Danzig 1918 sniper stock

[Amberg]

Got this sniper rifle at the SOS.
Danzig 1918 semi turret for Goerz 4x scope.
Would you clean the stock? If yes, how?

[mauser99]

I know the rifle and handled it a few different times.. Im glad to see you ended up with it.. Its post war applied varnish. I would strip re-stain and re-age the stock..
Great score... He actually had two.And was keeping the other..

[gew8805]

..............Would you clean the stock? If yes, how?



Why remove the varnish and refinish? Frankly I would leave it alone but with the photos shown it is hard to say that, I haven't seen it in person.

[mauser99]

Why remove the varnish and refinish? Frankly I would leave it alone but with the photos shown it is hard to say that, I haven't seen it in person.

it looks like brown crap smeered all over the wood.. Not pleasing at all. and not original. The action screws were rusted in pretty good and may require a good soaking to remove them. One was buggered up pretty good..

[Turbo Archie]

it looks like brown crap smeered all over the wood.. Not pleasing at all. and not original.



Personal opinion..

One of the biggest turn offs for me is a freshly refinished stock... :barf:



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[RyanE]

It looks like the varnish is flaking off in places and you can see the original finish underneath. I would carefully remove it (acetone would probably work), and wipe the wood with some Howards or something similar that you can get in Europe.

[Loewe]

Well, I would be very careful in how I approach such a cleaning. I emailed MauserBill for an opinion, hopefully he can comment, as he is the Eli Whitney of Gew.98 repairs and reinvigorations.

Personally I tend to be conservative in such things, less is better, as from experience and observation, for every 10 rifles "restored" 9 are worse off, some ruined.

[Turbo Archie]

Personally I tend to be conservative in such things, less is better, as from experience and observation, for every 10 rifles "restored" 9 are worse off, some ruined.


Thats where I was going with it Paul. In most cases you can't make it any better then it already is even though you think you can.

There is always that exception that you will end up with that "1 of 10" that looks better, but you can never go back if it doesn't..


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[mauser99]

in this case for sure..you can only see that small patch of stock..This thing is but-ugly. The finish was applied "post war" you are not removing anything less chunkhead applied goo.. BruceK. Is another that is a great stock restorer.. Seek his advise as well... I have my tricks and Solid stocks are the easiest to restore. Laminate is much harder to get the original look back.I.M.H.O.

[Turbo Archie]

Well you have seen it in hand and we haven't.

As a rule I don't like steering collectors to any type of aggressive cleaning or restoration because it never looks better IMO.

I will agree that hardwood looks alot better than Laminated when restored. I was basing most of my opinion on laminated stocks...


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[PrayingMantis]

I had very good luck with a spray-on varnish remover. I sprayed it on a rag, then wiped down the stock.

http://www.k98kforum.com/showthread.php?4212-V-Chr-Schilling-1915

[mrfarb]

I personally would clean it, but I would be careful not to be too agressive. To me the odds are 50/50 that it will look good when done- the trick is removing the varnish without affecting the patina underneath, which is possible.

[Loewe]

The right collector (experienced at such things) or method can improve the odds significantly. The thing is I wouldn't suggest such a rifle as my first test case. You have a great deal of down side with this rifle, this is not an rc or Albanian-Turked basket case...

Anyway, just an opinion, but if I traveled to the SOS, bought an expensive rifle, had it imported to Germany, I wouldn't rush into any decision. It has been like this a longtime and I would either seek someone's "experienced advice" or practice on a couple sorry examples (low end rifles)

[gew8805]

................... I would strip re-stain and re-age the stock.....................

Well, see, this is what I was worried about. See what Bill says. I don't have it in hand but I do know that stripping, re-staining and re-aging are the wrong things to do. No offense intended.

[mauser99]

we are not talking about removing ww1 patina on the wood.. We are talking about removing brown shit smeared all over the wood..It cant be worse than what it is now..I have stripped many gew stocks in walnut and beech and they look great when done. I guess I just dont get the fuss ?? The stock is marked really well below the goo...The goo is bad,bad I say !!!:reposthorse:


I will beat this dead horse as long as it takes I promise..

Of note: see photo. One or two of these rifles were mine at one point and had varnished stocks that I stripped and re-stained and aged. I cant tell which two they are from the photo... Point Made..

[gew8805]

Yes, most certainly, point made. Keep in mind that the original patina is under the so-called brown goo (or whatever you want to call it). While it would be great to remove said goo, the problem comes when you overdo it which is easily done by the inexperienced. It can be done well but it takes experience and patience. The rifle under discussion is rare and deserves very careful treatment.

[308nutt]

Got this sniper rifle at the SOS.
Danzig 1918 semi turret for Goerz 4x scope.
Would you clean the stock? If yes, how?

Hi,
What does the large 'B' marking on the butt (shown in your 1st photo) mean please? I've seen it on a couple of WW1 rifles.
thanks

[mauser99]

ww1 stocks that were beech have a large B on the side.. both gew98 and kar98 stocks were made of beech later in the war..

[308nutt]

Thanks for that.

[Turbo Archie]

How do you find a beech hand guard?


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[Amberg]

Thanks to all!
When it has arrived over here, I'll post some better photos.
I rather leave it the way it is, before ruining it.
Thanks

[gew8805]

I rather leave it the way it is, before ruining it.


Well done, better what some call "ugly" than ruined, we've all seen examples of the later and too few of the former.

[Turbo Archie]

Well you can never go back but you can always do it tomorrow...


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[Amberg]

Well you can never go back but you can always do it tomorrow...


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THANKS!
I wont touch it it before asking you again! Seriously!
I'll rather keep it as an ugly rifle.
It's the way she survived the past 90+ years!

[Amberg]

this is not an rc or Albanian-Turked basket case...
(low end rifles)

It is an crown "rc" and that is why I love it! :-)
Now I got the semi turret from 1916 to 1918.

[gew98]

Amberg , was good to meet you at the SOS, thanks to Bruce !.
I just happened to visit the site - have'nt been here in a long spell.
Anyhow I personally would remove the goop that was applied to that rifle's stock. I use the thick gel type finish removers. I use them sparingly and only small areas at a time with care taken to leave the gel on ONLY long enough to soften varnish goop long enough to rub off with a clean scrap rag. Too long on the wood and it will go into original finish/color of what's underneath the goober goop. It's time intensive but the results are worth every minute.
Depending if the goop was applied way back on an assembled rifle or on the wood then assembled is how you need to approach disassembly so as not to chip out wood or ding up metal bits.
I NEVER USE acetone or anything like it as it almost always goes too deep too quick and will leach out color from the wood...a big no no in my opinion.