Maple & Beech, and getting dark stain to take!

I think you need a water based stain... or a finish with colour in it.. the factories use a thin paint I think...
 
Hey levi google tandy leather, any of the aniline dyes they sell will work. Or track of the wolf has some glycol based stains that will get really dark. I just used some fiebings from tandy with awesome results
 
Maple / beech do not stain very well due to very fine pores in the wood. These woods are best darkened with a blow torch, at least in the past it was a method used. Today I suppose there might be dyes one could use, I'm no pro at that aspect. If you intend to use lacquer remember lacquer will not bond to an "oily" surface - learned that the hard way. Let us know what you find out at LV. --- John 303.
 
John303 said:
Maple / beech do not stain very well due to very fine pores in the wood. These woods are best darkened with a blow torch, at least in the past it was a method used. Today I suppose there might be dyes one could use, I'm no pro at that aspect. If you intend to use lacquer remember lacquer will not bond to an "oily" surface - learned that the hard way. Let us know what you find out at LV. --- John 303.
Click to expand...

I remember that:D, folks would make the poor mans tiger stripes with a torch. Was even thinking india ink would work well. but would certainly test it first.
Anyway will post my final results..thanks again
 
The Flecto stuff WIPED on with a scrap of rag or some paper towel actually builds with very thin but well sealed coats and isn't at all hard to do. And it has the benifit of being thinner so it does not look like a plastic wrap job.

Also part of your problem is that oil stains take a LONG time to dry. You need to apply then wipe off. If it's not dark enough then tough. Adding more will not work and will just leave the wood muddy looking. Aniline dyes dissolved in water may work better but if you want something nearer to black or very dark brown then you should have started with a darker wood in the first place.

The india ink may do a nice job if you're after a black stained wood look. But since you've already sealed the pores with the other stains I suspect you're going to need to open up the wood with a paint stripper and then wash it and let it dry and re-sand to level any raised grain and finally dye the wood.

Also if you're looking at anything water based at this point a wipe down and let dry with a wax and grease remover as used by autobody painters would not be a bad idea. You want to ensure there's no residual oils in the wood surface before using anything water based or it'll end up splotchy.
 
The Fiebings leather stain has been mentioned and I have used it on beech,birch and walnut,but not on maple. It is an alcohol based stain which penetrates well and will even penetrate through oil.A water based stain will not. One of my beech stocked Garands,which was stained with Fiebings medium brown leather dye,appeared in a recent Del Selins ad in the MILSURP ee. If it is still there,you will get an idea of how it works out.Personally I think it is quite attractive and seems to bring out the character in the beech while imparting a reddish hue to the wood.
 
Staining Maple and Beech

I recently refinished two beech Husqvarna stocks. One I did with a dark brown leather stain and the other a dark green water-based stain (just to be different). Both stains absorbed into the wood very well, and I finished each one with Tru-Oil. Very please with the end result.
 
I once stained a Lee Enfield Beech stock dark by coating it with stain and placing it in a plastic bag with more stain in it. 24 hours later the stain had taken. I've done the aniline die thing as well. It stains well, but is water based and raises the grain which will have to be lightly sanded afterwards.
 
I don't know if you want to do this with a stock, but when I stain Pine, I wet the wood to open the pores and then apply the stain.
 
I recently refinished maple stocks and I used a commercial cabinet-maker trick. Stain the wood with a rag and wipe it off. Then, dilute your oil stain 60-40 with lacquer thinner and spray it evenly over the piece to make it look uniform (this method is called "shading"). Doing this way wont overfill the pores and the results are generally spectacular. Good luck.
 
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