I am still working on my Winchester 1873/3rd variation 32-20/manufacture 1903 project. The Kroil applied with AC hardware copper wool pads and the 100% pure acetone method worked great on the metal without any issues. Waiting on a couple parts and that portion will be completed.

As for the stock and forearm I cleaned all the grime off using lemon oil and murphy’s oil soap. As you can see from the previous pic’s the stock was very much blackened from years of gun oil that had soaked into the wood fibers. I was a little hesitant however after watching a video of Larry Potterfield of MidwayUSA I soaked the stock in acetone and it pulled a lot of the gun oil out of the wood without compromising the aged look of the wood.

At this point what should I use to bring back the luster/shine and to preserve the wood? Linseed Oil?

Also what type of gun stock oil did Winchester originally use on this model/year?

Thanks,

Phil

Mike,

Your project turned out very nice, good work.

Do you know what type of gun stock oil Winchester originally used on this model/year?

I have read that it was a proprietary linseed oi base solution with ground Walnut providing the stain. I also see a lot of what is called Pre-64 Stock Oil’s that are linseed based.

Thanks,

Phil

Hey guys sorry for taking so long getting back. I have been busy out of town on business however when I did have some time our site was having the web server issues.

I did read through several posts related to how to rejuvenate/preserve wood stocks.

Wayne I read Mike Hunter’s Winchester Wood Finishes article. Very interesting approach and research related to the mystery associated with what type of oils and finishes that Winchester would have used back then.

Wayne back in November of 2014 you were helping a guest member in a thread called “1873 Stock preservation”. For that project the following method was suggested.

“…………if the color is right after cleaning up the old gunstock, rub in Pure Linseed oil cut 50-50 with a quality Mineral Spirits.  Apply across the grain and rub in by hand a few hours after application.  10 to 15 coats should do it and you’ll have an authentic refinish job.  That’s what Winchester put on the originals. If the color needs some enhancing I’ve used the old Outers Gun Stock Stain & Stock Filler first. It is the closest thing I’ve ever found for duplicating the original Winchester reddish color.”

The guest member however never provided any updates or results.

On a different thread below called the “Rust Removal post” looks like Michael had very good results with your below approach and method.

Thanks for the kind words and for taking the time to post your tung oil method, Wayne. For clarification I did not add any stain, just applied three coats of 50/50 tung oil/mineral spirits. If I had tried to repair the wood or remove the oil stains, scratches and dents I would have had to refinish and stain it. My goal was to preserve the character of this hard-working old gun while giving it a good cleaning to prevent further damage.

So not sure if from different projects and experiences if one method is preferred over the other. After reading the article and several threads I am a little on the fence as to which approach however I am leaning toward the tung oil method, what do you guys think?

I really enjoy Winchester collecting however it terms of experience on this website/forum I am a newbie and when it comes to wood I have very little to no experience.

Due to the condition I picked up this 1873 up at a very good price. As you can see I have been working on it for a while and want to not only show it, shoot it but preserve it so it will last for many more years.

The help and guidance is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Phil

Thanks guys,

From all the reading and research going with the 50/50 tung oil/mineral spirits mixture. Is there any preferred brand of Tung seed oil? Also what type of application process should I follow i.e. apply cross grain by hand or cloth and allow to dry for X amount of time? Then followed with X amount of coats?

Thanks again,

Phil

Ok I am finally making some progress. Way too much work stuff and no play.

Please take a look and let know what you think. Sorry for the indoor pic’s. I wanted to take a few in day light sun but it has been raining.

This is after 5 coats of the 50/50 tung oil/ mineral spirits. To be honest with you for the first 3 coats I was not applying correctly. After some reading and experience I realized I was not rubbing in the solution hard enough as some indicate to the point where you create heat friction proceeded by wiping with a clean cotton cloth.

Basically the more elbow grease the better my results were.

Wayne,

Also I was very concerned with loss of the original red stain tint and starting reading up on the subject. I will let you guys let me know but I believe I have retained enough reddish tint that this one should be ok. I did read back on another forum called “Alkanet Colored Oil Finish” where you were experiencing with a 1oz. 50% tung oil/50% mineral spirits with 1/2 teaspoon of powdered alkanet root solution.

Do you use the alkanet version on projects like this one?

After you guys referred me to Mike Hunter’s Winchester Wood Finishes article in the Winchester Collector club magazine I sent an email inquiry and Trish Smith contacted me and is sending me a back dated copy. I read the article several times and just had to have a print copy. Mike’s research and analysis makes a lot a sense to me. BTW the 1894 rifle, boots and saddle on the cover are her dad’s. Pretty cool! Beautiful rifle and with family history, those are the best ones.

Thanks for your help,

Phil