Wood cleaning

[Bob Loblaw]

I got my first bolt action rifle for christmas. It was my grandfather's quintessential rifle, sako with a custom .270 win barrel and wood stock. How do I care for the wood and lube the bolt? It hasn't been cleaned in awhile, and the bolt is... just not smooth.

 

[jbcalhoun]

I always just use a liberal coat of Hoppy's #9 on the wood. Rub it in and wipe off the excess.

As far a the bolt goes, you need to use a good quality gun grease on the back side of the locking lugs and a small amount of light oil on the bolt itself. It helps if you have a chamber swab to clean any old grease out.

Hope this helps.
Brad

 

[cowboy45]

Hoppes #9 is not made for wood!!! As fas as
the bolt goes per jbcalhoun, a combo of grease and oil will make a fine mess as well as hoppys on the wood.

There are actually 4 sides of a locking lug that contact metal. Grease is a good way to reduce wear but can congeal in the cold and does not tend to stay on in the heat. it also holds powder residue very well.
Most firearms whether wood/blue stainless/synthentic or otherwise present two different medias that require two differeent ways to clean and maintain.
Hoppes #9 is a great product that has been around for a long time and it works.
Not to take from anyones fire in the above post, but I have seen some very fine firearms totally screwed up from using a heavy hand and or the wrong thing to clean and maintain firearms. I shoot .45 alot, and the way I clean is to remove the grips and use carb spray cleaner to remove all the carbon and then break down ,clean and relube. replace the grips and you are good to go.
try that on a collectible winchester,sako,browning,colt etc. and you could ruin a very nice firearm.
Be nice to your guns and learn the proper way to care for them and they will make your grandkids happy when they fire them.

Good Luck and Merry Christmas

 

[jbcalhoun]

Hoppes #9 is not made for wood!!! As fas as
the bolt goes per jbcalhoun, a combo of grease and oil will make a fine mess as well as hoppys on the wood.

There are actually 4 sides of a locking lug that contact metal. Grease is a good way to reduce wear but can congeal in the cold and does not tend to stay on in the heat. it also holds powder residue very well.
Most firearms whether wood/blue stainless/synthentic or otherwise present two different medias that require two differeent ways to clean and maintain.
Hoppes #9 is a great product that has been around for a long time and it works.
Not to take from anyones fire in the above post, but I have seen some very fine firearms totally screwed up from using a heavy hand and or the wrong thing to clean and maintain firearms. I shoot .45 alot, and the way I clean is to remove the grips and use carb spray cleaner to remove all the carbon and then break down ,clean and relube. replace the grips and you are good to go.
try that on a collectible winchester,sako,browning,colt etc. and you could ruin a very nice firearm.
Be nice to your guns and learn the proper way to care for them and they will make your grandkids happy when they fire them.

Good Luck and Merry Christmas

I know that for over 50 years the above has worked well for me.

As a "benchrest" shooter the above method for lubing the bolt is "standard" practice.

While it may not be everyone's method, like I said...works for me!

Brad

 

[wshbrngr]

Well, I always use Murphy's Oil Soap on my wood stocks and it works really well.

 

[cowboy45]

JBCALHOUN,

I didnt mean to say that grease was a bad thing. As a benchrest shooter you probably have a cleaner rifle than most of the people reading this. I use grease on my firearms as well. What I was really talking about was the hoppes on wood. wshbrgnr has a good method with the murphys oil soap. Some of these guys and guys are younger and dont have the experience that others have. I have this mental image of someeone thinking, okay I got my first gun and if a little grease will help alot will be perfeect, and then taking it out Lubbock in the spring to shoot p-dogs. it is a learning curve that we may be able to help with. Nice thing about this sight is to be able to discuss and learn different things.

Merry Christmas

 

[jbcalhoun]

Hey Cowboy45, no problem. I sometimes don't always explain things enough. I never was a good teacher! You are right that too much of a good thing can cause problems.

Have a great holiday season!
Brad

 

[phatcyclist]

My only wood stocks are mil-surps (cheap ones) so I can't help you there. However I can tell you that USGI Plastilube grease works great on my bolt-action rifles. The good ones feel like glass and the not as good ones feel pretty good still. The USGI stuff can be a little on the hard side to find, but there should be plenty of rifle grease available at your local gun shop.

 

[gushrncir]

Bob, if this was mine, I'd remove wood stock from barrel & reciver. Then clean the parts. Different cleaning chemicals suggested above for the metal parts. For the wood, I would use Johnson paste floor wax, rub it on liberally, let it dry, and buff with a old bath towel. Good luck and enjoy grandpa's rifle.

 

[Major Woody]

I use Orange Glo on wood. Thank you Grandad!