Cleaning
Moderator: Aughnanure
Cleaning
I was wondering if anyone has tried steam to clean the cosmo off of wood stocks? Those small steamers look like they would work great at cleaning the grease out of metal as well at the wood. Would raise the grain a little but that
would lift up dings and dents then sand down nicely.
Just a thought
Dan
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would lift up dings and dents then sand down nicely.
Just a thought
Dan
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Cleaning of stocks
Dan- I don't know about you, but I would be afraid of doing more harm than good to the stock. Most of the milsurps have been stored for years with a thick coating of cosmoline, which effectively seals the wood in the stock from the ingress of moisture. Thus the wood under that cruddy layer is dry. I would think that steam forced at the stock would not only remove that cosmoline layer, but also force moisture into the interior wood. It would surely raise the grain, but I would be more worried about warping the stock. I tried something similiar to the handguard on a Russian M-44 once and it ended up with a curled up piece that stood up nearly a half inch in the middle!<!--EZCODE EMOTICON START : --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/ohwell.gif ALT=":">;
If you ask ten people what they prefer to do when cleaning stocks, I can guarantee you at least eleven answers! And they all will differ.;
Curt
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If you ask ten people what they prefer to do when cleaning stocks, I can guarantee you at least eleven answers! And they all will differ.;
Curt
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Re: Cleaning of stocks
I agree with you about a lot of steam...I don't mean to put the entire stock in a steam box, but those small steamers that they sell for about 50 bucks has a wand handle and only shoots a small stream of steam at low preasure. When doing woodworking I have used steam ( wet rag with the wife's steam iron over it) to raise a ding or small dent in wood and it works great. Was just wondering if that might help get out all that cosmo from stocks. I think I'll try it on the ends of the wood stocks that are covered by metel bands. They always seam to hold the most cosmo and turn the wood black.
Again just trying, will post my findings.
Dan
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Again just trying, will post my findings.
Dan
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Steaming out dents
Steaming out dents that way usually works fine, if the dent is not too deep and the grain of the wood is broken. I think you have the right idea to check it on a small part of the stock first. I have often wondered if it made much a difference as to what type of wood it was. Seems that some woods have a tighter grain than others, so it would make a difference in the absorbtion of the moisture. But, like I stated earlier, I really doubt that two cases would ever be the same. Let us all know how it works out for you.
Curt
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Curt
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Re: Cleaning of stocks
CaptDan3:
Did you try the steam on your stock, and what were the results?
Thanx Dante'
long live <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>want steam heat</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> Burul ;)
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Did you try the steam on your stock, and what were the results?
Thanx Dante'
long live <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>want steam heat</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> Burul ;)
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No. Steam, being very hot water vapour, could damage the stock. Cosmoline is a petroleum based grease. It's a sort of thick Vaseline. Anything that dissolves that will work. Wouldn't suggest kerosene or gasoline though. They work, but they're toxic as hell. However, mineral spirits can be used on the steel and the wood with no fuss. It's cheap too.
Dispose of the resulting sludge properly. It'll be toxic too.
Dispose of the resulting sludge properly. It'll be toxic too.
Spelling and grammar always count.
I use ...
a garbage bag .... I put the stock in the garbage bag on a nice hot sunny day and wait a few hours ... then I wipe the stock down and put it back in the bag ... it may take a while but I haven't had any damage to the stock doing it this way ...