Restoring/refinishing

[Zamble]

I just got in the mail my Galil parts kits. They've seen far batter days, but that was to be expected. The foregrips are very grimy and oily. I plan on blasting and parking the metal parts.

How might I go about getting all the oil/grease out of the grips? And what might be the best method to sand, refinish and varnish? They are riveted, how difficult would it be to rivet them back with steel rivets if I removed the original?

[kcstott]

oil removal starts by warming the wood, then wiping with alcohol to degrease the surface. you do this till the oil stops coming out.

if it's also stained go buy a can of Bar Keeper's friend mix up a paste and apply it liberally to the stained areas let it sit for a week scrub off under water rinse and check the progress. be advised Bar Keeper's friend is oxalic acid and will bleach stain from wood.

[Zamble]

Thanks KC. Would a hair dryer be able to heat it up enough?

[kcstott]

Thanks KC. Would a hair dryer be able to heat it up enough?

yeah. a heat gun can be used but it's too aggressive if you don't pay attention to what you're doing. a hair dryer will be more forgiving.

Do you're self a favor though. set the stock in the sun for a few hours before working on it. get the whole chunk of wood warm not just the surface. then hit with he heat to draw the oil out.

[jericho89]

yeah. a heat gun can be used but it's too aggressive if you don't pay attention to what you're doing. a hair dryer will be more forgiving.

Do you're self a favor though. set the stock in the sun for a few hours before working on it. get the whole chunk of wood warm not just the surface. then hit with he heat to draw the oil out.

Very sound advice. When k98's were $33 a pop and M1 Garands were under $300 I did a lot of cosmoline removal. Heat is your friend, and if you have access to an old oven you can bake the wood at low heat to get it up to temp. The key to this project is patience... Lots of patience...

[ar15barrels]

Get a big black trash bag.
Cover the stock in whiting (calcium carbonate) and wrap in paper towels.
Then put the wrapped up stock in the black trash bag and wrap that up.
Store the black wrapped stock in the back window of a sealed-up automobile for a few days this summer.
The heat will let the oil/grease come out and the whiting will absorb it.