I've read it so many times, but never cared to save or write down the steps.

1.  I have the typical dark spots or dents in the stock, and or just dark streaks throughout the wood.
2.  I have dents that aren't filled with dark coloring, just dents.

How do I take care of both?

just an fyi, the coating whatever it was was removed with denatured alcohol and mineral spirits, a light sanding will follow whatever I do to take out these blemishes.

thanks.

-mark

Here is a link to an EZ Board Forum about nothing else but C&R Stock Cleaning, it is the best on the net and is overseen by a professional cabinet maker

http://p102.ezboard.com/fparallaxscurioandrelicfirearmsforumsfrm34

You will have to get an EZ Board account (free) but it is more than worth it

i can't acess the link, anyone else have any tips or suggestions to mausermark's ??

Hmmm, I was having trouble viewing the link too even though I am registered. Go here, then towards the bottom it has the Stock Cleaning forum. Go in there and it's the same place listed above.

p102.ezboard.com/bparallaxscurioandrelicfirearmsforums

For some reason I had to go through the main forum to view it, but the url is the exact same as the one posted. Might be a restriction lock to prevent people from directly linking to content on the forums.

well, I went ahead and started it on my own.

cooked out as much cosmo as I felt could be cooked out over a 2 week period in the heating chamber I made out of some aluminum air tubes from Home Depot/Lowes, and a ceramic heater.

Scrubbed the stock down with some scotchguard pads and soapy water, let it dry, did it again, the more and more the stock looked cleaner and cleaner.  Lightly sanded with highest grit I could find.  Wiped down/cleaned off with mineral spirits.

Currently sitting in the Garage with one coat of BLO and Mineral spirits mixed at about 50/50.  Gonna steel wool the excess off tonight and put another coat on and then let it sit in the sun.

Quoted: well, I went ahead and started it on my own. cooked out as much cosmo as I felt could be cooked out over a 2 week period in the heating chamber I made out of some aluminum air tubes from Home Depot/Lowes, and a ceramic heater. Scrubbed the stock down with some scotchguard pads and soapy water, let it dry, did it again, the more and more the stock looked cleaner and cleaner.  Lightly sanded with highest grit I could find.  Wiped down/cleaned off with mineral spirits. Currently sitting in the Garage with one coat of BLO and Mineral spirits mixed at about 50/50.  Gonna steel wool the excess off tonight and put another coat on and then let it sit in the sun.

I think there's as many ways of doing this job as there are rifles.  

If you're serious about getting rid of dark spots there are wood bleaches available although I don't have any experience with them.

I never let one sit with BLO applied for more than 15 minutes before wiping off the excess.  I then repeat 24 hours later and as many times as it takes to reach my desired shine.  I also use a 50/50 cut with MS.  I am doing the same with a Garand and some Tung oil this week and it's looking great!

Raising dents is done with a hot iron and a wet cloth.  I use a piece of flannel doubled over and wet with water, some like terry cloth.  Place it over the dent and apply the hot iron letting the steam pull the dent up.  It works pretty well if the wood strands haven't been cut.  I found the perfect iron in a local thrift shop.  It was invented for model airplane builders for applying the mylar wing covering.  It's about three inches long and a couple wide with a straight handle coming out of the back of it.  They are available at your local hobby shop.

Quoted: Quoted: well, I went ahead and started it on my own. cooked out as much cosmo as I felt could be cooked out over a 2 week period in the heating chamber I made out of some aluminum air tubes from Home Depot/Lowes, and a ceramic heater. Scrubbed the stock down with some scotchguard pads and soapy water, let it dry, did it again, the more and more the stock looked cleaner and cleaner.  Lightly sanded with highest grit I could find.  Wiped down/cleaned off with mineral spirits. Currently sitting in the Garage with one coat of BLO and Mineral spirits mixed at about 50/50.  Gonna steel wool the excess off tonight and put another coat on and then let it sit in the sun. I think there's as many ways of doing this job as there are rifles.   If you're serious about getting rid of dark spots there are wood bleaches available although I don't have any experience with them. I never let one sit with BLO applied for more than 15 minutes before wiping off the excess.  I then repeat 24 hours later and as many times as it takes to reach my desired shine.  I also use a 50/50 cut with MS.  I am doing the same with a Garand and some Tung oil this week and it's looking great! Raising dents is done with a hot iron and a wet cloth.  I use a piece of flannel doubled over and wet with water, some like terry cloth.  Place it over the dent and apply the hot iron letting the steam pull the dent up.  It works pretty well if the wood strands haven't been cut.  I found the perfect iron in a local thrift shop.  It was invented for model airplane builders for applying the mylar wing covering.  It's about three inches long and a couple wide with a straight handle coming out of the back of it.  They are available at your local hobby shop.

Fair warning, you will need to sand again after using the above method for raising dents.. At least I did when I rehabbed an Enfield stock set.  Not a lot, but it will raise up the grain a bit.  Steel wool should do it.

Quoted: I never let one sit with BLO applied for more than 15 minutes before wiping off the excess.  I then repeat 24 hours later and as many times as it takes to reach my desired shine.  I also use a 50/50 cut with MS.  I am doing the same with a Garand and some Tung oil this week and it's looking great! well I use a sponge to soak up the thinned mixture of BLO and MS and coat the stock over and over again.  Let it dry for a while (maybe half and hour) and rub off the excess with the sponge, let it dry in the sun then come back and do it again, it's out in the sun now.  Might not need a second coat, don't really want a gloss finish, just something to protect against air moisture over time. Raising dents is done with a hot iron and a wet cloth.  I use a piece of flannel doubled over and wet with water, some like terry cloth.  Place it over the dent and apply the hot iron letting the steam pull the dent up.  It works pretty well if the wood strands haven't been cut.  I found the perfect iron in a local thrift shop.  It was invented for model airplane builders for applying the mylar wing covering.  It's about three inches long and a couple wide with a straight handle coming out of the back of it.  They are available at your local hobby shop. Yep, I've thought about the dents problem, but it seemed too much work for me, and this one really didn't have dents as bad as the K-31's usually have.  The darkness in most of the stock was cleaned off by the scotchguard pads and the water with bleach soap.  I let that dry and it all came out a lot lighter, so I'm hoping the BLO will darken it up a bit, will post some pics tonight maybe.  The good thing about projects like this (where I don't coat the stock in Poly) I can continue to work on it if I'm not happy.