My old Mauser sporter stock has fairly heavy grease stains on the inside, around the magazine box. The wood does not seem softened by it. I plan to refinish the stock and want to seal the inletting. What's the best way to remove the grease? Thanks, Bob

Easi-Off oven cleaner.

I have run across this many times and this method has worked wonders with old oil soaked stocks from the 40's and 50's that have stood on butt end allowing oil to soak in. If you take short cuts with oil removal it will come back after you have finished your finish (done that too)This works

Strip stock finish with EZ Strip or equivelent. Wash with water...let dry.

Give stock a bath in mineral spirits to remove any strip residue. This also will swell up a lot of dents/scatches. let dry

Use a blow drier on hottest setting or preferably a heat gun on the oil spots and you will see the oil rise up out of the wood wet. Wipe that off with a paper towl containing some laquer thinner. Repeat until oil stops rising.

Dip the stock in a bowl of pure bleach and let dry. Repeat that a couple of times allowing it to dry and wiping off residue. Your stock will be oil free and will take finish properly. The old book that I robbed most of this procedure from talks about staining the wood after the bleach to restore the color but I have not had one actually bleach out the wood ever. Maybe bleach was stronger back then (50's)

I just refinished a 6.5 stock. Friend of mine refinishes furniture. following their instructions, I stripped the stock, wiped it down with mineral spirits and then used a hotwater bath with TSP. (I was worried about warping, but I didn't experience any) I tried it on the stock, worked great. Stained it using alcohol base stain and finished with tung oil.

I used "simple green" cleaner from Wally World....worked great!

mike

I used mineral spirits to clean one of my mauser 98's, and the first time I took it to the range last summer it leaked oil from every pore the stock had. A friend of mine used a heatlamp, then boiled the stock in a cleaning tank for blueing, then left it in the windshield of his truck with paper towels under it in the summer, changing the towels as needed, here in Texas. So far he has had no leaks of oil. I guess sometimes they can be really oil soaked.
Good luck and good hunting.