Moldy Carbines

January 2016-E

 Moldy Carbines

MOLDY CARBINES RECEIVED AT SPRINGFIELD ARMORY, 5 MARCH 1947

Thanks to Billy Pyle for submitting the below photo of a crate of carbines (with #1 bands) with mold
issues, as received from an overseas depot. The USA 2-84 and 2-82 designations in the caption refer to
“Oil, Rust Preventative, Light…or Heavy.” See Newsletter 379 for more information on this subject.

Dan, I've gotten some like that. I think ones that came with the mold may have had more Raw Linseed Oil applied to them previously than the wood could absorb. Acetone is helpful in removing the old excess RLO on the surface. I put moldy stocks in the sun to sweat out excess RLO, wipe with acetone and return to the safe. As you wrote, keeping the humidity low is the best way to prevent mold.

It's well known that linseed oil makes great fungus food! How to prevent the outgrowth? Probably add some toxic metal or other material to RLO

As OAMAAM68 mentions, put the stocks out in the sun on a hot day, so that they sweat out the linseed oil, and then wipe them down with acetone. You will want to repeat the sun treatment for as long as the oil sweats out of the stock. I did this to a bunch of surplus rifles back in the 1980's. Use a dehumidifier in the room where they are stored.

David Albert
dalbert@sturmgewehr.com

New2brass wrote: Might work to remove mold, fungus. But.... the acetone will remove the upper layers of RLO and dry out the wood in short order. The cellulose may collapse. You would need to oil to protect. I have heard of sun method of removing cosmoline. The RLO polymerizes so I dont see how it leaches out unless it breaks the bond. I will have to try it out. BTW, the sun is a natural disinfectant.  It will kill the mold. It can then be wiped off. Use breathing protection is dealing with mold as it may have ill health effect

Yes, after you get out all the oil and grime that leaches out from the sun treatment, and after you wipe it down with acetone, then you have a starting point for a new wood treatment of your choice to be applied. The sun technique really works well when you have a stock that has soaked up decades of oil and grime. You can literally just wipe it off, clean it up with acetone, and go from there. It will also get rid of the mold. Try it when it's 100 degrees outside. You can just about sit in the shade, drinking a beer, and watch the sun do the work for you.

David Albert
dalbert@sturmgewehr.com