stains

[b737tvc]

Just sitting in Hong Kong, bored off my ass! What stains are most using right now water base/ alcohol, or acid base stains...just curious.

B.T.

 

[Zonie]

Birchwood Casey water based Walnut and alcohol based Solar-Lux stains have worked well for me on curley maple.

I haven't found a walnut stock that needed any stains yet.

 

[kaintuck]

ANY of the LMF stains have been good for me...and if a RR needs stained DARK...then leather dye~ :grin:

Hong Kong?? :hmm: motel have a view of the harbor?
airplane trip 'home' will be looonnngggg

marc

 

[galamb]

I have never been really satisfied with water based so only use them as part of a "build up" to the colour I want, and usually as the base coat/first or second colour down.

Simply because of availability, oil stains (minwax, varathane) have been my "go to" stains.

Just started experimenting with analine dyes and alcohol (on the plus side, if I mix with Vodka might be able to "drink" batches that don't work out :rotf: ).

Seriously though, the alcohol base ones look promising but I don't think I will ever give up the oil based (which are now really just solvents, no oil involved), simply because of the range of colours available and the cost which is sometimes only 1/2 the price of other options.

 

[Zonie]

Different strokes for different strokes I guess.

You couldn't pay me to use an oil based stain on a gunstock.

 

[frogwalking]

I use aquafortis on both maple and walnut. After walnut is stained, then seal one coat and fill the pores with Chamber's black filler. Makes new walnut appear to have been around a while. Two coats on curly maple does the job for me.

 

[b737tvc]

yep it is long, I have been using a dark maple stain and reducing it with distilled water, but still to dark. :stir:

 

[b737tvc]

I have used that magic maple stain, but just to dark for the first gun, in search for that reddish dark brown look.

 

[stuartg]

I'm about to use danglers reddish brown stain on my current build. I'll post pics when I'm done - maybe it's what you're looking for.

 

[b737tvc]

ok, great I look forward to it. Thanks :v

 

[blackdog of vt]

If you haven't used ferric nitrate crystals they are simple to use and pc. It leaves deep color that will never fade and looks the same as original rifles. Next to modern stains there is no comparison. :thumbsup:

 

[Vaino]

My latest BC LR is ready for "whiskering" and seeing BC LRs have a reddish color, I'm opting for ferric nitrate solution for this one. ....have sampled it on scraps and it looks good. If more red is req'd, then Dangler's reddish brown will be used....but I doubt it will be needed. On my Lancaster builds a series of Dangler stains are used....usually 3.

Have a BC shown on TOW's "kit" section and on that one I made the mistake of using LMF red.....it really was red and req'd a tremendous amount of work to "subdue" it so it was acceptable...never again......Fred

 

[stuartg]

Hey Fred, have you used only Danglers reddish brown before? As of now, I'm planning on using only this on my Lancaster. Thoughts? Thanks!

PS - I'm trying to get that red violin look.

 

[Vaino]

Have used Dangler's reddish brown on one Lancaster and it's pictured below. My usual Lancasters are darker w/ just a hint of red and this is shown below the reddish brown Lancaster. The bottom Lancaster was stained w/ 3 Dangler stains...starting w/ the orange toner, then the reddish brown and finaly the dark brown. There is a caveat....woods take stain differently...so sampling on "sawoffs" is a good idea.


Ferric nitrate would also be a suitable color for a Lancaster seeing it yields a very deep reddish brown. One of the advantages of AF or ferric nitrate....is that they don't accumulate unabsorbed stain in the nooks and crannies which has to be taken out.....Fred

 

[stuartg]

Wow, those are both gorgeous! You do some great work - thanks for sharing.

 

[blackdog of vt]

What I found is the softer wood like red maple turns more brown than hard maple. I have doing is tinting my oil with natural pigment burnt sienna or burnt umber from here http://www.earthpigments.com/natural-earth-ocher-pigments/. Its works well and completely controllable.

 

[b737tvc]

yes this is the color Im try to achieve. Maybe just a little darker but nice.

B.t.

 

[b737tvc]

who sells the ferric nitrate ?

Beaver T.

 

[blackdog of vt]

The science company. I mix mine 4 to 1 with alchohol. http://www.sciencecompany.com/Ferric-Nitrate-100g-P6384.aspx I've had the chance to see quite a few original lancasters and I've not seen one darker than what ferric nitrate naturally does, which isn't really that dark.

 

[Noggindrill]

Thanks to some tips on this forum, I finished a Lyman GPR stock a few years ago from a kit using Minwax and multiple coats of Tru Oil. It turned out great. Now I have a different project.... a stock that appears to be stained but with little or no sealer on it. It's a very boring looking finish. So the question is, should I 1) try to sand the old finish off and restain/seal it, 2)chemically strip the stock then restain/seal or
3) something else? Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks.