How to take care of the mauser.
- Thread starter Davey
- Start date
I use ballistol exclusively. It's good stuff and "original." On the stock it's best to use nothing particularly if it is not oil soaked and heavily used. I will wipe a used and dirty stock with a light touch of ballistol on a white towel or rag, but nothing is best. I won't tell you the other product I may use on a used and abused stock as it will inspire considerable debate 
But it's never BLO.
But it's never BLO.
)
Fal Grunt
Senior Member
Can we please compile a sticky?
There are members here with long running curatorial experience, can we not put a sticky together of approved methods and cited sources?
I mostly lurk on this forum as I simply do not know enough to even rarely post, but this is a subject that I am frequently dumb founded there is not more clear concise information on this forum.
I have seen many of you post collections that are worth far more than my entire net worth, I would hope you are spending time and money preserving this investment?
This is one subject that there is more TERRIBLE information available than good... forget war eagles and SS Runes.
There are members here with long running curatorial experience, can we not put a sticky together of approved methods and cited sources?
I mostly lurk on this forum as I simply do not know enough to even rarely post, but this is a subject that I am frequently dumb founded there is not more clear concise information on this forum.
I have seen many of you post collections that are worth far more than my entire net worth, I would hope you are spending time and money preserving this investment?
This is one subject that there is more TERRIBLE information available than good... forget war eagles and SS Runes.
S/42
Thunda from down unda
As far as I recall, the Wehrmacht gave orders pre-WW2 for rifle stocks to be maintained with lackierend liensemenol - "lacquering linseed oil" - I believe this roughly equates to boiled linseed oil, or a Danish Oil equivalent (not the modern garbage with polyurethane etc in it, but the real stuff). This eventually changed, as linseed became less and less available, to Ballistol (in German use for decades prior to WW2).
So, technically, you COULD "rejuventate" a pre-WW2 stock with linseed (as the pre-war stocks show definite tell tale signs of linseed polymerised finishes), but if the stock does NOT need it, DON'T! I will clean down a dirty original stock with either Ballistol or even Bill Reed's old chestnut of vaseline wipe down on a towel. I no longer chase any laminate, so will defer the preservation of same to others, as, simply, I am sure my info would be wrong on laminates, though pre-WW2 laminates probably were treated as above (again, they show many indications of such treatment). Some people (AHEM! LOL) used to use Howards Feed N Wax, but I see this has gone by the way side, thankfully. It does work well, but it also adds another layer of something the Germans didn't use, and it does darken laminates. I am happy to use it on my Mauser Mm-410B .22 commercial rifle, but NOT on a military rifle.
German stocks seem to have used something akin to vaseline or a quite waxy grease as the stock sealer INSIDE the channel etc and to keep out water along the edges. Swedish stocks DEFINITELY did. I have encountered it MANY MANY times in German original stocks, Norwegian regurgitations and even RC stocks. The Sauer stock I gave a going over recently was chock full of a petroleum based grease inside the barrel channel and action area, that was a distinct reddish colour - possibly axle grease! Whenever I restore a rifle with a Norwegian take-off, I always put in vaseline along the wood-metal interface gaps prior to re-assembly.
So, technically, you COULD "rejuventate" a pre-WW2 stock with linseed (as the pre-war stocks show definite tell tale signs of linseed polymerised finishes), but if the stock does NOT need it, DON'T! I will clean down a dirty original stock with either Ballistol or even Bill Reed's old chestnut of vaseline wipe down on a towel. I no longer chase any laminate, so will defer the preservation of same to others, as, simply, I am sure my info would be wrong on laminates, though pre-WW2 laminates probably were treated as above (again, they show many indications of such treatment). Some people (AHEM! LOL) used to use Howards Feed N Wax, but I see this has gone by the way side, thankfully. It does work well, but it also adds another layer of something the Germans didn't use, and it does darken laminates. I am happy to use it on my Mauser Mm-410B .22 commercial rifle, but NOT on a military rifle.
German stocks seem to have used something akin to vaseline or a quite waxy grease as the stock sealer INSIDE the channel etc and to keep out water along the edges. Swedish stocks DEFINITELY did. I have encountered it MANY MANY times in German original stocks, Norwegian regurgitations and even RC stocks. The Sauer stock I gave a going over recently was chock full of a petroleum based grease inside the barrel channel and action area, that was a distinct reddish colour - possibly axle grease! Whenever I restore a rifle with a Norwegian take-off, I always put in vaseline along the wood-metal interface gaps prior to re-assembly.
cjsmitty128
Member
Ok, so the finish on my rifle is starting to wear through in a few places, particularly around the action, trigger guard and bolt knob. It's not in collector condition obviously but I'd like to keep it close to original as possible. Any suggestions on fixing this up?
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I would assume most members on this forum would suggest doing nothing in regards to finish. Only worry and treat active rust.
As soon as you hot blue and refinish a rifle you take away all authenticity and originality. You also decrease any residual value immensely.
One option is a cold blue. These are often easily reversible and attempt to replicate an original finish and can improve the esthetics of a worn finish. However, I would tend to stress my first sentence of this post.
As soon as you hot blue and refinish a rifle you take away all authenticity and originality. You also decrease any residual value immensely.
One option is a cold blue. These are often easily reversible and attempt to replicate an original finish and can improve the esthetics of a worn finish. However, I would tend to stress my first sentence of this post.
Fal Grunt
Senior Member
Your smarter than I am. I have cleaned many, many mausers with this and assumed it was cosmoline that was not removed.
Of course, one recent one that I removed all of that from was horribly pitted and moldy.... so, I guess it wasn't always effective. But now that you called it out, it makes sense.
Fal Grunt
Senior Member
What do you mean starting to wear through? Are you handling it so much that the bluing is being removed? Do you wear any form of gloves when handling your firearms?
I realize that this may be over the top, but it sounds like we need to put a thread together on protocol. I realize that for many, a $300 RC is not a museum piece, and I concur, but for some you who have much rarer, much more valuable pieces...
cjsmitty128
Member
S/42
Thunda from down unda
Cosmolene is black, and I have not encountered any Mauser stock with black grease yet. I have seen red, vaseline creamy-white, and occasionally a wax that has turned brown (dirt ingress).
Most of the Portuguese rifles I have had over the years - if not one of the unissued ones - had below wood line pitting and sometimes mold, and usually very little sign of below woodline grease or protection - most seems to have liquified in the tropical conditions these were typically used in.
The only aggressive rust I have ever seen on a K98 has been on the post-WW2 Indonesian used rifles - obviously same prevailing conditions as the Portuguese equatorial colonial rifles.
Most of the Portuguese rifles I have had over the years - if not one of the unissued ones - had below wood line pitting and sometimes mold, and usually very little sign of below woodline grease or protection - most seems to have liquified in the tropical conditions these were typically used in.
The only aggressive rust I have ever seen on a K98 has been on the post-WW2 Indonesian used rifles - obviously same prevailing conditions as the Portuguese equatorial colonial rifles.
cjsmitty128
Member
pzjgr
EOD - bombs and bullets
Yep, Russian shellac...two trains of thought...some guys leave it on, saying its part of the history of the gun...it CAN be repaired if you can mix some shellac the same color shade, you would just brush it on, and it will melt the surrounding shellac and blend in...but you have to be pretty good to carry it off seamlessly...that also shows what a crappy finish shellac is, it is not very resilient...
Others say strip it off....
But that will start a big argument, so basically its your call....
Others say strip it off....
But that will start a big argument, so basically its your call....
cjsmitty128
Member
Thanks for the info. Probably won't shellac as I've never used it before
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