Cleaning smoke damaged wood

[DeadeyeDave]

My good friend's house was burnt down by some little bastards a couple of weeks ago. Sadly, he lost most of his gun collection but a couple are salvageable.
Remarkably he had a full wood No.1 Mk III FTR 1953 which has survived almost unscathed even though other rifles nearby had stocks burnt right off. I think it was still in the cosmoline from 1953 and had never been fired. There is some very minor surface charring on the lower fore end near the bayonet socket perhaps where it was leaning against another barrel. Otherwise the wood is essentially untouched except for some discolouration from smoke and soot and a good soaking from the fire hoses. There is minor surface rust on the metal from sitting in the police evidence lock up for 3 weeks but no sign of over heating.
I have all the metal soaking in Ed's Red.
Just wondering if anyone has any tips for cleaning the wood. I'm thinking something oil or acetone based would be best rather than soap and water or TSP.

 

[Grizzly Adams]

I saw an Enfield that went through a house fire once, no way I'd think of shooting that. If it's hot enough to char the wood, she's a goner.

Grizz

 

[jimbo45]

Yes be carful of any firearm that went through a fire but if the storage grease is still there it did not get that hot. As for the wood cut lemons in half and rub them on a The wood it works well

 

[#4mk1(T)]

Perhaps Murphy’s Oil Soap?

 

[DeadeyeDave]

Yes be carful of any firearm that went through a fire but if the storage grease is still there it did not get that hot. As for the wood cut lemons in half and rub them on a The wood it works well

I appreciate the caution. Our local gunsmith has looked at it and feels it would be safe to shoot. I should probably have said smoke and soot stained not damaged. The wood in the barrel channel shows absolutely no sign of heating and the hand guards could pass for new if not for the slight soot on the outside. All the screws came out easily and none of the grease was coked.
I had thought about Murphy's Oil Soap and might try that.

 

[bearhunter]

If the only issue is discoloration, NOT CHAR, there is a neat little trick that utilizes a solution of 50/50 Chlorox Bleach and Acetone.

This solution will get rid of all the finish on the wood and actually whiten the wood.

It needs to soak in this solution overnight, OUTSIDE. The fumes that come off this are nasty. This solution will not weaken the wood or remove any cartouches. A very light rub with 000000 steel wool will get rid of any feathering.

Rub in a light stain and let dry, then start applying Boiled Linseed Oil and let it dry properly between coats.

The other solution is a good furniture stripper that has a Caustic Soda base.

If you're really lucky, the Linseed Oil finish was only darkened by heat.

As for the receivers being destroyed by heat???? If they were mine, I would have them Brinnell tested for hardness. Depends on how well they're insured.

I saw a Mannlicher Schoenauer collection that had been in a fire and the stocks were mostly burned away.

I felt the same as Grizzly Adams, if the stocks got that hot the receivers were done.

I was wrong. The owner of those rifles, bought them back from the insurance company for peanuts. They just wanted them gone.

He sent them off to some company in Calgary and they tested the receivers and bolts for proper hardness.

A couple of them were ruined but out of 20 rifles only two were considered to be junk. Even those could have been sent back to the factory and re heat treated.

Other than the two that were considered to be scrap, all of those rifles were refinished to their former glory and are still in use today, close to 40 years after the fire.

The owner is long gone but those rifles are still out there hunting. I have one in my safe and it doesn't show any signs of stress, such as lug setback or stretching, after a few thousand rounds. It's chambered in 6.5x57.

The rifle was left to me when the owner passed. I was leery about it so loaded up two proof rounds to test it. Both of those proof rounds developed around 80k psi, according to a fellow that knows such things and is way beyond anything I would ever load the rifle to. It was set up in a Lead Sled by tying it down and putting 75 pounds of shot on the tray. Then secured to a shooting bench.

That old Mannlicher digested both of those rounds without a hiccup. The bolt didn't lift as smooth as it normally does but that was only on the two homemade proof rounds. Today it handles close to maximum hand loads without any resistance on bolt lift. It's also very accurate.