Gew 98

[kevin]

Ok, so yesterday i got a 1916 Oberndorf mauser that is COMPLETELY matching except for the firing pin, (no force matches) the stock, extractor, mag, and EVERY single part is matching and there are no import marks. The stock is really nice but EXTREMELY dried out and has never been sanded or refinished. There are original stampings still prominent in the wood. The only thing i dont like is that its beech wood but isnt the crappy looking beech you regulary see.

What can i do about the stock? ive got a can of BLO, would this be enough?

Ill get pictures up soon, its completely broken down on my table covered in Kroil. It looked like a nasty rusted up 1888 commision rifle from OWS but its cleaning up. The receiver is in the white but really tarnished dark. The bolt is the same way. Is there a way to clean the receiver and bolt up without making it really shiney? what about naval jelly? The bore is absolutely pristine. I want to keep it as original as possible.

[M1 Tanker]

Kevin, I use cheap gun oil on my German rifle stocks. Sunflower oil was something they used. BLO will work, but is going to darken the wood.

You suck :P You got one to sell to me yet?

[kevin]

i am dumping stuff to get mostly german stuff in my collection

im working on getting an mg34 now, and ive got an m53/mg42 on order with CAI

here is a pic of my kar98a, a k98 i just cleaned got done cleaning up (removed flacking shellac and applied BLO, and the gew 98
every single part on this gun except the firing pin matches. I also swabbed the bore and its mirror bright and looks like a brand new bore in a k31

any tips for the receiver clean up?

(and yes, the bolt for the kar98a isnt there, its in the safe, and my bolt parts for the gew 98 are still soaking in kroil)

[kevin]

i thought they used BLO on all the german guns? will the blo or sunflower oil help the dried out wood? the orange cleaner i used to wipe the stock off soaked in so fast it didnt do much good for cleaning. Im also glad i have no nasty import markings on the kar and gew
i also need a bayo now for the gew 98

Sadly my grandpa sold my great grandpa's ww1 german bayonet just a few years ago that he carried as a soldier in the german army. Somehow he had the rifle too when he came to the USA but it was sold 60 years ago or so. His uniform went in the garbage back in the 50's because my great grandma didnt like seeing it

[M1 Tanker]

Kevin here are some stock cleaning tips for a K98 stocks.

-If it was a RC gun do this first, use denatured alcohol (it won't hurt the markings) to remove the shellac. Use naval jelly to remove the bluing from the buttplate.

-I always start with Acetone, as it will not hurt the markings on the stock. Wipe down the gun until you can't get it any cleaner with an acetone soaked rag.

-If its still dirty, then this is what you do. Cover all markings (waffenamts, serial numbers, etc) that you want preserved in grease. Rub it in.

-Spray the stock with scrubbing bubbles and let it sit about 10 minutes. Then QUICKLY rinse the stock in hot water. A mist is better. You don't want to soak the stock in water and take the risk of warping it. Just rinse off the scrubbing bubbles/dirt and then dry the stock of any standing water.

-Give it 30 minute or an hour and look at it again. You can do the same thing again, but I wipe down with Acetone first and reapply the grease.

-Once you are finish, you can go over it with some steel wool if its a little fuzzy.

-Make sure its good and dry, then apply oil. Yes, BLO will work, but it will darken the wood. Here are some stocks I did last week. Remember some German stocks are walnut, some red glue laminate, some white glue laminate, some sanded/stained others rough unstained. Never use water on a white glue laminate, it'll come part.

1807

1808

1809

[kevin]

i noticed that the BLO darkens the wood, what oil did you use for your stocks? sunflower? i like to keep my stuff original as possible. What do you think i should do with the receiver and bolt? I dont want it to end up bright blinding white, but the receiver is a dull tarnished brown black. It looks bad though. Ive never used naval jelly so i dont know how bright the metal would come out? This thing sat in a warehouse for MANY Years, it still had cosmoline in the bore and on the outside that was harder than dried shellac.

Ive got some K98s that have absolutely beutiful stocks even with the nasty shellac over them, if i could find a way that it wouldnt darken i would refinish them as well. I usually clean with orange glow and when i get around to it strip and clean them with denatured alcohol then apply BLO, because i was told BLO was what the germans used.

I have a couple hardwood stocks that at the rear of the buttstock are really dried out. There are small 1/4 inch hairline cracks in the grain because they are so dry. WOuld you think superglue in the cracks before refinishing would be the thing to do? It seems some of them need something to remoisten the wood? or they will crack into pieces when i shoot them!

[M1 Tanker]

Kevin, on every stock in that picture I used some cheap gun oil like Outers....its not good for anything else :P I've never read anything that said the Germans used BLO. I've heard Raw Linseed oil, sunflower oil, and motor oil. Once in the field they used whatever they could find.

WHy would you mess with the receiver and bolt? Naval jelly will STRIP the bluing, so only use it on the buttplate. I just clean my guns and oil them. Don't attempt to remove that patina or your going to find the gun in the white. If youdon't like it, I have a friend that reblues rifles for $125.

Just rub oil in your stocks until it quits soaking it up. It may take a few days of doing it. I would have to see the crack to say.

[Smokehouse69]

I've read a bunch of guys using BLO, tung oil, peanut oil and all sorts of other oils on their stocks. I use Watco teak oil, it's just my preference it soaks in good and dries pretty fast, plus it doesn't get shiny when it dries. The more you put on the deeper the grain in the wood looks, but it doesn't get darker.
I found it a couple of years ago at Lowe's, I was looking at the tung oil finishes and an old man suggested the teak oil. He said it worked great on walnut and other dense woods. He was right. :rocker:

[M1 Tanker]

BLO will without a doubt darken german stocks. I've tried it 4 times and all 4 times I've had to strip it off because I didn't want them dark.

Also, tung oil is the wrong finish for a german rifle.

Everything you suggested works extremely well on wood stocks, but it all depends on what your going for. Kevin is trying to match the original German finish. It would be like putting Tung oil on a USGI M1 Garand stock, instead of BLO.

[kevin]

i thought that the bolt and receiver crossbolt and buttplate were in the white on original gew98's, my receiver is in the white under the wood and either really tarnished or blue that never took well on the top of the receiver

the bolt is half in the white like an unblued bolt and half blued or darkly tarnished

[M1 Tanker]

No idea Kevin...I'm not a WWI rifle guy, but I can't imagine them being in the white for a combat rifle that has to withstand the elements for weeks/months at a time. They would immediately be susceptible to rust in the white.

[kevin]

my receiver basicly looks like this one, its not mine but looks almost identical with the coloration. I think the handle on my bolt may have been blued its so dark

because the buttstock is really dry, especially the last 4 inches of the butt, i put some BLO on it. For about 20 minutes i kept applying it and the entire time it was soaking it up as fast as i could apply it. Ill let this sit a few hours and get the acetone rag out and see what happens. I wish i knew what was best to apply to the wood, i hate the shiney finishes ive seen people do. I may have to try sunflower oil?

[M1 Tanker]

Are you ignoring the gun oil thing? You ask, I told you and you seem to not like it. Its was they used....if you want to use BLO...use it. Its just wrong for an original finish.

[kevin]

so your using basicly walmart gun oil? You said you used outers gun oil? I didnt understand if you mean oil like for lube, or oil like tru oil stuff. I like how yours turned out. about the soldiers using motor oil, i thought that would make the wood deteriorate?