Birchwood Casey Walnut Stain

[wpshooter]

I have a stock on my H&R model 12 on which the finish toward the very back of the buttstock (perhaps about 3 to 4 inches forward of the buttpad) is faded/lightened probably from former users of the rifle shouldering the rifle to shoot it. The stock does not have any product like Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil over the stain/coloring on the wood. This stock seems to have wood that is different type of wood than another model 12 which I have, which has a sort of birch or maple looking type of wood. This one appears to be wood type & coloring like oak.

So my question is if I apply the Walnut Stain to the entire stock to hopefully give it as uniform coloring intensity as possible, should I use the Walnut Stain full strength or should I dilute it some with water as the instructions on the bottle says. Bottle say equal part water. And yes, I know that I could just sort of experiment with it but would like some advice prior to screwing up even a small section of the surface.

Thanks.

[scooter22]

Take your finger and wet the lighter area of the stock a little. Spit, water, and see if it darkens like the rest of the stock. May be dry and just need some oil rubbed in to even it up.

[wpshooter]

Originally Posted by scooter22

Take your finger and wet the lighter area of the stock a little. Spit, water, and see if it darkens like the rest of the stock. May be dry and just need some oil rubbed in to even it up.

Thanks for reply and suggestion.

What would make the wood dry out in just that small area ? And when you say oil, do you mean just something regular like Rem Oil or Tru-Oil or something similar ?

['ol shooter]

Birch is known for light and dark areas, particularly when a stain is applied. That is why it is common to see Birch covered with a tinted top coat, helps hide the unevenness some. Mine has never been shot and the stock is uneven like that, and the grain is very coarse.

[huntschool]

Without seeing your stock for a color match it hard to say. You can take the color back with some gentle work with 4 grade steel wool if your mixture is too dark or darken it with another coat with the mixture knocked back (diluted) even more.

I would try some 50/50 mixture to start with. Then work forward or backward as needed. A good coat of BLO and mineral spirits rubbed into the stock when you are done won't hurt either.

JMHO

['ol shooter]

Some things to consider:
Steel Wool leaves tiny threads of steel in the wood, which can cause rusted spots in the wood. Especially aggravating when it's already under the finish.
A better alternative is Scotchbrite White pads which are equivalent to 4-0 Steel Wool. That is what I use on wood, and save the steel for metal work.
Scotchbrite is available in several grades, here is a chart of grit equivalents:


On BLO, I have used it on a few stocks with good results. Bear in mind though that it sinks deeply into the wood, so once it's in you will only be able to recoat with more BLO.

I think the original finish, if you can call it that, was a wipe-down with a BLO soaked rag, at least that's the way mine looks. Hardly anything there at all.

Tru-Oil is a mix of BLO along with other ingredients. This is from its MSDS sheet, available online:


If you are going to try and even out the finish using a stain, a gel type stain would be preferable, you can do small areas without a lot of bleed-out.

[jfraz3]

The suggestion to use white scotchbrite is super intelligent! Stay away from steel wool!!! Also, if you can, use 100% mineral spirits and wipe the stock down and that will give you a good idea of what it'll look like with a clear finish on it. If you need to tint a certain area, look into TransTint dyes and denatured alcohol and make ur own dye for the light areas. I've used dyes for several years now to match colors with good luck. Unlike stains, the dye will "set" and color the wood deep into the wood and stay for eternity