What should I put on the wooden stock?

[FriendlyStranger]

I just recently bought a mosin nagant (This is my first milsurp rifle ) and I’m trying to get all the cosmoline off the stock by putting it in a trash bag and leaving it out in the sun. I read that this will dry out the wood and was wondering what would be the best thing to put on the stock after all the cosmoline is removed.

 

[bearhunter]

That stock will weep oil for years, if it's as loaded as you say.

What you're doing will nicely remove all of the Russian applied Shelac as well.

That isn't a big deal as it's easy to apply another coat later.

If your stock happens to be one of the very early ones, you may be better off wiping it down with paper towels and Silent Green, a cheap cleaner that will cut the grease and leave the Shelac and wood untouched. If your stock is historically significant, this is the best way to go. A soft bristle tooth brush is also a help, not to mention patience.

 

[FriendlyStranger]

That stock will weep oil for years, if it's as loaded as you say.

What you're doing will nicely remove all of the Russian applied Shelac as well.

That isn't a big deal as it's easy to apply another coat later.

If your stock happens to be one of the very early ones, you may be better off wiping it down with paper towels and Silent Green, a cheap cleaner that will cut the grease and leave the Shelac and wood untouched. If your stock is historically significant, this is the best way to go. A soft bristle tooth brush is also a help, not to mention patience.

Damn, I had no idea that was going to happen. I definitely don’t want to remove the shellac, I really like the way it looks now. I didn’t leave it out in the sun for very long today so hopefully none or very little shellac was removed. I thought all the cosmoline had to be removed from the entire rifle.

It’s a 1942 Izhevsk. I’ll just wipe it down real good with paper towels and use a tooth brush for the insides.

Thanks for the help!!!!

 

[Cdn303]

I thought all the cosmoline had to be removed from the entire rifle.

Yes, you do need to get it out of the worky bits.

Take the thing apart and thoroughly clean everything including the chamber and bore.

To sweat the cosmo out of the stock, leave just the stock sitting outside some afternoon, and go to it every 15-20 minutes and wipe it off with papertowels. Flip it at least once. This will get most of it out, but there will still be some come out after shooting sessions.

I did this with mine, and the last time I was shooting I still had a large amount weep out.

 

[BCRider]

Wood simply does not dry out and turn to dust. It's an old wive's tail. And as mentioned you will never drive out all the cosmoline from the wood. At best you'll get enough out that the wood will no longer feel greasy. It would require long term serious high temperature steam or some other sort of cleaning to actually remove the last traces of the cosmo.

However if you want that low luster wood sheen that we all seem to love then yeah, the hot sun and bag trick will leave the wood finish looking a little dull once you do it for long enough.

If your stock is like the two I've done by simply rubbing away the cosmo much of the original shellac went with it. Too many years in storage with the cosmo soaking allowed the cosmo to leak under and break the bond between the wood and shellac film. I ended up re-doing mine with a leather dye for coloration and then two or three coats of tung oil to give the wood a nice looking low lustre sort of look which looks a lot like "well cared for old military".

Others have mentioned and described how to re-do the original shellac finish.

Shellac is far from a high durability finish. Real rifles used in the field would not retain much of their new look for long. But the white coloured birch used would by then be "stained" from handling and dirt in such an environment so they would not shine out in the dark like shiney new pennys anyway.

 

[Dakk]

Steam.

 

[desporterizer]

What's wrong with varsol and an old toothbrush?

 

[cantom]

If your stock happens to be one of the very early ones, you may be better off wiping it down with paper towels and Soylent Green, a cheap cleaner that will cut the grease and leave the Shelac and wood untouched. If your stock is historically significant, this is the best way to go. A soft bristle tooth brush is also a help, not to mention patience.

For God's sake...Soylent Green is made of people!! [/Charleton Heston voice]

[youtube]9IKVj4l5GU4&feature=related[/youtube]

 

[agentcq]

Rifle in a black garbage bag on a hot day. Wipe with a clean cloth every 30 minutes. let the Sun do the hard work. Cook baby Cook!!!

 

[FriendlyStranger]

I appreciate all the comments!

I cleaned out all the cosmoline from the barrel and other metal parts and wiped down the stock. It looks like the shellac managed to stay on.

Can't wait to shoot it