Dark Spotting on Stock Inquiry

[Deacon]

I've noticed on some vintage military rifles that they will have dark, almost black, spots which randomly appear on the wooden stocks and handguards - I have a pre-WW1 '03 with a few of these spots, about 1/3 of an inch in diameter (sorry for lack of pictures - no camera). They don't seem to be imperfections in the wood, but more like, perhaps, drops of solvent on the wood that were not wiped off in time before they seeped into the grain and eventually darkened.

Here' a photo link: http://s1210.photobucket.com/user/EdwardBrindle/slideshow/1903

Anyway, has anyone noticed this, and do you have any theories?

Thank you for your time.


Deacon.

[Southron]

Nope, I have never noticed anything like the dark spots you write about, and about 50 odd years ago I spent a lot of time in armories full of M-1 Garands. Also, I have seen a lot of antique rifles from M1903's to Revolutionary War muskets and never noticed any dark spots. On most antique rifles, especially military ones the finish is often very dark or in some cases almost black .

[Dave in NGA]

You maybe experiencing issues of 'oil soaked' wood. Try applying some localized heat to the area surrounding the dark spots and see if you get oil coming to the surface. If so, then repeated application of heat will draw the oil from the wood and allow you to remove the dark spot over time.

[Deacon]

Thanks for your advice, Dave in NGA, but I'm not really trying to address these spots; I'm afraid that if I did so, I'd be altering the history of the rifle. I was just curious as to what the spots may be, and your thought that they are the result of oil soaked into the wood seems like a reasonable possibility.

[11mm]

Thanks for your advice, Dave in NGA, but I'm not really trying to address these spots; I'm afraid that if I did so, I'd be altering the history of the rifle. I was just curious as to what the spots may be, and your thought that they are the result of oil soaked into the wood seems like a reasonable possibility.

Well, If you shoot more than a few cartridges through rifles with oil soaked stocks on a hot day, you may note that the oil 'sweats" to the surface enough so that you can wipe it off. That may happen IF it is oil. If it is some other black mark, perhaps nothing will happen.

[Deacon]

Hi, 11mm. The spots on my particular rifle appear to be from long ago, so I would expect nothing would remove them, short of sanding and refinishing the stock, which, of course, I wouldn't do.

[John Beard]

Seasons' Greetings!

I have seen the black spots that Deacon refers to. They appear most often around the stock bolts. I do not know what causes them. They do not appear to be oil spots. They look more like spots left from a black magic marker.

Happy New Year!

J.B.

[PhillipM]

Seasons' Greetings!

I have seen the black spots that Deacon refers to. They appear most often around the stock bolts. I do not know what causes them. They do not appear to be oil spots. They look more like spots left from a black magic marker.

Happy New Year!

J.B.

A friend has a springfield 03 scant stock that has a teardrop shaped stain on the left front bolt as if some substance oozed from the hole while the rifle was in firing position. He recently stripped the stock with a eco friendly citrus stripper, but the stain remains.

[Johnny P]

Stocks that have mildewed will exhibit spots where the mildew formed.

[dave]

As a collector of European military rifles I see this often. As Mr. Beard says they appear where metal touches wood. It is caused by rust when it is forming and is damp. If the metal part is removed it will be found to be very rusty. If they appear in the wood with no metal in the area I cannot explain it, unless the rifle was stored against metal that was rusting. I have never run into this on US military rifles. Now the stain I mean is dark black not "almost black". Nothing I have tried will remove them. It part of the history all right----history of poor care!

[Deacon]

Thank you all for your input. I've borrowed a camera and took some photos of the spots on my rifle, which you can see in the link below.

http://s1210.photobucket.com/user/EdwardBrindle/slideshow/1903

[lemmonhead]

As a collector of European military rifles I see this often. As Mr. Beard says they appear where metal touches wood. It is caused by rust when it is forming and is damp. If the metal part is removed it will be found to be very rusty. If they appear in the wood with no metal in the area I cannot explain it, unless the rifle was stored against metal that was rusting. I have never run into this on US military rifles. Now the stain I mean is dark black not "almost black". Nothing I have tried will remove them. It part of the history all right----history of poor care!

Rush stains would be my guess also. From reading the refinishing forum on surplusrifles.com that is what a rust stain looks like. I wouldn't refinish this stock but if I came across this in a stock that I was refinishing I read that a cotton ball soaked with hydrogen peroxide left on the stain for several hours is about the only thing that will drawn the stain out.

[Emri]

Stocks that have mildewed will exhibit spots where the mildew formed.

Johnny is right on target. Besides oil darkened wood, mildew is usually the culprit where I live. I've seen it on literally hundreds of rifles that were made before the modern epoxy finishes. Even the epoxy finishes can exhibit it if the finish is broken through to the wood beneath. Especially guns that got totally immersed in floods and the stock stayed wet for a time.

FWIW,

Emri