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You guys use Ballistol on collectable German gun stocks?

Gents, I usually use a real nice 'Finn mix' on my wooden stocks. (1/3 beeswax, 1/3 turp and 1/3 BLO) Its amazing stuff and gives wood an amazing glow. I just purchased my first all matching K98, and I just want to give the stock a coat of some kind of protection/conditioner. Mine stock is nothing super rare but it matches the gun and I dont want to detract from any value or mess with it.

Have any of you guys used Ballistol on collectable gun stocks? Results? Does the smell go away? I cant imagine this being used very liberally on stocks in the field by troops, as you would be able to smell a squad of 'burnt licorice' smelling guns a mile away.
 
Ballistol will most likely just make the wood shiny for a couple weeks then wear off.

I think my recommendation will be the same as most others on this forum. Don't do anything to the stock, leave it as is, any alteration can only negatively impact the collectibility. Its lasted 80+ years, just store it in household conditions and it will outlive you. It's your rifle, so so with it as you wish, but that's my opinion!

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Glow

Have you ever seen an untouched stock glow
.? No. Keep magic elixirs off the stocks.
 
If you want the value to be less than you just paid. Go for it.

Collectors. Don’t want “ improvements “. Just originality
 
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that recipe is great for Lee enfield stocks, but not K-98's, leave the stock alone., throw out the steel wool
 
Can't add to anything already stated, which is all good advice. Far more vintage firearms have been ruined by efforts to "improve" and "maintain" them than those left alone.
 
Me too.....

So I shouldnt have sanded it nice and smooth?? :googlie

Its taken me a while to learn not to mess with stuff....I dont even want to tell you how many stocks I polyurethaned in my early days. :facepalm: This is really my first foray into a real collectable though. Most of my milsurps came to me covered in cosmoline or worse, so cleaning them was never really a risk.

All my American stuff gets the 1/3 Finn mix, my Garands look amazing. I just refinished an old 'house paint splattered' Trapdoor Springfield (acetone bath and Finn mix) and it looks like the well maintained antique it is.
 
My dumbass soaked a K98 stock with boiled linseed oil once. This was before I knew better. Thankfully it was a dinged up Romanian import, so that damage was ultimately minimal.
 
Internet Troll -

The previous posters advise is correct in that abrasives, chemicals and high-gloss modern finishes are discouraged on collectible K98K wood stocks. It's important not to disturb the wood grain or significantly change the finish from the factory condition.

There is an option to consider if you're interested in keeping perspiration and fingerprint oil off a clean stock during handling.
It's called Renaissance wax and it was developed by the British Museum in the 1950's to prevent additional handling damage to historical antique firearms wood stocks.

RW is an inert, neutral, acid-free conservation wax that doesn't change the wood stock finish.
RW is used in firearms museums where valuable collection pieces are frequently handled by researchers and historians.

I work with collectible military P08 Lugers and RW is applied to a clean set of grips to prevent any discoloration from dirty or sweaty
hands. I use RW on a collectible K98K stock after a gentle clean with mild soap to remove any surface dirt or oil, then air dry.

RW tech specs and a list of American and European firearms museums that use it is at "https://www.shellac.net/renaissance-wax_information.html"

Just a suggestion to investigate if so desired..
 
Internet Troll -

The previous posters advise is correct in that abrasives, chemicals and high-gloss modern finishes are discouraged on collectible K98K wood stocks. It's important not to disturb the wood grain or significantly change the finish from the factory condition.

There is an option to consider if you're interested in keeping perspiration and fingerprint oil off a clean stock during handling.
It's called Renaissance wax and it was developed by the British Museum in the 1950's to prevent additional handling damage to historical antique firearms wood stocks.

RW is an inert, neutral, acid-free conservation wax that doesn't change the wood stock finish.
RW is used in firearms museums where valuable collection pieces are frequently handled by researchers and historians.

I work with collectible military P08 Lugers and RW is applied to a clean set of grips to prevent any discoloration from dirty or sweaty
hands. I use RW on a collectible K98K stock after a gentle clean with mild soap to remove any surface dirt or oil, then air dry.

RW tech specs and a list of American and European firearms museums that use it is at "https://www.shellac.net/renaissance-wax_information.html"

Just a suggestion to investigate if so desired..

It appears their main ingredient is beeswax and some petroleum product. This is very close to my above mentioned 1/3 Finn mix.
I see all the amazing reviews the Renaissance wax is getting, I may have to try some. Thank you!
 
Mark Novak Conservation v. Restoration

This video may deserve its own thread, but I'm sure it has been discussed on the forum before.

https://youtu.be/mXj_SaE8Z08

I have prepared my flame shield for what I'm about to say: I tend to fall more in line with the conservationist approach to collecting. Not 100% in that camp, but I lean that direction. If there is rust or dirt present, I will do what I can, short of using abrasive methods, to remove it. Why? Because I don't care for 80 years worth of grandma's attic dirt sitting on my rifles.

With that said, I'm sure every senior member, mod, admin, etc. will disagree with me, but I have used, and will continue to use a light coat Ballistol to maintain my K98 stocks. I also live on the gulf coast where extreme humidity is an issue.
 
I'd stay away from renwax for surfaces that have been painted because it has distilled petroleum in it.
As far as Ballistol goes it please don't use it on a nice undorked with stock, It will darken it somewhat. if it's already dark I don't think the old formula Ballistol will damage it, but know that the Ballistol now imported into the U.S. is a different formula than what they use in Europe. Thanks to our idiotic environmental laws.
 
Me too.....

Me three! It was before my time collecting but I've heard of the bleach blonde era (80s?) where getting your Mouser stocks as white as you can was what the cool kids were doing. Or something like that. It usually gets mentioned when a piece so treated comes up out of an older collection.
 
Me three! It was before my time collecting but I've heard of the bleach blonde era (80s?) where getting your Mouser stocks as white as you can was what the cool kids were doing. Or something like that. It usually gets mentioned when a piece so treated comes up out of an older collection.

Folks that needed those blonde stocks needed blinding bright wizzed take down discs and buttplates too. :facepalm:
 
Folks that needed those blonde stocks needed blinding bright wizzed take down discs and buttplates too. :facepalm:

Well it's 'part of the package' right? Maybe that's how Dandy Don figured out what REAL Mousers look like? Maybe he saw all these collectors with them at shows?
 
Is there someone like a Priest of collector firearms that can absolve us all of restoration sins? If so, I need their services!
 
Big Shell -

I believe the real value in your video link was showing what not to do with a decent firearm.
Restoration is for classic cars and not collectible firearms.

And with that I'll join you in the flame pit by declaring myself a conservator.

I'm fortunate that several German military firearms in mint condition have made it to my collection.
I feel like I'm just a temporary custodian of historial artifacts that I can enjoy, with an obligation to
protect them in original arsenal condition so the next generation can do the same.

If Renaissance wax is good enough for use on the Smithsonian firearms collection, then I would
be remiss in not affording my German collectibles the same treatment.

Other collectors may have different solutions based on experience, and that is their right.

This works for me..
 
Renaissance Wax is all I use on all my firearms. Once it dries it won't let fingerprints be left behind (visibly) and is usually good for about a year. I use it on the wood and exterior metal. On the inside of the barrel, I do the Swiss way, nylon brush with grease and grease the bore, as well as a light coat of grease on the bolt. I've never had rust issues doing it this way. Renaissance Wax is some awesome stuff.


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