Check out Larry Potterfield's (Midwest USA) video on using wax to protect your gun on You Tube. I have been using wax on all my rifles , I have nine savage 99's, plus many other rifles and have been well pleased with with the results. Wax will clean and improve the appearance of the stocks as well as protecting them. I also use it on the metal as well, but you will need to remove any oil products before you apply the wax. Just know that all waxes are not the same and some contain chemicals that are not good for your gun( car wax etc) I use Renaissance Wax, a special formulated wax, which is used by top museums to wax all their exhibits(wood, metal, pottery,etc). I think I saw somewhere that the NRA gun museum and other gun museums wax their guns to protect them as well. Renaissance is a little expensive for the amount you get but a little goes a long way. You can order it on line, hard to find in a store. I just reordered through Walmart and received my order in less than a week. I do keep a check on my guns and re wax them every so often, which, as I understand is what museum staffs spend a lot of their time doing year around.