Yay or Nay

[Old Time Hunter]

My son brought over the family heirloom, a '94 chambered in .32 Spec. My Grandfather bought it new. I am guessing sometime pre WWII as it has a serial # 1183XXX. Other than deer hunting once a year, the rifle has not been used.

It went from my Grandfather, to my Father, to me, and then I gave it to my oldest son. He has used it for the past 8 years or so and other than an annual surface cleaning, it has not seen any maintenance. But, during our hunt this year we were subject to a heavy, wet snow and instead of using a hard case, he used a soft case as he transported it through the woods on his ATV. Needless to say, as we were packing up at the end of hunting, I noticed the soggy case. When I pulled the rifle out and inspected it, two things caught my eye, a couple of small rust spots around the front edge of the forward hand grip and the finish of the stock appeared to have worn off allowing the moisture to soak into the wood.

So, I have decided to tear it down and give it a thorough cleaning.

My question is, should I completely refinish the furniture. Strip and refinish? Or just put a coat of wax on it?

[765x53]

Rub in some linseed oil and wipe it off. You're good.

[Oldncrusty]

I say nay to a stripping. I prefer that a gun look its age. Other than the belly area of the buttstock, I dont think it looks too bad. But I'm not holding it either. That said, it appears that the red toner or stain that Winchester used in their finishes has leached out of some areas and settled into others. What I have done to improve small areas like that it to use a Minwax stain pen (Its like a magic marker) to color the light spots to match the darker areas. It's a pain and takes some practice but I still have the original finish.
Since its staying in the family, there ain't a durn thing wrong with refinishing either if that's what they want. You can't hurt its sentimental value. Good luck.

[Tycer]

Turpentine, Linseed oil and water as hot as double gloved hands can stand it. Scrub with a terry or jute cloth. Let dry. Won’t take off any finish but will take decades of grime off and rejuvenate unprotected wood.

[AJMD429]

...
What's with these cases in the picture?

Screenshot_20220108-174258.png

[rossim92]

Turpentine, Linseed oil and water as hot as double gloved hands can stand it. Scrub with a terry or jute cloth. Let dry. Won’t take off any finish but will take decades of grime off and rejuvenate unprotected wood.

+1

[Old Time Hunter]

...
What's with these cases in the picture?Screenshot_20220108-174258.png

Misaligned turret press.... thought my grandson had a handle on it but he left some debris in the shell holder.

[Old Time Hunter]

Turpentine, Linseed oil and water as hot as double gloved hands can stand it. Scrub with a terry or jute cloth. Let dry. Won’t take off any finish but will take decades of grime off and rejuvenate unprotected wood.

How about Murphy's oil soap and hot water, then wipe off with denatured alcohol. Allow to dry and then linseed oil....or would tung oil be better?

[Tycer]

Turpentine, Linseed oil and water as hot as double gloved hands can stand it. Scrub with a terry or jute cloth. Let dry. Won’t take off any finish but will take decades of grime off and rejuvenate unprotected wood.

How about Murphy's oil soap and hot water, then wipe off with denatured alcohol. Allow to dry and then linseed oil....or would tung oil be better?

I learned that recipe here years ago. Maybe KirkD? Maybe TERRY. I don’t remember. It’s the only thing I use on old wood that’s not finished in shellac. I don’t care much for Murphy’s as it lifts broken poly on wood floors and leaves an odd residue on some ( not all) things.