Oiled wood and epoxy?

[vestlenning]

I'm going to change the inletting on a rifle stock and need to add some wood and bedding material. Problem is, the walnut is soaked with Schaftol gunstock oil - what's the best way to clean the surfaces before I bring on the epoxy?

http://www.schaftol.de/English/english.html

 

[Dave Budd]

is the surface to be epoxied actually oiled? If so, does the oil stay wet or does it cure?

If the area isn't oiled or the oil has cured, then the epoxy shouldn't have any problem, though I would suggest wiping with acetone/alcohol anyway to degrease it. If it is actually an oily surface, you can try wiping with degreaser repeatedly, to remove the oil from near the surface ( better still, lay a rag along the channel and wet it with acetone, so it stays in contact to dissolve the oil). Otherwise good keying is the answer; not just scratches, but actual undercut/angled holes to act as rods of epoxy to pin the thing in place.

 

[vestlenning]

Tried heating the outside of the stock with a hair dryer, oil showed up on the surface. Don't know if oil has been applied to the inletting directly but the previous owner did 10 coats so I would guess oil has reached most of the wood.

 

[Dave Budd]

it's not likely that oil will soak more than a couple of mm into any type of wood, especially not something that is dense enough to use for a stock. It's more likely that oil will seep around the edges and into any gaps/cracks when doing the rest of it. Try the degreasing with a rag soak and stick it together. Worst case scenario is that it comes loose and you have to do it again I guess

 

[vestlenning]

A lot of writings by folks trying to remove every "oil molecule" around, think I'll go your way instead and see where I get - if it works it works.

 

[Janne]

Maybe a couple of screws too (if you have space) would increase the chance of success?