(cont)
Copyright William Marion 2009
While surfing the Internet to find information on an old rifle I’m restoring, I found a very interesting suggestion on how to clean old stocks and grips. Most firearms produced up to and through World War 2 had their wooden parts finished with boiled linseed oil. This was definitely a period finish for 1860’s vintage firearms, but I was surprised to find this finishing technique survived into the 1940’s. If you read some of our articles on refurbishing replicas or building kits, you’ll see that linseed oil is still the preferred finish. Linseed oil was plentiful, easy to apply and protected wood from water damage. Many of the surviving Civil War firearms are a testament to its durability. All that said, after 60 to 100 years, it looks ugly. The oil tends to darken and often obscures the wood grain. Add to that many years of cleaning, oiling and handling and you can image what the stock of a 1940’s rifle might look like. Just a quick note, on original period firearms, you may not want to remove the oiled finish. In most cases, collectors want the firearm to look old, not factory new. So unless you have a good reason to refinish the wood, leave period arms in their original condition. With that said, let’s get back to the task of cleaning and refinishing the 1940’s rifle.
I obtained a U.S. made 1940’s era .303 Enfield. The U.S. produced the British
I obtained a U.S. made 1940’s era .303 Enfield. The U.S. produced the British
Enfield under the Lend-Lease program prior to the United States entry into World War 2. This particular rifle looked its age and had been in storage for over 60 years. Needless to say, it needed a good cleaning. While looking for disassembly instructions, I found an interesting posting suggesting that the best way to remove old linseed oil finishes was with Liquid Plumber This surprised me a bit, but reading further, it made sense. Liquid Plumber contains sodium hydroxide, a strong alkali or base. It is used to dissolve grease and the posting went on to cite other ingredients that were similar to those used in wood pulp production.
Intrigued by the idea, I ran to my local hardware store and bought a bottle. I placed the 4 pieces of the stock in a laundry sink and liberally applied the Liquid Plumber NOTE: Be very careful, Liquid Plumber is very caustic and will cause skin burns. Wear gloves, eye protection and follow all cautions on the bottle. I used a paint brush to apply the liquid to the wood. After about 10 minutes I returned and found that much of the oil finish was removed. I rinsed the wood and then reapplied. You can see by the photos, that the stock was stripped to the base wood. Depending on the amount of finish, you may need to repeat the application a few more times. Once you have the bare wood, then apply a coat or two of
Intrigued by the idea, I ran to my local hardware store and bought a bottle. I placed the 4 pieces of the stock in a laundry sink and liberally applied the Liquid Plumber NOTE: Be very careful, Liquid Plumber is very caustic and will cause skin burns. Wear gloves, eye protection and follow all cautions on the bottle. I used a paint brush to apply the liquid to the wood. After about 10 minutes I returned and found that much of the oil finish was removed. I rinsed the wood and then reapplied. You can see by the photos, that the stock was stripped to the base wood. Depending on the amount of finish, you may need to repeat the application a few more times. Once you have the bare wood, then apply a coat or two of
Refinishing Tip
