Removing black powder stains from wood

[Tom Scoufalos]

Ok, this is sticking in my craw enough to see if anyone has any pearls of wisdom to offer-

I was using an ersatz 1795 Springfield flintlock at Assult on Allegheny. In the process of erecting shelter Saturday evening, rainwater dripped ino the muzzle and drained out the pan, apparantly forming a rivulet of dissolved powder that ran down the triggerguard plate before forming a miniature river delta on the underside of the buttstock. I didn't notice it right away, but apparantly it really penetrated and I can't get the dang thing out. I have had that occur while cleaning a piece, an I suppose owing to the short duration of time it has been on there have always been able to remove it rather easily with vigorous rubbing with a coarse cloth soaked in 1:1:1 BLO, turpentine, and vinegar. This sucker is here to stay, and it really wouldn't bother me much except is looks like the musket has developed a wickedly unsightly case of varicose veins.

Any tips or tricks short of trying to sand it out and restaining the stock to *hopefully* match? I admit I ain't holding my breath, but what the heck...

Thanx much-
Tom

[10TN]

have you tried a strong bleach solution?

[Tom Scoufalos]

I've seen reference to that and am considering it...if I give it a try, I'll post the result here so others can use my experience (hopefully, GOOD experience!) too...

Thanks!

[Blair]

Tom,

I wish I have some catchy witty little thing I could tell you about, but I do not. The stain has soaked into the finish and the acids may have etched into the finish deep enough to effect the wood.
(A word of caution; I would not recommend bleach unless you remove all the metal parts the bleach may come in contact with.)
Short of completely striping the stock and starting new... A good furniture wax like Briwax and a ton of elbow grease might help keep it from looking too bad.
You can melt bees wax and mix a small amount of boiled linseed oil and turpentine, making a past wax like mixture and rub it into the effected are with a ton of elbow grease. The effects maybe no better than with the Briwax.

[Tom Scoufalos]

That sounds a lot more conservative, so maybe I will give that a go. Come to think of it, why didn't I just ask you first?!? ;)

[Craig L Barry]

This has happened to me, not sure it is all that harmful either. I just clean it off with Hoppes # 9 which is a black powder solvent in a light oil base. It takes the fouling right off, and a light oil is not bad for the wood. If it has a linseed oil finish then it is water resistant (tung oil is virtually water proof), it should not harm or discolor the wood.

At the end of campaign season, you might winterize the stock with another coat of boiled linseed oil.

[Tom Scoufalos]

Craig-

Y'know, I have used that too in the past, on the rare occasions were rubbing with the BLO/turp/vinegar didn't cut it, and it worked really well. Unfortunately, this sonofa-b must just be too deeply set as I tried it (albeit maybe too briefly or with not enough "vigor") and the dang thing just sat there and taunted me.

Thanks all!

[Poor Private]

Try using a crocus cloth.

[Rob Weaver]

There's a stain on the wrist of my Brown Bess from the same extrusion. It's 30 years old. Take comfort in that in time, it becomes part of the finish of the stock.

[billwatson2]

a solution of baking soda might be worth a try. the black powder stain is acid -- sulfur compounds in the residue create what amounts to sulfuric acid. A caustic like baking soda might bond chemically to that residue and loosen it up out of the wood. Remember making a volcano erupt using vinegar and baking soda for your science project in fifth grade? Same idea....

[Pvt Schnapps]

Ballistol can't hurt, but then I've used Ballistol for a wide variety of applications, including blisters.

[Craig L Barry]

I love that stuff, is there anything Ballistol is not good for? But it is not a "stain remover" per se. I would say leave the discoloration if it is stubborn. If it comes off great, if not it is like the scars in fine leather, authentic proof of the article seeing use. A musket with field use is not out of place with stains on the wood from black powder.

[Slickrick214]

This happened to my 1853 Enfield. I did what Craig L Barry did but after I cleaned the stock I added walnut stain to the affected area. Lucky for me the walnut gun stock stain I bought from DGW matched my stock color perfectly and now you can't tell there was a black powder stain on the stock.