Staining a rifle...

blargon

blargon

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
271   0   0
Location
ON
I'm in the midst of refinishing a rifle stock, of good quality walnut. I have decided to go with an oil finish, but would like to stain the wood first. Is Minwax oil based stain a good way to go?? If so, which colour would give a nice, rich, original looking tone?

thanks for any input.
 
Generally speaking, walnut finishes up pretty dark. Black is usually darker than English. To check how the wood will look after finishing, wipe the bare wood down with a wet rag.
 
"...original looking..." Original for what? In any case, wood is wood. You finish wooden gun stocks the same way you do fine furniture.
 
I use Minwax stain under Tru oil whenever I need to colour the wood. Minwax produces a large number of colours and you can experiment with mixing various shades in different proportions to arrive at a colour that suits you.
This works for me. Mix one third mahogany and two thirds Jacobean for a dark red/brown that is quite rich looking. If you need it to be a little lighter tone, use Special Walnut or Dark Walnut in place of Jacobean but in the same proportions.
Regards,
smoji
 
You can run into problems using an oil finish over an oil stain.....
I use 2 coats Birchwood Casey water based walnut stain, then finish with several coats of boiled linseed oil. Looks like this when done:
beretta3.jpg

beretta4.jpg

k312.jpg
 
I've heard not to use water base stain under oil, I've always used oil base stain under tongue oil or antique oil. Your gun looks good Hitzy ! Tiger stripped, nice grain.
 
Casper said:
I've heard not to use water base stain under oil, I've always used oil base stain under tongue oil or antique oil. Your gun looks good Hitzy ! Tiger stripped, nice grain.
Click to expand...

Water (alcohol technically) based stain dries completely in 24hours and absorbs really well. Oil based stains can react with oil finishes where it will always feel sticky and never completly dry. As long as you use compatible stain/finish (like minwax) it will be fine though.
 
I've experienced some problems using Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil aerosol sometimes over stain and sometimes without stain. The problems weren't consistent enough for me to say for sure that the stain was the problem. I'm inclined to think it has more to do with the carrier in the aerosol. A technical rep at B/C was unable to help either. I have since bought Tru-Oil in the bulk liquid form.
With the liquid product, so long as the stain is allowed to dry for at least 12 hours, I have never experienced a problem with the finish. I have had to push the limit a couple of times. In those cases, the Tru-Oil took up some stain, but dried hard in the normal time and sealed the surface for the next coat. I followed one of those guns for two years and found the finish held up well.
Therefore, I'm comfortable with using these two products together but I can't speak to other combinations.
 
stain

How does the Birchwood Casey stock wax perform over the Tru-oil finish?? How many coats?

thanks for everyones input.
 
blargon said:
How does the Birchwood Casey stock wax perform over the Tru-oil finish?? How many coats?

thanks for everyones input.
Click to expand...
It's a pretty lousy wax. Better off with a good paste wax. You can get minwax paste wax from crappy tire.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom