Thread: Rifle Mildew
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Old 16-04-10, 02:18
Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)'s Avatar
Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP) Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP) is offline
former OC MLU, AKA 'Jif' - sadly no longer with us
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lang View Post
I think the G96 guys are on the right track. Linseed oil can be a disaster -use the gun oil (of whatever brand you choose on the woodwork). Linseed is organic and particularly in warmer climates and I presume even Canadian collections are in a warm house it will start turning to black spotted staining mould all over the weapon. Anyone putting linseed oil on house outdoor decking or outdoor wood furniture will know it finishes up a black mess in very short time.

The residual moisture in the wood will leave the white furry mould like in photo above but can be cleaned off with damp cloth then reoiled with G96.

My little used gun collection requires the damp cloth fur removal about once a year no matter how much oil is soaked into the wood. Jiff don't sand it back unless you are going to sporterise or hotrod your weapon, I too also suspect it will devalue an original piece.

lang
Well, all I can say is that I've been using hand-rubbed linseed oil since I bought my first rifle in 1969, and I've never had problems with it. If the stock is clean enough and you spend enough time rubbing multiple coats of oil into the wood, it will keep rifle stocks in the same condition as, for instance, a 19th century cricket bat which I have here.

Ref the sanding bit, we're primarily talking about the old cheapie $25 Lee Enfields you used to be able to buy just about anywhere - well-used but badly maintained, with stocks gouged and dinged and covered with layer upon layer of varnish and sometimes even paint. The combination of stripping and sanding gently worked really well.

Nothing was lost and much gained by refinishing them in the manner I spoke of earlier. Would I do this on an 18th or 19th century musket? Don't be ridiculous. Here we're talking about old, beat-up service rifles which have little intrinsic value of their own and which can be made into magnificent presentation pieces.
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