Black streaks on kibler rifle finish

[JLayne]

I had this same thing happen to me on a recently completed project that I also finished with Tried and True Varnish Oil. But in my case, I had applied a coat of Johnson’s Paste Wax to the stock after the finish had cured, and was able to rub most of the powder/water streak out with an additional coat of the paste wax. Your mileage may vary.

Good luck.
Jay

[smylee grouch]

I'm in the leave it alone camp. Just part of the game so to speak. Get or make one of those super magnets and make a flush tube if you don't want to take the barrel out of the stock. Flushing is a better way to clean anyway IMHO.

[snowman485]

Thats a shame that finish is beautiful. Did you add the stain into the oil finish or apply it directly to the stock before the oil finish?

[JTR]

Your first thought was to get it off. You can probably convince yourself to live with it, but down the road I'll bet you'll wish you would have taken it off.
But that's just my thinking. If it were mine, it would already be gone. Working patina great,,, boo boo patina not so much.
John

[bob in the woods]

I like the streaks....I wouldn't touch em'.

Me to 

[bob in the woods]

I have used the Tried and True varnish oil quite a bit , but I seal the wood first with shellac.

[FALout]

I’ve had this happen to me also, I had to strip the finish and redo it.  That kind of stain can happen with any kind of finish.  I usually store rifles muzzle down after cleaning just in case, I’ll clean/oil then a day or two later run a patch to make sure all is right

[Austin]

If you’re going to use it, don’t sweat it! Come to Kentucky and see some contemporaries that have been used like an original! They get a few thumps…

[Jim Chambers]

Has anyone tried Bar Keepers Friend for this problem.  It sure removed some black water stains on a walnut chest I have.

[Bob Gerard]

The carving (what little of it we can see)  looks top-notch!
I would suggest just try water to clean it. I think it will wear-off as the years go by.
It would be a disaster if you actually started removing the finish off that beautiful gun.

Better to live with the black streak than a ruined finish.

[Dennis Glazener]

Has anyone tried Bar Keepers Friend for this problem.  It sure removed some black water stains on a walnut chest I have.

Thanks Jim I will have to try some of that on an old rifle I have.
Dennis

https://www.lowes.com/pl/Bar-keepers-friend--All-purpose-cleaners-Cleaning-supplies/4294599038?refinement=4294727978&cm_mmc=src-_-c-_-prd-_-lwn-_-ggl-_-DSA_LWN_127_Cleaning-_--_-0-_-0-_-0&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIm-X72r6W8wIViYnICh3z4AEfEAAYAiAAEgKuivD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[mark esterly]

happened to me too. chambers finish.  i started using johnson's paste wax on the stock and now the only black streaks i can see are on the brass buttplate. i did nothing special to remove them.

[Ky-Flinter]

Why not remove the barrel from the stock for cleaning?  Then there's no chance of you ruining an otherwise beautiful rifle's finish.  I suspect those stains are permanent.

2X

-Ron

[ettoreR]

The carving (what little of it we can see)  looks top-notch!
I would suggest just try water to clean it. I think it will wear-off as the years go by.
It would be a disaster if you actually started removing the finish off that beautiful gun.

Better to live with the black streak than a ruined finish.

Thank you! I appreciate the compliment! I've tried some warm soapy water but its pretty well set in now, I will just have to live with it, I may TRY to spot refinish that area since I still have that same mixture of tried and true along with trans tin in a can. we will see how brave i get

[ettoreR]

Thats a shame that finish is beautiful. Did you add the stain into the oil finish or apply it directly to the stock before the oil finish?

Thank you! hence why i am looking for a solution lol. I raised the grain 5 times, applied aqua fortis, burnished it, then made up a mixture of tried and true varnish oil and trans tint honey amber dye. did about 3 coats with the trans tint/varnish oil mix then one final coat with just plain varnish oil.

[MuskratMike]

At his point my suggestion is a moot point. It is called "patina" leave it alone and let this fine rifle age like the old ones did.

[Darkhorse]

I agree with MuskRat Mike, just leave it alone. Trying to redo just the streaks and have the repair match the rest of the wood is not going to work very well.
But for future reference....
After the wood has been raised and sanded I apply a coat of stain.
A day later I apply the first coat of Chambers finish. I apply it heavy wiping the excess off until the finish begins to puddle on the surface indicating the wood has absorbed all the finish it can. I do this to all surfaces inside and out.
A day later I lightly sand the stock then add another coat of stain with a clean cloth.
Same thing. I do this until I have at least 7 coats of finish.
On the final coat I lightly sand until all the bumps and runs are gone and the stock feels slick again. Then with my fingers I add a small amount of finish and rub it in with my palm until it begins to warm and is smooth with no runs.
After this I might add another coat or not.
A day later if the finish is dry I clean the wood real good then add a good coat of Johnsons Past Wax inside and out.
Sometimes I plug the TH with a toothpick to clean. But mostly I remove the barrel from the stock. This prevents any chance of black water from getting on the stock at all.
I use the Johnsons Past Wax several times during the hunting season on both the wood and metal.

