doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Cleaning old buttpad

Any suggestions for cleaning an old rubber buttpad. The pad is original to the gun and I'd like to keep it.

Start with mild solutions and work up from there. Remove the pad from the stock or be careful to keep cleaners off the wood. In order of aggressiveness, I'd try Simple Green, dishwashing liquid, WD-40, mineral spirits, lacquer thinner. Use a toothbrush on the face if textured, and ScotchBrite on the smooth parts. When you get up to the lacquer thinner, you will probably be cleaning by removing minute amounts of the rubber, carrying the crud with it. Be careful. You could also step up to acetone or MEK, but you run the risk of damaging an old, dry pad. The lacquer thinner may have the advantage of softening the pad slightly.

Thanks Replacement

If your buttpad is either gone hard / became tacky you are fighting a losing battle. On the other hand if it's just dirty Replacements suggestions should work. --- John

Not lacquer thinner!

My first thought was that depending on the composition of the pad, lacquer thinner could ruin it. Then, wondering if my knee-jerk reaction was right or wrong, I went downstairs and dug out that old box of take-off pads.

Lacquer thinner attacked the base on one of the popular reproduction pads, but pretty much left the pad itself alone. A new Pachmayr seemed impervious. An original Hawkins pad melted straightaway when touched with the stuff, but the base only got slightly soft.

Lacquer thinner is wonderful stuff, if you know what you are doing.

On the sides I sand with 220 and then 400 to get fresh clean rubber. Might need sanding anyway because age has a way of making the pad flare out a little. Sides are hard to clean especially if there is minor surface cracking.