I'm refinishing a Stoeger IGA Condor Supreame O/U with a walnut stock. I couldn't stand the 19 coats of urathane anymore. It is now stripped and sanded. If I leave it alone wet spots appear on the stock. What the hell is going on? It seems like the stock is bleeding or crying! Its not sap but like water is coming out of it.

[ 02-19-2003, 09:07: Message edited by: Ranger Dave ]

Well, it might look like water, but if it is you must be livin' in a rain forest. It's probably oil that has soaked into to the wood over the years. Milsurp stocks are famous for this. Set them in the hot sun and watch 'em bleed oil. Hard to get all the oil out, some guys soak the stock in laquer thinner or acetone, some use oven cleaner. If you don't want to chance either one just place the stock in a hot sunny spot and let it bleed and wipe it down over and over til it quits (if ever). Putting it in the truck in the hot sun with the windows rolled up accelerates the process somewhat. When it's all done you might have a real nice lookin' oil finish on that baby!

The gun is only 2 years old.

They must have oiled it at the factory, didn't want the wood to rust...

Ranger Dave---

This is a re-post. You can use this method to get the oil out of the wood.

That stock is probably a South American walnut that's very pourous. Some of the Brazilian guns use the same stuff. They're impregnated with oil before they're dry. It makes a mess.

__________________________________________

Oven cleaners work on the same principal as making soap. A strong caustic will change grease into soap which is water soluble and will wash off with water.

Diatamatious earth (I'll call it DE....same as whiting, kitty litter, oil dry, Fullers Earth) is microscopic skeletons of diatoms.....they look like little snails and Periwinkles under the microscope.....it is extremely absorbent to all fluids. In dynamite it absorbs nitro glycerin, in the drive way or race track it absorbs oil and water. In kitty litter…….never mind.

DE is used in conjunction with any aggressive solvent.....MEK, acetone, naphtha, wood alcohol, white gas, 1,1,1 Triclorethelene, etc can be used. My favorite is acetone. USE ANY OF THESE OUTSIDE ONLY!!! All of them might rot your innards and most of them create the same velocity as a 22LR…….to you and your house!!!

Mix the powdered DE with the solvent into a thin paste and coat the stock with it......it helps to warm the stock first and then soak it in solvent......and then allow the paste to dry. Once dry, brush off the dust and do it again. I either sit the stock in direct sun or use a hair dryer on it to warm the wood and allow the contained oils to better mix with the solvents.

What's happening is that the solvent mixes with the oil in the stock and thins it.....this thinned oil is then absorbed by the whiting and can be brushed off…… The oil that used to be in the stock is now in the whiting and can be removed. It takes several applications and each one gets out less oil because there is less to pick up.

Solvents don't hurt wood. Anything that soapifys grease will also weaken wood (and anything organic). For that reason I stay away from oven cleaners.

The powdered calcium carbonate is very easy to use and inexpensive.

http://www.milehiceramics.com/glaze_chemical_prices.htm

$3.40 for 10 pounds. $15.00 for 100 pounds. Versus ~$10 for 2 pounds at Brownell's.

Has anyone tried "Spill Magic"? That stuff soaks up oil from concrete better than anything I've ever used. I'll bet if you packed the stock in that for a while it would pull the oil out. The stuff is available at Walmart and is pretty cheap. Might be worth a try. If I had a stock to clean I'd give it a whirl.

I used to buy DE for my swimming pool (it was used in the filter). A local swimming pool supply store should have it.

Regards,

Terry

[ 02-19-2003, 19:54: Message edited by: T.Carr ]

I looked at it this morning and it was dry. I had used a space heater inside a small room and it was nice and warm. I used a wet rag with mild soap on it and hand washed it. I just checked it later this afternoon and it is dry.

I'll let it sit and check it later. The fore arm I sprayed with Birchwood Casey Tru-oil and it looks sharp. Thanks Mr Leeper for the tru-oil suggestion!