Had this in the shotgun forum but figured I would see a little more traffic hear.


What can be used to wipe/clean the stock really good before wiping down with oil. The wood has some spots on it from sweat and being in the field. It's starting to get a little dry to the touch and in need of a fresh wipe down of oil. Also, what is the proper oil to use.

On another note, after cleaning the gun I always wipe down with a Hoppes silicon cloth. It says its good for protecting sod stock and metal.. Is this okay to be using on this oil finished stock? Will the silicon absorb in to the finish and have any negative effects?

Do not EVER use silicone anything around wood stocked guns! EVER! Throw that crap away! Far, far away!

Do not attempt to put oil on the stock unless you do a ridiculous wash to get rid of the silicone. Wax is what you need anyway, but it will be contaminated with silicone and prevent the silicone from being rubbed off naturally...

Most waxes will telegraph where the silicone was, too.

Just use a good paste wax. Bri-Wax is my favorite, but even plain old Johnson's is plenty good enough.

This is the Bubba fix - wash it down with Murphys soap and warm water. Wipe it dry and let it sit. If it is a real oil finish then Slacum is the traditional cleaner/restorer that leaves a slight oil wax residue with each application. This is a mix of Turpentine, Linseed Oil, Carnuba Wax and Venice terpentine. No silicone and usually no Citrus oil although some version might have the latter.

Parker Hale, Clive's Lemon Oil,Napier, Purdy and Wart Hog sell this premixed. Try the Double Gun Shop if you can't find it elsewhere.

Sitka, what would work to clean it thoroughly getting the silicone off? Mineral spirits?

It is going to take a lot more than mineral spirits, sadly... What happens is the solvents thin it out and you just keep chasing it. It will cause fisheyes and on a rubbed down stock the areas affected by the silicone may pull right off.

The best I have found commercially that is still not so nasty that it takes the finish off immediately is Formby's Furniture Restorer. It is designed to soften the finish and allow it to be moved around... Don't let it go that far!

After a couple good solid wipe-downs with mineral spirits and allowing it to dry after each rub the wood down with a rag just dampened with the Formby's.

It is just a mix of a lot of different solvents and mineral spirits is represented heavily... but it has worked well before.

Generally you do not need more oil, and a good coat of quality wax may be good enough for you. Keep quality wax on it and it will probably be just fine.

I like Bri-Wax real well, but Johnson's is acceptable, though soft.

BTW, Slacum is good stuff as Tejano says.

Thanks Sitka, Tejano. I'll see how those products work. And will be tossing the silicone rag in the trash. Is the a product that I can use on the barrles and action for clean/protection that won't have a negative effect on the furniture? How about rem oil?

There are tons of silicone free anti-corrosion options. A base coat of paste wax is IMO&E the best start. Car waxes have silicone... Stay away from them obviously.

Any light oil is better than none, but Rem-Oil is not a favorite.

I am taking a break to eat a bowl of moose stew while processing the rest of the moose and having a brainfart over the one I usually use...

When it comes to me I will post it...

I had a cabinet customer bring me a gunstock for refinishing once. He wanted a varnish finish, so I swabbed it first with solvent, then hit it with citristrip, and proceeded with the sanding. The first coat had fisheyes in about every square inch. Upon querying him as to his cleaning/preserving techniques, he confessed to using Armor-All a couple times long ago. Grrrr. It took a lot of work to rid that stock of all traces of it, and lost my arse in the process. (A week long soak in acetone got the bear's share of it, but I tried so many things I couldn't swear to any one of them doing the trick.)

When talking to him about it, he admitted to Armor-Alling the exterior of his Alfa Romeo, too. I really pity the poor bast*rd who finds himself trying to re-paint that thing!

I have A Cooper rifle with an oil finish.

They recommend TC Bore Butter for stock maintance.

Works GREAT! My Wife likes it for natural wood trim inside the house also.

Virgil B.

I cannot imagine Bore Butter for a wood stock... I understand it is just soft wax in a food grade oil base. And it is sticky enough to collect dirt without hardening. I would be shocked if Cooper actually suggests it.

