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| Article Contributed by: Darren Locke | |||||||||
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NEW STOCK CLEANING PROCESS I have "de-cosmolined" more than a few surplus rifle stocks, and I think I have finally stumbled on to a process which does a very good job getting most of the grease out of old rifle wood. My first winter project for this year is my Remington 1903A3 that I purchased from CMP last April. As many readers know, the CMP 03's and 03A3's come heavily gooped with cosmoline. I wanted to shoot my rifle, so I degreased the metal and wiped down the stock well with mineral spirits and a lot of blue shop towels. I took a lot of grease off that way, and the rifle was rather nice looking afterward and a joy to shoot. I actually debated whether to refinish the stock or to leave it as is. Refinishing won out. The first step was to grab a bunch of surplus Korean '06 ammo and bust a few caps. This step is not mandatory, but it makes the remaining process much more fun, with all those good memories and all. . . . Now, I degreased my first 3 mil-surp projects with oven cleaner. Oven cleaner is good stuff, but it is very harsh due to the lye content and it seems to be self-limiting. In other words, it is not unlike the white perch that infest our lakes and rivers. It hits hard, but dies off quick. It is also NASTY stuff to deal with, so early on I went looking for something else. I discovered Purple Power (hereinafter, "PP"), which is available in the automotive section at Wal-Mart. It is non-toxic, biodegradable, and industrial strength. At four bucks a gallon, it goes a long way too. Some guys like Orange Cleaner. I have never tried it for stocks, so I can't comment on its effectiveness. I used PP on some other rifle stocks and was pleased. It really gets the grease out and it doesn't stink. They say to use gloves when using it. I used to, but over time have gotten used to the stuff. After disassembling the rifle, I took it to the sink and put a few ounces of PP (full strength) in an old teacup. Then I got an old toothbrush and got busy. I like the old toothbrush method because my old toothbrush belonged to my ex, so it pleases me no end to scrub grease with it. In retrospect, though, I think a cheap "hard" toothbrush (the kind that will make your gums bleed when new) would be a better way to go. The cleaning itself is not rocket science. Dunk yer brush and scrub away in circular motions. Try to get into the tight spots. During the first application the cosmoline will come out "big time" and you will splatter everything within 6 feet of the sink. No matter, as it wipes up easy. If your cup of PP starts getting a little thick from the toothbrush dunkings, dump it and refill. It doesn't make sense to spread old grease on your stock. After you scrub the entire stock this first time, let it sit for 5 minutes or so. It is a good time to have a smoke, if you are so inclined. Be careful not to let the stuff dry on the wood. After waiting a few minutes, hose the wood down well with hot water. Then repeat the PP scrubbing, let sit a few minutes, and hose off again. While the stock is still wet, clean out your PP container and put in some Dawn dishwashing soap, full strength. Scrub the Dawn in with the toothbrush, and then rinse thoroughly with hot water. Hang the stock up to dry. When dry, the stock will be pretty clean, but there will be cosmoline remaining. You can actually see some of it, especially in the "tight" areas. Now is the time to do some sanding, after the stock has dried a few days. I use 60-grit to get the bad spots and then sand the entire stock with 100-grit. You will likely notice that, if you pay attention to certain areas with sandpaper, the area will darken. That too is remaining cosmoline. I followed up on the sanding with another cleaning with PP and Dawn as described above. It was amazing how much cosmoline was running down the drain. The key was to pay special attention to the problem areas that remained after sanding first, and then cleaning the stock generally. You can repeat this process as many times as necessary. Of course, my next sanding expedition (the second) is going to involve a quick hit with 100-grit, then off to final sanding with 220-grit and steaming up any dents remaining. Sanding in itself will either remove and/or loosen a lot of grease. Can you get ALL of the cosmoline out of a stock? I doubt it, but the more that you can remove will help create a more uniform final finish. DJL |
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| Article Contributed by: Darren Locke |
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