To Stain or Not to Stain

I took apart a rifle to give it a good cleaning and several coats of Eezox.

It looks like a previous owner striped the top layer of finish from the main body of the stock but did not remove the hand guard and strip it.

I took it off and took off the top coat of shellac or whatever from the hnd guard and hit the stock a couple of times both with just a soft brush and vinegar/water. So they are now both pretty much bare wood.

The problem is that the hand guard is a darker shade than the stock. Both are walnut but the stock is lighter and more brown while the hand guard is darker brown like you'd associate with walnut.

The only way I can think to remedy this is to stain the stock with some water-based walnut stain. Either that or just leave them both the way they are. I'll finish both with some BLO or tung oil either way.

I'm mainly concerned with going too dark on the stock.

Thoughts?

K31 said:

I took apart a rifle to give it a good cleaning and several coats of Eezox.

It looks like a previous owner striped the top layer of finish from the main body of the stock but did not remove the hand guard and strip it.

I took it off and took off the top coat of shellac or whatever from the hnd guard and hit the stock a couple of times both with just a soft brush and vinegar/water. So they are now both pretty much bare wood.

The problem is that the hand guard is a darker shade than the stock. Both are walnut but the stock is lighter and more brown while the hand guard is darker brown like you'd associate with walnut.

The only way I can think to remedy this is to stain the stock with some water-based walnut stain. Either that or just leave them both the way they are. I'll finish both with some BLO or tung oil either way.

I'm mainly concerned with going too dark on the stock.

Thoughts?

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Personally, I would leave it alone and not stain them. Walnut has a beautiful natural hue to it with a hand rubbed finish. Wood is going to be wood and unless all parts were cut from the same piece of wood, there are going to be differences, even within the same tree.

Can you post a pic of it? I'm a commercial cabinet maker and love stuff like this

if you decide to stain it, I've got some stain I use on old Winchester stocks (more than I'd ever use). I've also got some beeswax finish, and tung oil. You've given me enough belly laughs I'd be happy to help out...

I generally agree that natural wood is best, but this old Winchester stain is nice...

Febings leather dye works great

K31 said:

I took apart a rifle to give it a good cleaning and several coats of Eezox.

Click to expand...

I guess you like this stuff? I have never used it; read about it but have never found anyone who uses it.

How do you apply it? Cloth or patch? This is used in place of a standard lubricant? And you clean with it also? If you clean with it better than reg. cleaners?

I can find out what is recommended per the mfg but I would like to user info...

Thanks

To match the color you need to start with clean bare wood, repeated wipedowns with mineral spirits should remove any oil or varnish residue that effects the color. You can stain the lighter wood, but you need to start with a really light stain in the correct hue, something around pecan perhaps. Stains will only darken, so it would be better to apply a few coats of a lighter stain to slowly darken the lighter color instead of a coat of a dark stain that can overshoot your goal. You could go the other way too, bleach the handguard and try to match it, or bleach both and stain them together for a match.

You could also tint the topcoat with aniline dye. That way if you go too dark you can strip it, and the color comes off with the finish. You'd have to strip it to bare wood and apply a sanding sealer first.

alucard0822 said:

To match the color you need to start with clean bare wood, repeated wipedowns with mineral spirits should remove any oil or varnish residue that effects the color. You can stain the lighter wood, but you need to start with a really light stain in the correct hue, something around pecan perhaps. Stains will only darken, so it would be better to apply a few coats of a lighter stain to slowly darken the lighter color instead of a coat of a dark stain that can overshoot your goal. You could go the other way too, bleach the handguard and try to match it, or bleach both and stain them together for a match.

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I thought about the bleaching, just can't bear to rroyce the natural coloring of mahogany

kazan182 said:

I guess you like this stuff? I have never used it; read about it but have never found anyone who uses it.

How do you apply it? Cloth or patch? This is used in place of a standard lubricant? And you clean with it also? If you clean with it better than reg. cleaners?

I can find out what is recommended per the mfg but I would like to user info...

Thanks

Click to expand...

The first time you use it, like this instance, break down the firearm as far down as possible and clean all dirt and other substances off the surfaces. I apply it with gun patches (I wear disposable gloves because being a good moisture protect-ant it doesn't wash off right away) to the exterior surfaces minus the bore. You wipe on just enough to make the metal appear uniformly wet but don't let it pool. A little goes a long way. I then set it aside overnight and gently wipe any spots that still appear wet. Personally, I do this twice the first time I treat a firearm. I'll breakdown and treat the mags this way also.

For the bore after cleaning with a bore solvent and running dry patches through, I run one patch with Eezox through let it sit overnight and then run a dry patch through.

I used to not use it for cleaning. I never bought the concept that something that you were applying to stay on could also take away dirt. But I found that it does work. I clean the interior of the receiver for instance and eventually the patches come out clean. I don't think I'll use it for bore cleaning.

As a lubricant, if you read the literature, its unbeatable. For places where regular lube could attract sand and grit I would use it without hesitation. Ditto places that don't get lubed regularly. Some firearms/areas need a specific lubricant however, like the M1 Garand needs grease to run. I'm also going to listen to Chad and use regular lubricants in "normal" applications ie. moving parts.

alucard0822 said:

You could go the other way too, bleach the handguard and try to match it, or bleach both and stain them together for a match.

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mxrider said:

I thought about the bleaching, just can't bear to rroyce the natural coloring of mahogany

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I looked into this but it seems like wood bleaches are made to remove "rings" and other accidental stains from wood, not to lighten natural color. I'm also leery of damaging the wood. I know oven cleaner for instance would lighten it but also break the grains.

MotoJ said:

You could also tint the topcoat with aniline dye. That way if you go too dark you can strip it, and the color comes off with the finish. You'd have to strip it to bare wood and apply a sanding sealer first.

Click to expand...

I'm going to probably be using tung oil that penetrates into the wood.