It is like Pledge and other such crap that looks fine with minimal effort, but needs to be done again very soon after. The waxes they use are soft...

Curious enough was I so I called Cooper... Yes, they did recommend BB on Coopers "many" years ago. They have some BP shooters there that had made the suggestion. They now suggest a commercial "Wood Cleanse" product.

The fellow I spoke to emphasized their finish does not in any way seal the wood and a paste wax base coat is what they believe in on their finished stocks.

Never wax an oil stock. Clean with a light wipe of mineral spirits. Reoil if needed. Don't believe all the horror stories about silicone either. It'll come off with a few wipes of mineral spirits. Auto body school taught us about the various myths of silicone many of which have been written in this thread. Forms of silicone are found in nearly everything including paints. I'd still not use it on wood stocks but don't worry, it will come off and not cause problems. Most problems stem from poor prep.

Never wax an oiled stock....! After typing a bunch of responses ranging from sarcastic to dumbfounded, I deleted them all out of respect for civility. But I am indeed astonished to hear someone say this!

Take a trip to Europe where oiled stocks are very common and you'll see they use oil on oil stocks.

I use to wax stocks and found they got a bit tackey and left fingerprints more than a quick wipe with mineral spirits and another light coat of oil. Wax works better on varnish type finishes.

Also note the op asked about Beretta oil finish. Beretta sells stock oil for maintaining their stocks. Not wax.

Sitka,

Thanks for making that call!

The bore butter thing was in my instruction booklet, with my rifle when purchased new.

Will be using something else on my Cooper stock from now on...
It's AAA Claro walnut, and do not want to take a chance on messing it up!

Virgil B.

Horseman
Wood is NOTHING like metal when it comes to cleaning it off. The stuff they use to get it off auto body work prior to spraying would damage a stock. Mineral spirits is not adequate to get it out of an irregular surface, period.

Oils work differently to level out than newer paints specifically designed to repaint auto bodies. For one auto paints do a much better job of leveling without fisheyes.

Suggesting not to use wax is ridiculous. Most oil finishes, and all oils designed for maintenance, include a fair bit of oil and waxes. Oils can be applied over wax without more than a quick wipe down with mineral spirits.

Good waxes will be harder than the old standards and will not fingerprint. Even Johnson's will not fingerprint under most conditions. Bri-Wax certainly will not fingerprint.

Berretta maintenance stock oil is more wax than anything...

Beretta stock oil is Tru oil call Beretta and ask. That's not wax.

The waxes I've seen fingerprint were Johnsons and even Renaissance wax.

I'm very familiar with how wood is different from steel having spent years in the wood finishing/restoration trade. If you have reached the pinnacle of learning and insist on believing myths about silicone, be my guest. I have successfully restored or topcoated many pieces including gun stocks that were treated with silicone. It is not the voodoo elixir some make it out to be. There are many solvents that will remove silicone without damaging the existing oil finish. Most horror stories are from uneducated finishers failing that simple step in the process.

Some polish manufacturers have jumped on the anti silicone bandwagon in recent years leading people to believe silicone is bad. In fact silicone is probably the most stable thing in those polishes and they do almost nothing without it. Silicone is actually added to paints and varnishes to reduce fisheye and even flow/coverage of said coatings.

You can lead a Horseman to water...

But obviously you cannot make him think...

Tru-Oil is VERY heavy to waxes.

I have seen the results of silicone... To suggest it is used to reduce fisheyes is laughable when speaking of wood finishing.

To suggest the news that silicone is bad is somehow new ignores a whole bunch of finishing history...

Again....If you think you have reached the pinnacle of knowledge, please continue to spread mistruths of silicone around the internet. I am not ignoring finshing history. In fact I'm quite certain I've got more schooling/experience than you on the subject. Feel free to believe what you want. I'm agreeing to disagree.

Fair enough on agreeing to disagree...

But do not be surprised if folks trust you and come back complaining... big time.

Might just run a few samples for show and tell...

