Cleaning a very dirty LB

Sardaukar

Sardaukar

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So i've got this very dirty LB no4 mk1* and i want to clean the wood from almost black to a more appealing color. I'm not a collector, but i still want to preserve some form of original finish.

What i'd like to know is what would constitute over-cleaning, and how to avoid it. From what i've heard, acetone strips everything to bare wood, so that seems excessive. I guess a proper way to do it involves more elbow grease than chemical stripping power...

Thanks in advance.


Sardaukar
 
A conservative first treatment is to use a rag and mineral spirits. This will remove a lot of grunge and surface oils and grease. If you want to go further and remove deeply embedded oils an agent like Minwax Antique stripper works well. It is a good idea to avoid water based treatments.
 
Minor hijack, but on the same theme. I have a garand, and when i picked it up the stock was so heavy with cosmoline it looked like black plastic, and if it got anywhere near room temperature it actually oozed. I varasoled it a couple of times, go no where and finally ran it thru the dishwasher on pots and pans twice. Came out looking great, but over time more ooze has seeped to the surface. sigh. I don't want to dishwasher it again, that was a desperate act, and it had no cartoche/stampings that could be read or even found anymore. Should i try heating it to draw the crap to the surface, or just a long soak in varasol?
 
Cocked&Locked said:
Minor hijack, but on the same theme. I have a garand, and when i picked it up the stock was so heavy with cosmoline it looked like black plastic, and if it got anywhere near room temperature it actually oozed. I varasoled it a couple of times, go no where and finally ran it thru the dishwasher on pots and pans twice. Came out looking great, but over time more ooze has seeped to the surface. sigh. I don't want to dishwasher it again, that was a desperate act, and it had no cartoche/stampings that could be read or even found anymore. Should i try heating it to draw the crap to the surface, or just a long soak in varasol?
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Since it's starting to get warm out you could try putting it in a black plastic bag out on the porch. It only works when it gets really hot outside but just wipe it down every 6 hours or so, do this for a few days and see how much cosmo you can get out of it.
 
For deeply-dug-in oil on old rifle stocks, I often get away with Brake-Kleen. It REALLY floats it out, gets out all that "Rangoon oil" the Army issued for slathering the poor things in.

Once it is no longer oozing motor oil, you can do a boiled-linseed-oil-and-Japan-dryer finish on the critter, bring it up looking the way it once looked. They were pretty.
 
Cocked&Locked said:
Minor hijack, but on the same theme. I have a garand, and when i picked it up the stock was so heavy with cosmoline it looked like black plastic, and if it got anywhere near room temperature it actually oozed. I varasoled it a couple of times, go no where and finally ran it thru the dishwasher on pots and pans twice. Came out looking great, but over time more ooze has seeped to the surface. sigh. I don't want to dishwasher it again, that was a desperate act, and it had no cartoche/stampings that could be read or even found anymore. Should i try heating it to draw the crap to the surface, or just a long soak in varasol?
Click to expand...

I vote leaving it in the sun. You might run into trouble deliberately heating it, as the intensity and focus my cause something weird to happen, either burn or crack or god knows what. With the sun you have a slow consistant and safe method that will certainly draw a lot out. Just wipe it off every so often and you're good to go.

I got a lot of the soaked in cosmolene out of my mosin by shooting it a lot... just liquefied and ran out. Later I used boiling water on the metal parts to really remove it.
 
smellie said:
For deeply-dug-in oil on old rifle stocks, I often get away with Brake-Kleen. It REALLY floats it out, gets out all that "Rangoon oil" the Army issued for slathering the poor things in.

Once it is no longer oozing motor oil, you can do a boiled-linseed-oil-and-Japan-dryer finish on the critter, bring it up looking the way it once looked. They were pretty.
Click to expand...

So, anything short of sanding is ok?

I'll probably never sell it, as it is my first LE, but i don't want to do anything that would ruin it's 'collectibility' and original appearance.

The dealer who sold it to me told me that it looked as if it was stored in a place that was heated by wood(it has the ishy screw) and the smoke over the decades put a coat of creosote on it.
 
I would try the least offensive methods before getting drastic... What have you tried so far? I would first try good ole fashioned Hoppes lubricating oil which is also designed for use on wood.
 
No doubt it will, but I have used the Minwax Antique stripper for a lot of military stocks and highly recommend it. Incidentally the US CMP "stock refinishing guru" also recommends this product. Handguards are thin and can be stripped and de-oiled with several applications of this. I apply it with one of the fine synthetic sanding/cleaning pads. Pour the solution in a plastic ctnr, like a cat litter box, and keep slathering it on and rubbing it in. Let dry between applications.
 
I have used an ammonia / water mix (2 parts water, 1 part ammonia) in a spray bottle to remove old finish and oil.
Do it outside, spray the mix on and scrub it with a soft to medium brush. Wipe it down often with paper towel or rags. Final quick rinse in the bathtub (make sure Wifey is busy) and allow to dry completely. Worked very well on an FR7 Spanish Mauser and an old Husqvarna .30-06. When I started, the inside of the stocks were almost black with oil soaked into the wood. When I was finished, they were almost completely oil-free.

The ammonia converts the oils into a simple soap which rinses off with water.
 
I think i'll go with the furniture stripper first. It looks like the wood is covered with black gunk, not really soaked with old oil. It's probably more a matter of scrubbing rather than lifting oil out of the wood.

Thanks for all the replies.
 
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