What's the best way to remove stains on wood from over zealous application of oil to the action and barrel? Can one ever completely get rid of them.

Wood is decent walnut that has not been softened but has been blackened where the oil has sat.

I have successfully removed oil from the tang area of a rifle this way:

take a clean pint/quart/half gallon can, punch a hole in the cap with a nail.

fill it 3/4 full with water, put it on a burner on the stove, bring water to a boil.

"bathe" the oily area in the steam jet, and repeatedly wipe the oil away as it bubbles up.

there are several other methods, they'll be posted I'm sure.

If you are going to refinish the stock, oven cleaner will get the oil out.
Pete

I always wanted to try the following process.

Pressure treat the wood with acetone or hexane to drive the solvent in deep and dilute the oil .

Then put it into a vacuum chamber and slowly pull the pressure down to evaporate the solvent and oil. It might not remove the stain but it should dry the sock so it could be stained and finished.

I restored an early Fox SxS that had a lot of old dark oil in the tang, trigger guard and wrist areas (very common on old shotguns). I soaked it in laquer thinner, changing out the thinner with clean every couple of days or so. Removed virtually all traces of the old oil.

It was suggested to me to get some Diatomatious Earth and add mineral spirits or solvent to its powdered form to make a paste and dab that on the afflicted areas, let it dry a few days. It works, I might give mine a second treatment pretty soon as it held it at bay for about 6 weeks now traces of the oil are starting to return.
D E is available at most nursery's and garden shops.

quote:

It was suggested to me to get some Diatomatious Earth and add mineral spirits or solvent to its powdered form to make a paste and dab that on the afflicted areas, let it dry a few days. It works, I might give mine a second treatment pretty soon as it held it at bay for about 6 weeks now traces of the oil are starting to return.
D E is available at most nursery's and garden shops.

I think you can use Fullers Earth, also; it may be the same thing (same thing used to make the mud for mud wrestling, all ya do is add water er , so I'm told).

Brownells sells "whiting" for oil removal, and it may be the same thing.