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bob the goat
06-28-2009, 06:23 PM
I recently got two .303 British Enfields. One is in good (enough for me) shape. If worse comes to worse, I have one that shoots nice, and a wall hanger.

The other needs a LOT of work. It has a lot of rust on the outside and the wood is in rough shape. I got some 600 grit sandpaper and am taking the rust off very gently. I sanded the mag, and the metal near the front sight, and have them looking much better. I have a few questions:

1) After I sand I have been giving it a light rub with some Hoppes gun oil. Is this enough to prevent rust, or is there something else I should be doing to it?

2) What can I do to the wood? If I sand it to clean it up it will take off the finish that is on it. What can I use to protect the wood?

p.s. I'm currently unemployed, so the less expensive the solution, the better.

dfrak
06-28-2009, 11:30 PM
1) After I sand I have been giving it a light rub with some Hoppes gun oil. Is this enough to prevent rust, or is there something else I should be doing to it?
As far as removing rust, you might want to try using something a little less abrasive, like #0000 steel wool and oil or Hoppes #9 and then oil. I've let the Hoppes #9 sit on rusted parts overnight to help remove rust, then used the steel wool.

Another technique I tried recently with good results was electrolysis. There is a great thread with plenty of good suggestions here, including do it yourself electrolysis: http://www.migunowners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=49712

Of course, with any technique you use, you will want to take that rifle apart as far as you can/feel comfortable doing. There may be rust in other nooks and crannies that you can't see until you take it apart.




2) What can I do to the wood? If I sand it to clean it up it will take off the finish that is on it. What can I use to protect the wood?
Would you provide an idea of the type of finish on the stock? Generally, if you want to preserve the look of a military surplus rifle, you want to avoid sanding as much as possible. It's easy to remove marks or round corners that shouldn't be rounded.
I often start with some very fine steel wool and mineral spirits. I use very light pressure and often go over it more than once.
If there is a lot of oil soaked into the wood and I want to get rid of it, I have tried using spray-on oven cleaner on it. It seems to work, but I am not sure if that would create a long term issue with the wood.
Another way to remove the oil and other build up is to make a box with one side open. Line the inside with aluminum foil and place the stock inside the box. Let it sit in the sun for awhile on a bright sunny day. I have tried this a couple of times and was surprised at how much oil comes out of the stock. I had to rub the oil off several times.
Another approach I have seen, but never tried personally, is to let the stock sit out in the sun (no box), then rub more oil into it in the appropriate spots in order to get a uniform look. Actually, the person used Rig or Cosmoline, I don't recall which, but the results were pretty good.

If you are trying to remove dents, steam concentrated on the dent works very well at raising it. It won't do any good where wood is actually missing, of course.

Regarding a final finish, I stick with boiled linseed oil. I think it gives the closest look to the original finish on many military surplus rifles, but there are plenty of tung oil fans around as well. A discussion is going in this thread:
http://www.migunowners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=53780

Don't settle for just letting that Enfield be a wall hanger. I have a couple milsurps that have been resurrected from the scrap heap with a little effort and very little money (I am also unemployed!) that have turned into good shooters.

If you have more specific questions, be sure to ask. There are plenty of knowledgeable people here.

Dan