[Eric Kettenburg]

Has anyone tried Bar Keepers Friend for this problem.  It sure removed some black water stains on a walnut chest I have.

I prefer the other type of Bar Keepers Friend, the kind that is ingested and then after a while you stop looking for black streaks on a working rifle.... 

 

BTW that looks in the wood, not in the finish, just my initial impression from a photo.  More trouble to remove than it's worth unless the piece is mostly a wall-hanger or safe queen.

Sincerely, Moe.

[Jeff Murray]

My go to flintlock is over 40 years old and has been streaked multiple times.  With use they seem to mostly go away.  I have never refinished the stock.  I also use a tooth pick and some paper towel.  If I remove the lock to clean it as well, I pack the lock mortise with paper towel.  The tooth pick  is soaked in varnish prior to use which may help it resist leaking.  I also often clean over a shop sink with the touch hole facing downward to reduce possible water contacting the lock mortice/stock.  I try to minimize it but am not really bothered by it.   

[davec2]

Wont help the current black streak, but I stopped using a tooth pick 4 years ago......The following from an old post of mine.....

Yesterday I had a chance to shoot just a few rounds (for the first time) from the copy of the Chambers rifle I built a while back.  Got ready to clean it today with my usual remove the lock, plug the touch hole with a toothpick, fill the bore with water, etc., etc.  Just after I put the toothpick in the touch hole, I broke it off and spent a while trying to get the remnant out.  As I was doing this, I noticed that I had two high pull, small magnets on my work bench and had a thought.  These magnets are rare earth (Neodymium) and are 3/8 inch in diameter and 1/2 inch long.  They have a pull of 19 pounds.  So I cut a small piece of silicone tape to use as a gasket, placed that over the touch hole, and then held it in place with the magnets.  Long story short, it worked like a charm.  No leaks.  Easy to attach and easy to remove.  The magnets are commercially available.  To each his own but this is the new normal for me.  Thought others might like to hear about it.

Lock out, magnet and gasket, plug in place, all done.

[WadePatton]

I made these streaks once on my beeswax finished gun, same way-leaky toothpick.

The finish and streak was easy to remove (I forget exactly how I did that) and then reapplied beeswax and there is zero way to tell that it ever happened. The streak was only in the wax and not into my wood. But of course a pure beeswax finish is not a popular thing, it's just what I did at the time because it is the fastest finish of all.

[Dennis Glazener]

I am curious what type of toothpicks you all are using to be getting leakage around them.
I can not rember having one to leak.

I use round tooth picks from a box that I bought years ago. They look like maple but am sure they aren't. I push them hard into the TH then stand rifle upright, fill the barrel with plain cold water then let it set awhile I get all my junk put back in truck. After about 10 min. I pour enough water out to start jag/ patch in barrel then lay the rifle on its side, TH down, then pull toothpick and quickly push patch down barrel blowing water out the TH. If I am careful nothing got very wet. Then I clean the barrel with wet patches followed by WD40 to get water out. When I get home I do a good cleaning/oiling. Never pull the barrel and rarely pull the lock.

The only black streaks I've gotten on the stock was my hunting rifle where I cleaned it without access to a place to lay it on its side. As well as I remember I cleaned it off with Renaissance Wax and a rough terry cloth wash cloth.

Oh, it was finished with Chambers Oil finish and waxed with Renaissance wax.
Dennis
Dennis

[flehto]

All my personal hunting MLers have keys....one is a caplock and 2 are flintlocks and w/ all, the bbl is removed for cleaning. The caplock has a hooked breech but the 2 flintlocks  have  breechplugs so the tang screw head is  hardened and  and hollow ground screwdrivers are used. No buggered up screw heads. Why did I do this? Just like to dunk the breech end in a bucket of hot water. Made all 3 and making and installing  keys is no big deal.....Fred

[rick/pa]

As I stated before I use a toothpick and paper towel wadding to plug the touch hole. I dunk the toothpick in water first before inserting it in the touch hole, gives it a chance to swell some.  I never remove barrels to clean unless the gun has a hooked breech. My pinned rifles only get the barrels pulled about once every 4 or 5 years. The one I built in 1977 just had the barrel pulled this summer for inspection. This gun has been out in rain, snow, you name it. It's all I used for hunting our late M/L season from 1977 until 2 years ago when I built an English hooked breech rifle. No rust but I put a coat of Johnson's wax on a barrel before replacing it.

[smoke and flames]

I have just been using black electricians tape to cover/plug the touch hole after i clean and dry the surface around it  so far so good