Gunsmithing 1903A4 stock help

[cubewarrior]

Got a little bore solvent on my 03A4 stock and it acted like a light turpentine on the red stain--leaving a lighter color where the solvent came into contact with the wood.

Is there anything I can do to clean this up? The stock is in great shape, so I feel like a real dumb__s for doing this.

On the bright side, my 03A4 was printing inch groups at 100Y with the new Hornady load.

 

[ArcticLight]

Re: 1903A4 stock help

Get some hoppes #9 and oil the whole stock.

Solvent is just that - takes out the resin and/or oil from the stock.

I have yet to oil my stock but an y good oil should work.

look on http://www.odcmp.org for more info - they have this info there.

 

[alongshot50]

Re: 1903A4 stock help

linseed oil in several coats should do it...its what i use o mine +1 on the 1 inch groups...I love taking mine to the range

 

[168BTHPM]

Re: 1903A4 stock help

If you use boiled linseed oil mix it 50/50 with odorless mineral spirits or it will take forever to dry. If it doesn't turn out red enough for you try mixing in a small amount of red furniture polish with the linseed oil.

If you want to redo the entire stock, remove all of the metal and thoroughly wash the stock with hot soapy water to remove the old linseed oil. You may have to wash the stock several times to get all of the oil out of the wood. Once you are done washing the stock let it dry, lightly rub it down with some 000 steel wool before applying the boiled linseed oil.

The stock on the rifle in the photo is from a CMP 40-X that was fairly scuffed up and had a few dings. When the wood was still wet after washing out the oil finish I used a propane torch to heat the areas where the dings were to steam them out. I did not sand the stock, just washed it, steamed the dings, then rub it with steel wool before applying the oil.

 

[cubewarrior]

Re: 1903A4 stock help

The oil did the trick. Its about 90% of what it was after three coats. I'm adding about one coat a day, and suspect that it will be back to 100% by the end of this week.

Next time I shoot it, I will have towels all over the stock during cleaning.

Thanks

 

[ArcticLight]

Re: 1903A4 stock help

Or take it out of the stock!

Don't go overboard though, oil takes 6 months to years to turn red.

Militec-1 will turn red WITHIN 6 months - so far it has the game on turning wood red...I used it on the inside of one of my bamboo flutes LOL

Hey nice rifle there too!