stain walnut gray?

legi0n

legi0n

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I've been asked if a walnut stock can be stripped of it's finish and stained gray (the color of weathered wood or Boyd's pepper).
The stock is made of brown american walnut.

Well, is it possible? What stain color?
 
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You can't stain something lighter than it already is. That's not how stain works. You could bleach it, but it would look terrible and might not even work. Why on earth would you want to ruin a walnut stock?
 
If you really really want a grey walnut stock, you will need to visit New Zealand. 45 years ago I saw a stock that was a beautiful silver grey. The blank had come from somewhere on the north island. But trying to bleach a walnut down to grey is a lost cause.
 
You can try a home made stain called Vinegaroon. I'm betting because of the dark wood it will probably turn it black not grey. Lightly sanding after may result in a black/grey look. You'd have to try it on some scrap pieces and see if you can come up with a nice finish.
 
One thing that will turn your walnut stock gray is Hydrochloric Acid. It isn't nearly as frightening as it sounds. They use it in swimming pools and hot tubs but call it Muriatic Acid.

This stuff turns pool deck wood gray very quickly. I haven't tried it on walnut because it doesn't appeal to me but I have seen it used to remove mold on everything from pine to oak and maple. The wood turns grey very quickly, as in less than a week if the acid is left on without washing it off right away. Usually when you scrub down a deck with it you want it to soak into the wood to inhibit mold spores from sprouting. So the stain goes deep.

Give it a try on a piece of scrap wood first to see what happens.
 
bearhunter said:
One thing that will turn your walnut stock gray is Hydrochloric Acid. It isn't nearly as frightening as it sounds. They use it in swimming pools and hot tubs but call it Muriatic Acid.

This stuff turns pool deck wood gray very quickly. I haven't tried it on walnut because it doesn't appeal to me but I have seen it used to remove mold on everything from pine to oak and maple. The wood turns grey very quickly, as in less than a week if the acid is left on without washing it off right away. Usually when you scrub down a deck with it you want it to soak into the wood to inhibit mold spores from sprouting. So the stain goes deep.

Give it a try on a piece of scrap wood first to see what happens.
Click to expand...

thanks
I will try the acid
 
I searched this on the Internet.

The "experts" say to use a black stain on the wood first. Then you sand with 4-600 grit sand paper until the black is pretty much only contained within the grain.

Then whatever colour you want, in your case grey, is then added as a second coat and again sanded lightly until you get the colour base that you want. Then you seal the wood with whatever your preference is.

Look up guitar finishing as it seems to really be the main resource for colouring wood in any unusual colours.

Jeff
 
I cannot imagine wanting to stain a walnut stock grey, but it should be possible. It is possible to remove the color from walnut and then stain it to suit. I have done it to color match American black walnut to the Italian walnut used in early Lee Metfords and Enfields. After bleaching, the walnut was a fairly light blonde color and readily took the lighter walnut dye.
The bleach consists of two parts - hydrogen peroxide and liquid lye. Instructions can be found on the internet and, at one time, bleaching kits were available in hardware stores. I was fortunate enough to find a (very) old stock kit at a local Home Hardware just last year.
 
I see the OP is in Burnaby, Mohawk finishing in Burnaby carries a bleaching agent that the finishers in the shop I work at use for this purpose. There is two different strengths, you would want to get the two part version.
Grey is very popular right now in interior design and we do a lot of it(I am a cabinet maker) though we mostly do white oak bleached and then stained grey.
 
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