Flintlock Pistols With Rare Safety Frizzens, c1740

[dana_w]

Originally Posted by RDGAC

I'm wondering if you might get better results from a solvent which has higher polarization (Dipole) or hydrogen bonding (I believe aka Keesom) interactions.

A friend at an engineering firm near my office recommend a product called Goof Off which uses a combination of Acetone and Xylene. Using the chart you provided, Acetone is higher on the polarization scale (a Keesom) than anything I've tried before. I applied some Goof Off to the face of one frizzen using a cotton swap and it did slowly remove some of the dried linseed oil. I am going to pickup some pure Acetone and give it a try when I get a chance.

Another friend who is an artist recommended a product used to remove dried linseed oil from antique oil paintings called Winsor & Newton Artists' Picture Cleaner. Its active ingredient was ammonia. I had ammonia in the kitchen so I gave it a try and it seems works well too. It is a little harder to control because it doesn't evaporate quickly.