The line soldier would not have been issued anything to repair the finish on a rifle. In any army. The oils that soldiers are issued are for maintenance of the metal parts, mostly the bore, not the stock. Any stock repairs of any nature are an armour's job and done at an armoury not in the field.
If you're trying to refute that denatured alcohol is used in the application of shellac, I hate to inform you but it is an essential part of the application process. Shellac is actually naturally produced by beetles. It is then processed into a flake form, which can be of varying sizes but are a solid. They are then put into solution with denatured alcohol and painted on to a stock. When you see a stock with visible paint brush strokes on it the shellac to denatured alcohol ratio is off (too much shellac flakes and too little denatured alcohol.)
Oil does not go into solution with shellac, and the only result of your recommended procedure is to wipe away the dried up shellac flakes. When you rub it with denatured alcohol it softens the shellac up, returning the flakes into a solution with the denatured alcohol and allows you to effectively repaint the flakes back on to the stock with the rag.
If you're trying to refute that denatured alcohol is used in the application of shellac, I hate to inform you but it is an essential part of the application process. Shellac is actually naturally produced by beetles. It is then processed into a flake form, which can be of varying sizes but are a solid. They are then put into solution with denatured alcohol and painted on to a stock. When you see a stock with visible paint brush strokes on it the shellac to denatured alcohol ratio is off (too much shellac flakes and too little denatured alcohol.)
Oil does not go into solution with shellac, and the only result of your recommended procedure is to wipe away the dried up shellac flakes. When you rub it with denatured alcohol it softens the shellac up, returning the flakes into a solution with the denatured alcohol and allows you to effectively repaint the flakes back on to the stock with the rag.