So the solution to my silver pigeon stock is??? Thanks for all the input fellas
We can all agree that a good wipe down with mineral spirits is good for cleaning right? The million dollar question is what type of oil and wax on or wax off.
Horseman, you say beretta suggests and sells a stock oil that is actually tru-oil? Wax or not the oil doesn't sound like a bad thing from what I've gather....

If it were mine I'd wipe it down with a rag and mineral spirits. Then again with another clean rag and mineral spirits. Switching rags will remove silicone instead of just smearing it around. Then assuming you have an traditional oil stock I'd use a drop or two of boiled linseed oil rubbed in with your fingers. The next day a very light buff with 0000 steel wool and it should look slightly better than new. The Beretta oil is good but I thin it with mineral spirits so it's doesn't dry thick or glossy.

Okay, I was willing to give your stupidity a pass on the silicone... But BLO??? Come on now! It is garbage and should never be used on a decent stock! It will remain sticky forever!

Anyone with your level of claimed experience would not need this sort of information. Even good oils that sit too long fail... Again, anyone with minimal experience would know this.

Steel wool?!?!?! Yeah, your experience and skills are showing right and left.

Mgw619
Came home to a slug of emails, PMs, and phone messages from folks laughing at Horseman's silicone comments. They all know what I have done and most have seen what silicone does.

In my honest opinion Horseman is absolutely an internet commando with less than zero real experience. You will do yourself a favor by not taking his advice...

A wipedown or two with mineral spirits followed by wax... Johnson's at minimum, Bri-Wax is my favorite, Renaissance Wax is as good. The toluene in Bri-Wax does a great job of ensuring it coats well... so I avoid the less nasty version without it.

You should not need to do anything else. Do not add any oil unless you give it a serious wipedown with repeated shots of an assortment of solvents. Think about how you would wipe something down if you were trying to get rid of everything on it...
art

Boiled Linseed oil has driers in it and will dry overnight. I believe you are confusing it with Linseed oil which never dries. A light buff with 0000 steel wool is pretty standard polish for finish.

Perhaps someone of your superior intellect could offer actual advice rather than trolling again as you are famous for. 23,000 posts and most of little substance. What's with all the a$$holes from Alaska? Say Hi to stick for me.

Also Art. I'll give your credit for not disparaging me through PM this time. Let everyone see what a [bleep] child you are.

I forgot about that! No need to get sensitive...

No one with a single clue about wood finishing would EVER use BLO on a fancy stock... No one with ANY BLO experience would expect it to actually dry, especially overnight. I have detailed the whys of it in a number different posts here. Feel free to do a search.

You are a total bullshitter and you can take that anyway you like. If you think giving out the advice on this thread was a service to anyone you are so sadly mistaken it hurts to think about it!
art

art it isn't my duty to educate you. I won't beat my head against a wall anymore. You are the definition of an intellectual lightweight. Once again you have taken a good thread off track with trolling. Say hi to stick for me.

I am certainly happy you will not try to educate me again... You have not a single freaking clue what you are talking about and prove it with every key stroke.

To several earlier PMs I suggested no response was the right thing because with a little slack in the line you would surely hang yourself... and like the gay plastic surgeon you really hung yourself good!

Several callers this evening were laughing hysterically AT you. I was covered in moose goo making sausage and could not talk for long... but you were the butt of many a joke this evening, congrats!

Just for your education... I have met Stick exactly once in a random bump at the Anchorage airport when he was headed to the slope and I was headed to Juneau to drive a little boat to Whittier... That was June of 2010. I have had no communication with him since. So we are real tight...

About as tight as your grasp on reality and wood finishing.

Again... you are clueless and do a serious disservice every post you make about finishing. You have proven it beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Carry on!

23000 posts full of this garbage. Good work!

About the only time I use BLO on a stock is when I touch up a U.S. military stock, and then only for originality not because it's worth a tinker's dam. The gov't in their infinite wisdom used linseed oil (either BLO or hot raw linseed oil) not because of its superior water sealing or beautiful finish, but because it was cheap and what did they care if a stock got to be crappy. At that point the gun would just get another stock thrown on it and away it would go back into service.

