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Not sure if this is the right section but here it goes.

Got an older Marlin 81 22lr I got from my dad today. It's seen better days (he never cleans his guns, talking decades).

So I'm cleaning it up a little. Not a full restore (yet) but enough to make it functional for a weekend event coming up.

Any suggestions for cleaning the stock up? Don't want to sand or anything. Aside from blowing it out with an air can, any household chemical suggestions to wipe the wood down?

20210224_194155.jpg
 
Yes, yes it should. So be it :D

That rust, ugh, big 'un lumpy, but yeah, .22's do that if left long enough, they're so dirty. Some thin oil will help with cleaning that off.

For the stock, you can use some basic oil on it, either some boiled linseed, just rub on and let dry for a day, or you can do some very very basic cleaning of dirt from it by using D-Limonene, should be gentle on the oil finish.

 
I clean the wood and metal on my firearms with oderless mineral spirits, and then apply Renaissance wax or Johnson's paste wax. For the areas where there was some rust from neglect by someone, I use Kroil and a Big 45 pad to clean it up. Be careful with harsh chemicals on the stock, and anything very abrasive on either the wood or stock unless you want to refinish them.

I rescued an old Marlin 81 from a pawn shop about 5 years ago. Was in pretty nice shape for its age, but needed some cleaning up. Ended up stripping and refinishing the stock with Tru Oil as it had some scratches through the original finish. Was a fun project, and it turned out to be a pretty nice rifle and a good shooter. Enjoy yours!
 
Not sure the vintage of yours, but mine didn't have an oil finish in the stock. It was a laquer or varnish, pretty sure it was factory finish. My rifle has Ballard rifling, and doesn't have a serial number, and based on the markings on it, I believe was probably made in the 1950s/early 1960s. Older ones had a different bolt handle, and may have an oil finish on the stock.
 

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