M44 Stock Not getting Clean

[Zeke Menuar]

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I have spent the last five days removing the oil and grease that was embedded in the stock of my M44. It looks like all of the yuk is out of the stock. However there are one or two dark longitudinal stripes that run from the buttstock diagonally to the bayonet slot. The lines are in the grain itself. I cannot tell if the lines are part of the wood grain or dirt embedded in the wood grain. I believe the wood is an Eastern European Birch. Cleaners, strippers and boiling soapy water brought the stripes to the surface but haven't removed them.
Anyone ever ran into this problem before?

Thanks
ZM

 

[BenW]

What kind of cleaners have you tried so far? If you haven't yet, try Purple Power or the Orange Something degreaser sold in the auto section of Wally World. I use both of them with very good results. Another possibility is Clorox Oxygen Action. I haven't tried it yet (will be doing so on a really filthy VZ24 stock this weekend), but it's been getting rave reviews as the latest and greatest over on Parallax.

Also (kind of hard right now because it's Winter) sticking the stock in a trashbag and putting it in a car in the sun will really leach cosmo and assorted other greases out of the stock. You have to wipe and repeat a few times. You can replace the Sun with a kitchen oven, depending on if you're single or not.

 

[Zeke Menuar]

Hot soapy water cut with Dawn. Then the Orange stuff. Then the heavy stuff, Easy-Off. The rest of the stock is great but the streaks remain.

ZM