Bren gun cleaning.

[eldritch66]

I'm trying to keep my MKII in good condition but not restored as I very much like the look of the wear and tear and can only imagine the use it's had over the years.

I'm trying to clean the wood - to remove years of grime without having to apply abrasives. Is there anything that you would recommend to clean the wood?

[iannrmn]

white spirrit or turpentine cleans wood very well
cheers ian

[woodsy]

In my workshop we use acetone (available from paint shops) as a cleaner for wood, particularly where we have to do glued repairs. It completely removes all oil wirh a couple of applications. Where there are black spots in the wood from oil etc, we use bleach applied with a cotton bud. We finish the wood with fine steel wool and then apply a few drops of linseed oil (Artists Oil available from art supply stores) and rub it in well. Two or three applications brings a pleasing result that still looks original. Do not ever use abrasive papers unless absolutely neccessary if you want to keep the original appearance.

[eldritch66]

Thanks for that, ill give it a go and hopefully post a few pics when its done.

[britplumber]

Any light liquid that will remove oil should be fine, I've been using some panel wipe I had lying around to remove the grime and then I use micro mesh to polish the left over waxy grease. It leaves the nice dark patina in a aesthetically pleasing condition.

[britplumber]

Any light liquid that will remove oil should be fine, I've been using some panel wipe I had lying around to remove the grime and then I use micro mesh to polish the left over waxy grease. It leaves the nice dark patina in a aesthetically pleasing condition.

[eldritch66]

It's amazing how much grime was on the woodwork, It must have been on there for decades.
The wood grain is just starting to show now and a little more light cleaning and some linseed oil and it should be done.