Mosin Nagant stock old oil/cosmoline removal

[30cal_Fun]

Hello everyone,

I have been wanting to bed the stock of my Mosin 91/30 for some time. I want to keep it as original as possible, so maybe I will order an old take-off stock and use that one, but that's another question.

Problem is, these old stocks aren't exactly clean. So before I can even start thinking about putting any bedding compound in my stock, It needs a clean and dry surface to adhere to. Therefore I need to clean it up first. The inside of this thing is filled with traces of old oil, Cosmoline and likely a lot of Balistol that I use for cleaning my rifle.

So, my question is, how do I get rid of all the gunk that is soaked up in the stock?

Thanks for any input, Louis

[dussandr]

Oven cleaner.

[30cal_Fun]

Sounds like a good option.

Am I right that any product that will clean the stock, will also strip the finish?

[Hardcase]

Yes, that is most likely.

[30cal_Fun]

I have been planning to refinish the stock for some time, so that's no problem.

I want to recreate the old shellac finish as much as possible. But I don't like the fact that, as the barrel heats up during shooting, the shellac starts to "sweat" off.
can I get roughly the same reddish shine to the stripped stock if I use a red stain and tru-oil? I know it will look different, but I think it will have a shiny finish with a red hue to it. and it would be much more durable.

Would red stain and tru-oil proximate anything like the shellac finish?

I have to add, I am a sucker for hand-rubbed dull oil finishes. and I have seen people use tru-oil and tung-oil with great success in refinishing projects with Mosins and the likes.

Louis

[RamSlammer]

I use Formby's furniture refinisher (Gel) on old cosmo'd up stocks. Let it soak in a while then go over with a slightly stiff nylon brush. Even gets gunk out of checkering well. It's acidic, so wear gloves and rinse the stock well afterward. Let it dry 1-3 days (depending on relative humidity). What's left is like new wood.

[30cal_Fun]

never heard of Formby's furniture refinisher, but I can probably get something similar around here.

Thanks for all the advise, Louis

[qcpunk]

If you're just trying to get rid of the wetness from the oil/grease used for surplus storage, you might try some simple Whiting compound. You know, that talcum powder like white powder..... It is Hydroscopic and will pull the moisture to the surface to be cleaned off. That stuff has been used for a LONG time to remove the moisture left behind by these compounds.

[mapsjanhere]

A lot of oven cleaners are lye based, make sure you rinse your gun very well after you use that or the alkaline will eat both your wood and corrode your metal long after you stop thinking about having ever used it. Methylene chloride from Home Depot (use outside, the fumes are NOT healthy) and talcum powder work for me, the evaporating solvent wicks the oils to the surface into the powder.

[Chris_B]

Oven cleaner...still can't understand why this is even an option. It ain't wood cleaner. It's oven cleaner. If it was good for wood refinishing, they'd sell it as a wood refinishing product

I don't understand why chemicals are the first thing everyone reaches for. Wood is held together with a type of natural glue and oven cleaner is most likely going to damage it. Yes sure I've seen many stocks in which the owner uses oven cleaner and swears by it, and everyone ooohs and ahhhs. But what happened to the wood under that pretty finish?

How about starting off gentle and reach for potentially caustic chemicals when easier, less messy, and more health friendly things don't work? Keep the oven cleaner for dirty ovens

Try a hairdryer and some rags to get the cosmo off the wood. Then try some isopropyl alcohol and some rags. The harshest chemical I've found a need to use is mineral spirits

No oven cleaners here, both were filthy military stocks:

M1 carbine


M1 rifle

[jsmaye]

Oven cleaner...still can't understand why this is even an option.

Lack of patience.

I don't understand why chemicals are the first thing everyone reaches for.

Lack of patience.

How about starting off gentle and reach for potentially caustic chemicals when easier, less messy, and more health friendly things don't work?

Lack of patience.

I've always been a believer in starting with the mildest, least-powerful (and potentially least-damaging) solvents or cleaners and working up only when necessary. Sure, it may take a couple of tries, but I'm more interested in preserving the wood than getting it stripped and cleaned in an hour.

[madcratebuilder]

Wrap the stock in paper towels and place it in a black garbage bag. Put it in the sun for a few days, the heat wicks the cosmoline out of the wood and the paper towels pick it up. This method is zero damage to the wood.

Follow that up with a hand held steam cleaner and you clean wood and you have raised most of the dents and dings.

[30cal_Fun]

Thanks for all the advise!

If I can do it without to harsh chemicals, then that would be best.
when I have some time on my hands I will try a hairdryer and see how far that gets me. or steam it out with the aid of some talc powder.

I want to leave my original stock alone and use a take-off stock to refinish so that my original one remains unaltered.
but I have hit a bit of a snag here. because apart from an old 1891 stock, I haven't been able to find a replacement Mosin Nagant stock.

