The photos below show the stock before cleaning and refinishing:
This gun makes an excellent demonstration example because it has few scratches and virtually no dents in the wood and because a it has absorbed oil to be removed. It also has very little original finish and much of the color is due to darkening by aborbed oil.
The goal will be to only clean the stock with Mineral Spirits and soap only as much as necessary to remove dirt and grime and most oil and grease and then sand very lightly without removing aged wood before finishing. No steam is used to remove dents and dents are removed only by the washing process that naturally removes minor dents. Note that a shop vacuum is used each time after cleaning to pull as much moisture and contaminants from the wood as possible before allowing to dry.
The photos below show the stock after being cleaned with Mineral Spirits and a fine bristled nylon brush:
Notice that there is very little origninal finish and the pistol grip has dark portions due to absorbed oil. Note that the dark portion at the rear of the forend is the natural color of the wood in that area.
The photos below show the stock after being washed in Dawn Soap and then drying for 12 hours:
Notice that less of the little remaining original finish remains and the pistol grip still has dark portions due to absorbed oil.
The photos below show the stock after a second cleaning with Mineral Spirits, washing in Dawn Soap, and drying for 12 hours:
Notice that there is very little origninal finish remaining and the pistol grip still has dark portions remaining due to absorbed oil.
The photos below show the stock after a third cleaning with Mineral Spirits, washing in Dawn Soap, and drying for 12 hours:
Notice that there is no origninal finish remaining and the pistol grip still has dark portions remaining due to absorbed oil.
The photos below show the stock after washing in Murphy's Oil Soap and drying for 12 hours:
Notice that the pistol grip still has dark portions remaining due to absorbed oil.
The photos below show the stock after washing in Murphy's Oil Soap, vacuuming thoroughly, and drying for 10 minutes:
Notice that only 10 minutes after vacuuming that less absorbed oil is apparent on the pistol grip. The more drying time allows more oil to seep to the surface.
The photos below show the stock after wetting in water:
The photos below show the stock after vacuuming and drying for approximately 6 hours:
The stock is then finished using Minwax Antique Oil Finish. Refer to Gun Stock Oil/Varnish Finishing for more information. The photos below show the stock after one application:
Four more applications of Oil/Varnish Finish are applied to the stock for a total of five applications. The stock is sanded extremely lightly with 600 grit sandpaper after the third application and rubbed lightly with 0000 steel wool after the fourth application. The photos below show the results: 
The before and after photos are shown below: 
Before
After
Notice that scratches and stains that could not be removed during the cleaning process are more apparent after cleaning and finishing. The stock has had much oil removed and is now completely sealed against further oil and other fluid contamination. However, the author believes, as many visitors probably do, that the stock looked better before it was cleaned and finished because of the now more noticeable stains and scratches.
The assembled gun is shown below:
