GunnyUSMC
Member
This is just a quick cleanup of a dirty VZ24 stock. I plan to sell the rifle, and a clean rifle will sell faster 5hen a dirty one.
First off, whenever you decide to clean a stock, it’s best to know what you want the end result to be.
For this stock all I wanted was to remove the dirt and check for damage. I was not worried about getting out any deep soaked in oil and cosmoline.
Here’s a pic of the rifle. It’s the one on the bottom.
Before I go any further, let’s talk about patina. Some will say that by cleaning a stock, you will remove the patina, but this is not true. Patina is caused from the natural aging of the woods surface. Now this will very due to the type of finish that was applied to the stock and anything that the stock was exposed to. Many surplus rifles were stored after being coated with cosmoline, which will add an orangish color to the stock. But removing dirt, oil and cosmoline does not remove the aged surface of the stock.
Now others will start saying stuff like, your removing the original finish. Let me tell you, if a weapon with a wood stock was ever issued, there’s a 99.99% chance that it no longer has it’s original finish left on it.
Here’s the stock off the rifle. As you can see, it’s dark and dirty.
Using harsh cleaners is bad for wood so, you want to avoid anything that will damage wood. I’ve been using a Tilex cleaner for years, but it’s no longer available. Simple Green is good , but I really hate the smell of it. So I’ve started using Purple Power. Now Purple Power is very strong so, I cut it with 1/3 water.
Here’s some of the dirt that came off the stock.
. I applied the cleaner and lightly scrubbed with a nylon brush. Washed off the cleaner with water and repeated a second time. I then wiped it dry and set it inside for it to dry. Here it is after sitting in the AC for about an hour and a half.
As you can see, it’s clean but looks dry.
I was not worried about getting the deep soaked in oil out of the stock, but I left it sitting in the sun for about 45 minutes so that you can see how fast color can come back to the wood as oil comes back to the surface. Most often it takes two or three days for the color to even out.
If I wanted more oil out of the stock, I would clean it again once the color had evened out.
Oh! Here’s that dirt that came off the stock after being in the sun for about three hours.
Out of room for pic, I’ll have the second part done in a few minutes...
First off, whenever you decide to clean a stock, it’s best to know what you want the end result to be.
For this stock all I wanted was to remove the dirt and check for damage. I was not worried about getting out any deep soaked in oil and cosmoline.
Here’s a pic of the rifle. It’s the one on the bottom.
Before I go any further, let’s talk about patina. Some will say that by cleaning a stock, you will remove the patina, but this is not true. Patina is caused from the natural aging of the woods surface. Now this will very due to the type of finish that was applied to the stock and anything that the stock was exposed to. Many surplus rifles were stored after being coated with cosmoline, which will add an orangish color to the stock. But removing dirt, oil and cosmoline does not remove the aged surface of the stock.
Now others will start saying stuff like, your removing the original finish. Let me tell you, if a weapon with a wood stock was ever issued, there’s a 99.99% chance that it no longer has it’s original finish left on it.
Here’s the stock off the rifle. As you can see, it’s dark and dirty.
Using harsh cleaners is bad for wood so, you want to avoid anything that will damage wood. I’ve been using a Tilex cleaner for years, but it’s no longer available. Simple Green is good , but I really hate the smell of it. So I’ve started using Purple Power. Now Purple Power is very strong so, I cut it with 1/3 water.
Here’s some of the dirt that came off the stock.
. I applied the cleaner and lightly scrubbed with a nylon brush. Washed off the cleaner with water and repeated a second time. I then wiped it dry and set it inside for it to dry. Here it is after sitting in the AC for about an hour and a half.
As you can see, it’s clean but looks dry.
I was not worried about getting the deep soaked in oil out of the stock, but I left it sitting in the sun for about 45 minutes so that you can see how fast color can come back to the wood as oil comes back to the surface. Most often it takes two or three days for the color to even out.
If I wanted more oil out of the stock, I would clean it again once the color had evened out.
Oh! Here’s that dirt that came off the stock after being in the sun for about three hours.
Out of room for pic, I’ll have the second part done in a few minutes...