Steel wool? Ha ha, it is to laugh. Anybody who has had little brown freckles develop in their stock finish after its getting wet a few times knows of the perils of tiny particles of steel wedging themselves in the wood and/or its finish. Restrict its use to indoor furniture projects, if you must, but refrain from using it on something that has a very real chance of getting wet outdoors.

Steel wool can be effectively wiped off between coats with a tack cloth. To get speckles means you missed that step. BLO is a component of most wood finishes like Truoil, linspeed and formbys. They just add more driers so it will polymerize into more of a varnish. This increases the finish durability immensely.

Sako uses BLO. BLO will match most factory oil finishes. Folks should use whatever they want. I'm not telling everyone what to use. Just the op who asked me.

Wow!

To paraphrase Reagan... it isn't that you are ignorant; it is all you know that just isn't so.

The BLO you find in a can at the hardware store is NOT the same stuff you will find in Tru-Oil.

Linspeed DOES NOT contain BLO.

Sako DOES NOT use BLO on their stocks.

You do not have a clue what you are saying... "They just add more driers so it will polymerize into more of a varnish. This increases the finish durability immensely." That is a classic case where you cluelessness has been made.

One of my favorite 24hr lines of all time "You should be asking advice, not giving it!"

[bleep]. I have toured the Sako factory in Finland in 2011. I saw the stock shop and what they were using. You are once again misinformed. 23000 posts of pure genius. You didn't even know BLO dried.... Go pack some more sausage tuf guy.

Just so you have a clue, here is one...

Oils come in many grades... BLO is pretty close to the bottom... The designation BLO means it is low-grade oil going in. The quality is variable, based on the current market. they throw a lot of stuff in it to help it cure and to prevent it from curing too fast. That would be for shelf life, not quality.

Higher grades of oil, both tung and linseed, get used for serious finishes. They never get called BLO because they are not.

Now, for the first time in your life you actually know something about BLO.

If the best you can complain about is post count, have at it...

Well at least now you know it dries right? [bleep] poser.

Here is a quote from a post of mine almost a year before you showed up here...

Re: Linseed Oil [Re: 3sixbits]
Sitka deer Offline
Campfire Kahuna

Registered: 02/02/01
Posts: 23950
Loc: Anchorage, AK USA I have simply seen more ridiculous finish applications from Guild members than all other woodworkers combined. Were it not for the incredibly forgiving nature of oil finishes they would be far more obvious.

French Polish is a finish system that has been well understood for centuries. How and why it works is pretty clear. Oil is used as a lubricant in regular French Polishing. The how and why are understood. Using just oil is not much different from the rubdown given to oil finishes after some curing has occured.

Sanding slurry finishing is the best example of a common guild headshaker. No one has ever shown me a test board with a slurry finish next to a straight finish that was not screamingly obvious.

I have read many systems from many guild members and know more than a few. I have never heard of any using an oil based French Polish.

Turning the cans of oil upside down is not the issue and does not stop the aging of oil. When oil starts to polymerize the linking is very gradual. It requires oxygen and generates heat in the process. When air enters the can it displaces the nitrogen blanket the finish makers usually put in the can.

It is impossible to stop the introduction of oxygen, so some manufacturers use a variety of "stablizers" to slow the linking. They act as oxygen scrubbers but need to evaporate fairly soon after swallowing the oxygen or they can do bad stuff to the finish.

Using old finish is one of the most common mistakes folks make and it can really bite them when the result is a gummy finish that will never solidify. Oil is too cheap to risk a stock finish on when there is no need...
art
_________________________
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.

In case you would like to learn some more about oil here is the link to the thread...
http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/2764232/1

Thinking I knew a little about oil before you showed up...

Yes you do "know a little about oil". The problem starts when you assume anyone who disagrees with you knows nothing.

I am done arguing with you. Your lack of fundamental knowledge about oils and finishing is obvious and there is no point wasting my time disabusing your fantasies.

Sounds good. Apologies to the op for going off track trying educate someone who knows everything already.