.

I have only been in the DIY shotgun restoration hobby for about two years now and I am of the opinion that stock de-oling is the thing that takes longer than all other things combined. I have a couple stocks that I have been doing something on for this whole past two years and still have oil leaching out.

I quit using acetone and have actually had my best success with heating the wood up in the oven for 30 mins at 150 deg and then staying the foaming crud cutter on, let sit for 5-10 mins and then rinse off with warm water for a series of 4-5 times and then letting sit up and dry for a couple weeks and then do again as needed.

I also do the calcium carbonate coating and that works but is also a very slow process. I am still working on a couple of stocks using that method.

I have a couple stocks that I anticipate being the first ready for re-finsh in a couple months but none that I have been at for less than a year.

I am probably doing it all wrong but abscent formal schooling it has all been by trial and error and determination. The topics on stock de-oiling and re-finishing are my most read and I always look forward to the education. Once I get past this somewhat satisfied, it is on to rust and nitre bluing.

I probably did not help you much but patience in doing it right, now matter how you settle in on, is the key.

Good luck

Sincerely,

The Mad De-oiler

I have one that I'm doing that has been through the acetone soak and came out just like that, sans the heat box treatment. It's currently coated with whiting, and has hung like that for a couple months. Actually, I had forgotten about it until I saw yours. I'm going to look at it this morning and see if it drew out any more oil. If I don't see anything else I'm pronouncing it good to go.

SRH

I'd be curious, not that I'd know any better, what the head of the stock looks like. Could a little bit of finish be left over and show. I think I can see some remaining finish around the nooks and crannies of the pistol grip?

Thanks all.

I'll take some pictures of the head this evening. There does seem to be some oil coming out there as well.

It could be that there is some finish in the nooks and crannies, but I don't think that's what this is because the wood will look completely bare after acetone or mineral spirits.

This spot first showed up as several small oily spots not long after I got the finish off. I worked on this area with mineral spirits, and put it in the dry box just to keep it out of harms way mostly. That's when a long stripe showed up. I did a short soak in acetone, wiped it down, into the dry box, and the picture is the result.

One thing that puzzles me is that the oil is coming up along the side of the stock instead of just around the head. This is an ithaca 200e, which has a rod running through the stock. I'm thinking that the oil could have gotten to where it is by travelling along the rod hole.

If tbe dry box is working, what would you all think about using it to draw the oil out and then wiping it down with a solvent each day? If that's a reasonable option, what would you use alcohol, acetone, mineral spirits or a degreaser like krud kutter? Or would you all put it in whiting or Fuller's earth for a while?

I'd be more inclined to be conservative, and only resort to acetone , lacquer thinner, etc. as a last resort. Wood is mainly composed of cellulose and lignin, and is structurally degraded by soaks in harsh organic solvents. It is a Catch 22 situation, because leaving the oil in the wood is also bad for it.

I typically start with stripping, and if the wood is oiled, I first like to use mild heat and absorbent materials such as kitty litter to bring as much oil as possible to the surface. This does take a long time, but you can really get a lot of oil out of the wood if you are patient. I then wash it with a solution of household ammonia and water. Ammonia will saponify the oil, i.e., convert it into a water soluble soap. This also removes a lot of old dirt and grime. Of course, the wood must then be rinsed well because ammonia can also damage wood if it is not removed. After drying, if it still seems oily, only then do I resort to relatively short solvent soaks. I then try to stain and/or finish fairly soon because I know more oil will eventually migrate to the surface. Getting thinned finish into the wood seems to stop this. As I said, I don't believe that you can ever get all of the oil out without damaging and degrading the wood.

How long do you mean? i.e. how patient would I have to be? (I want to set realistic expectations for myself...)

Use a heat gun over the affected area. If there is oil instead of old finish it will rise to the surface. Wash with Super Clean and a tooth brush. Rinse with hot water and let dry 4-5 days. Check it again and repeat as necessary. It takes as long as it takes to have nothing leaching out. As long as you have it off reinforce the stock head. Most Japanese SKB's will crack at the center scallop where the stock mates to the action. Remove a groove 3/8" back from the head deep enough to epoxy a thin piece of threaded parallel to the end of the stock. ymmv

I bought two skb's in the same auction lot. The other one is already cracked. With the action off, it's not hard to see why. Thanks for the suggestion about reinforcement. Do I understand correctly that you mean a tiny piece of threaded rod? It would have to be about 1/8" at largest wouldn't it?