any way to change the stain / color on a laminated stock ??

Snowy River

Snowy River

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got fooled by a slightly nefarious seller...got a pink laminated ruger 10/22 instead of what looked like a clearly brown / orange. not sure if he photoshopped it or just tweaked the lighting. the problem is that if i send it back i have just paid $30 shipping in both directions for NOTHING... i know i can get a synthetic stock for $30-50 but i would be interested in attempting a color alteration. any thoughts or ideas ( on the color change...not the deal ) would be appreciated.
 
If you don't care if you ruin the color try this, I've "stained" plywood this way before. If it's got a clear or varnish you'll likely need to strip it down to bare wood first.

Take a can of spray paint of your color choice, give the stock a even coat. Let it soak in for a minute or so, then soak some paper towel in paint thinner and wipe the stock of any excess paint. The thinner will not only remove excess paint, it will also help dilute and make paint soak into the laminate stock. Repeat as needed till you reach the desired color level. It works really well, a cabinet maker friend of mine uses this trick on projects from time to time, finish off with your choice of oil or varnish.
 
If you strip off factory finish, you will be able to stain it darker. I have a Marlin GBL, didn't like the pressed checkering or chunky forend. Removed checkering, slimmed forend and stained with Minwax wood finish gunstock 231. Few coats of tung oil and it turned out really nice.
You could test stain on a small spot under buttplate.
 
What do you want for it?? I have a daughter on the way, and a pink 10/22 would be nice for her, in about 9 years. She already has a .410, so why not??

I'll be in Victoria in a month, I could fly it home with me.

I'm certainly not desperate, but it'd let you start new....
 
Remove all of the finish on the stock so that the wood is open to absorb stain. Then get some liquid BLACK stain and give the wood several coats, getting it to absorb as much black stain as possible. It will take a while to dry. I would also suggest some sort of heat to the wood to make absorption faster and deeper.

As previously mentioned, you could have it lamicoated or immersion coated to any color or pattern you choose.
 
Gunneegoogoo said:
What do you want for it?? I have a daughter on the way, and a pink 10/22 would be nice for her, in about 9 years. She already has a .410, so why not??

I'll be in Victoria in a month, I could fly it home with me.

I'm certainly not desperate, but it'd let you start new....
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thanks for the offer I appreciate it. at times like this i tend to experiment or try & fix it myself, it may actually turn out really cool ? example : 2 years ago i had an accident loading my 2002 okanagan camper, it fell and broke all 4 electric jacks off. instead of letting it get me down I fabricated a dual axle trailer lifted the camper with a crane onto it, leaving the space under the overhang for my quad to fit in...i get soooo many compliments on it now haha....when u get lemons, make....mikes hard lemonade :)
 
Snowy River said:
thanks for the offer I appreciate it. at times like this i tend to experiment or try & fix it myself, it may actually turn out really cool ? example : 2 years ago i had an accident loading my 2002 okanagan camper, it fell and broke all 4 electric jacks off. instead of letting it get me down I fabricated a dual axle trailer lifted the camper with a crane onto it, leaving the space under the overhang for my quad to fit in...i get soooo many compliments on it now haha....when u get lemons, make....mikes hard lemonade :)
Click to expand...

aaaaaand, after you make Mike's hard you'll have enough money to build a gorgeous winery on the mountain top overlooking kelowna......
 
bearhunter said:
Remove all of the finish on the stock so that the wood is open to absorb stain. Then get some liquid BLACK stain and give the wood several coats, getting it to absorb as much black stain as possible. It will take a while to dry. I would also suggest some sort of heat to the wood to make absorption faster and deeper.

As previously mentioned, you could have it lamicoated or immersion coated to any color or pattern you choose.
Click to expand...

Thanks Bear, I'm gonna try this. headed to the gun show in kamloops this weekend but I'll try it out and post pics on this thread next week...cheers
 
Please let us know how it goes....I'm
Not super fond of the colour of my new f-class rifle..... It's not lacquered, so maybe it'd work on that too...??
 
If it's also pink down in the barrel and action areas scratch it to see if the pink is in the varnish or if it's right in the wood.

If it's in the wood you're pooched. The laminations are dyed with the coloring before the layers are laminated and the wood is subjected to hellish pressure to push the dye through the wood completely. The layers of dyed wood are then laminated to form the blanks for the stocks. With the color completely saturating the wood all I can say is good luck.

But if the pink scratches off then you simply need to remove the tinted varnish to get to the base wood.
 
Snowy River said:
Thanks Bear, I'm gonna try this. headed to the gun show in kamloops this weekend but I'll try it out and post pics on this thread next week...cheers
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I have done this with a couple of stocks. Once sanded down to the wood, it absorbs the black stain quite well. I like to warm the wood up a bit so that it's hot to the touch and it soaks up the black stain like a sponge.
 
I see that many of the replies are focusing on shifting the color by darkening the laminations. That would work. And by picking the right sort of color to use the existing pink, if it's actually right into the laminations, could be shifted to something more pleasing to most of us. Here again some trials and testing in the hidden barrel channel and inside the action mortise is worth while.
 
I would try a test patch somewhere in the inletting of the stock. Sand down to bare would and remove as much stain as possible then apply an ebony stain or something similar and see how it looks before committing to sanding the whole rifle. There is a Japanese technique call shou sugi ban which could be interesting as well. You basically burn the surface of wood then sand it own and finish it. I am not sure how that would work with the pink but it could be interesting....
 
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