Question: would I be able to fit my 91/30 in a 1981 stock? I know the handguard won't fit, but that's easy to to solve (maybe make one myself).

Thanks, Louis

[ks_wayward_son]

I recently have just gotten involved with C&R firearms, and am doing quite a bit of research on the topic of cleaning and restoration also. One of THE most excellent pieces of information I have come across is surplusrifle.com. It is on the left hand side, and I think you click under the heading of General Maintenance or the like. They have a few articles about the removal of cosmoline, one of which involves building your own "easy bake oven." They suggest "low and slow"; as some other guys have suggested...low heat, slow removal...but with results. You might give it a go. Plus, they have tons of helpful advise about how to disassemble/assemble many surplus rifles.

[30cal_Fun]

Yes, I know surplus rifle.com, I post there to. I got some good reactions, and there are some good posts about it to. I just wanted to know if there was any method to get the crud out of the stock without damaging the finish to much.

but since that question has been answered: Does anyone think an 1891 stock will fit a 91/30 stock without to much trouble?

Thanks, Louis

[qcpunk]

I just recently purchased a Mosin as well. Fortunately my stock wasnt too stained with grease and oil. A simple wash with soapy water and a rag was more than sufice in my situation. But of course, with MilSurplus, every situation can be vastly different.

[HvyMtl]

another option is placing in a trash bag and putting in the attic for a few days, swapping out the trash bag periodically. make sure it hangs in a matter that the wood is suspended and it does not sit in the "runoff" collected. I think the adding of the paper towels, mentioned earlier will help too.

Remember Cosmoline was added by a heating process, so it sounds logical that subtracting by a heating process would work.

[TriumphGuy]

I agree with the suggestions to heat it. I use a heat gun on the lowest setting and very slowly warm it up until the gunk loosens enough to wipe up. I'm not a fan of oven cleaner, but I don't think a brushing of mineral spirits will hurt much.

[rangerman40]

Mine wasn't too totally covered in Cosmo so I used Murphy's Oil Soap for hardwood floors. All natural, worked great, and I could drink the stuff If I wanted to. Doesn't get much less caustic than that.

[Fullthrottle]

30calfun: I posted this in another thread, and will say it again here.
http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting...line/index.asp
This was the method I used for my M38 Mosin Nagant. It worked well using the "Shark handheld steam cleaner", spent a couple hours cleaning the cosmo off the rifle and the stock, with no harm to the shellac. You may be able to find another brand in your country, but should work the same. I think I paid $50.00usd for it.........and hell it has other uses too(that is what I told my wife)....and it does.

Just remember to properly oil the rifle afterwards, because you will have removed all other forms of protection with the steam!

[30cal_Fun]

your article is very helpful Fullthrottle, I have it saved. but you use your SKS as an example, and almost exclusively talk about the metalwork. but I am purely cleaning my stock here, no metal parts involved (except maybe the guard and stock end caps). Other people in this thread are also posting about using soapy water or boiled water.

But I am a bit worried that my stock will get too soaked and will be so wet that it will have to dry for a long time or even worse, warp or crack. water isn't exactly the best friend of a wooden stock. All the methods that use water to a big extent have this problem. I don't care if I strip off the finish, I want to do that anyway, but I want to keep the wood in a good state as much as possible.

I was thinking like a hairdryer set to it's highest (the 2000W should do it), the hot air will probably get the cosmoline and old oil to melt out. I think that's also what Triumphguy meant.

Louis

[TriumphGuy]

I think that's also what Triumphguy meant.

Pretty much. A heat gun is just a hair dryer on steroids, made to heat things other than hair.

[cougar gt-e]

Go to the auto parts store and buy some dry product for getting oil off concrete floors. Typically called "floor dry" or something like that. Looks like a finer kitty litter.

Pack the stock in it completely covering it and let it sit in the hot sun or in the attic or in the oven at the lowest setting (only safe when the wife is gone !!!).

It will take a week or so, depending on temps and how bad it was absorbed. If you have the time, pack it and stick it in the attic for the summer. It will be good as new in the fall.

jb

[30cal_Fun]

I haven't seen or heard anywhere here about the "fine kitty litter" or similar, but I'm sure I can find something like that.

I haven't been able to find a replacement stock for it so when I use my own, I will first try the hairdryer/heatgun and then see if I need the kitty litter.

Thanks for all the tips and advise, Louis

[Fullthrottle]

30calfun: Steam or boiling water?! Both H2o The differance is STEAM goes away quickly boiled water stays for a bit! I used the steam meathod on my M38 stock as well. No problems with it. Steam dissapates quickly! No damage to the wood, just a quick way to eliminate cosmoline from my stock!