Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Removing Modeling Clay

From the action and stock.

Is there an easy way to do it? The smear factor on this stuff seems pretty high.

Mineral spirits.

AHHHH....I knew there had to be something. Thanks.

You can turn a can of the keyboard air cans upside down and give it a blast. The liquid will freeze it and then you brush it off with a tooth brush. Also works well when you find a black widow in the corner of your reloading bench

Freezing it and the toothbrush is a neat idea!

In the future, go buy an "egg" of Silly Putty and use that instead of modeling clay. It sticks to itself and comes away totally clean! The Silly Putty lasts forever too.

John

Maybe I'll try the silly putty next time, good idea.

This was my second bedding job, same rifle both times. The first one was with a ADL take-off for practice. I've got to say the finished product is MUCH nicer the second time around.

I took pics of each step this time and will post them when I get everything cleaned up.

I use carb or brake cleaner in a spray can, but don't get it on wood. A good supply of old dental picks are invaluable. Also go to a medical suply houseanbuy a bunch of the cotton swabs on sticks. They use to be about $10/case( 1000 or so)

I, too, had problems with the greasy kids' stuff until I switched to the type of modeling clay sold in art supply stores (don't recall the specific brand). I don't know what's in silly putty, but I'd be very careful to avoid anything that contains silicone. It is real hard to remove, and it plays heck with adhesives and finishes, as it prevents them from adhering.

Paul

I prefer mineral spirits over rubbing alcohol...

Good point Paul. I have not encountered any problems after using Silly Putty, but one should avoid silicones on guns if at all possible. I will try to find out what is in Silly Putty before using it again.

John

Without starting a new thread...

What all do you oil / lubricate when you put everything back together?

I like to put a couple of coats of Johnson's paste wax on the barrel and action before I drop it back in the stock.

+2

+1, except I use Min Wax furniture wax which is what I use as a release agent for bedding. Brand truly doesn't matter.

I do the same Bob, using paste wax as a release agent.

Assuming a THOROUGH cleaning since you've got everything apart anyway, Brownell's Rust Preventive #2, blown around so it gets everywhere and excess blown off with an air hose or wiped off. Very little quality oil where moving parts pivot (needle tipped oil bottle). THIN coat of moly grease where parts move against each other with pressure, so little you can't tell it's there at a glance. RIG where metal may contact wood.

Throw it in your parts wash tank (or equivalent) for a few hours and use a paint brush on the remnants.