has anyone used minwax stains on walnut stocks ? I reshaped the forend of my pedersoli blue ridge rifle and I'm having trouble matching the stain , I've tried to stain the stock about 10 times useing several coats but the wood will only take on the first coat each subsequent coat just blends with the first coat and won't get any darker.I may have to just sand the whole stock and restain and get used to the lighter color. I'm also wondering if I can use brown paint? maybe thin it out a little? I'm kinda at the mercy of home depot as we don't have a local gun shop anymore the one we had closed up and retired last year.
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stock staining
- Thread starter hornetk4
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I'm afraid I can guess that your using an oil based Minwax "stain"?
If so, you are seeing a first hand example of why I (and most builders) keep repeating "Do Not use a oil based stain or a "one step finish".
The problem with oil stains is that wood can only hold so much oil. After the wood is saturated, nothing can be done to darken or change the color of the wood after that point.
If you paint your wood it will look like....painted wood. IMO this is not something that a lover of fine firearms would want to see.
As you say your haveing trouble "matching the stain", I assume you have only worked on one area and you are trying to get it to blend with the finish on the rest of the stock? If so my first suggestion is to strip all of the existing finish off and do the entire stock. This is the only good way to get everything to match.
If you don't want to go to that extreme, the other suggestion is that you take your stock outside and wash off all of the oil based stain that you can with acetone. This is bad stuff so never do this inside. It is also very explosive so no smoking or gas water heaters either.
Acetone will eat the existing finish so try to keep it off of the rest of the stock.
When you have destroyed the oil based stain with the acetone go and buy some alcohol based stain like Birchwood Casey Walnut, Laurel Mountain stains or Solar-Lux stains. The brand isn't important but it must be either alcohol based or water based stain.
Many coats of these stains can be applied and the wood keeps getting darker and darker.
When you do this, be sure to do it ourside in the direct sunlight. Look at the wet surface of the wood. That is exactly what the finished oiled stock will look like. Never look at the wood while the stain is dry to determine its darkness or color. Dried stain looks very light until the linseed or Tung oil is applied. Then it darkens just like when it was wet and the woods figure will jump out.
If so, you are seeing a first hand example of why I (and most builders) keep repeating "Do Not use a oil based stain or a "one step finish".
The problem with oil stains is that wood can only hold so much oil. After the wood is saturated, nothing can be done to darken or change the color of the wood after that point.
If you paint your wood it will look like....painted wood. IMO this is not something that a lover of fine firearms would want to see.
As you say your haveing trouble "matching the stain", I assume you have only worked on one area and you are trying to get it to blend with the finish on the rest of the stock? If so my first suggestion is to strip all of the existing finish off and do the entire stock. This is the only good way to get everything to match.
If you don't want to go to that extreme, the other suggestion is that you take your stock outside and wash off all of the oil based stain that you can with acetone. This is bad stuff so never do this inside. It is also very explosive so no smoking or gas water heaters either.
Acetone will eat the existing finish so try to keep it off of the rest of the stock.
When you have destroyed the oil based stain with the acetone go and buy some alcohol based stain like Birchwood Casey Walnut, Laurel Mountain stains or Solar-Lux stains. The brand isn't important but it must be either alcohol based or water based stain.
Many coats of these stains can be applied and the wood keeps getting darker and darker.
When you do this, be sure to do it ourside in the direct sunlight. Look at the wet surface of the wood. That is exactly what the finished oiled stock will look like. Never look at the wood while the stain is dry to determine its darkness or color. Dried stain looks very light until the linseed or Tung oil is applied. Then it darkens just like when it was wet and the woods figure will jump out.
Zonie thank you so much for the post , I've seen pics of your rifle collection and you DO know your stuff about staining I must agree .I'll follow your advice and strip the whole stock and start over with the right kind of stain,thanx again.
I really like a dark finish and have found Blood Red alcohol based from BEHLEN mixed with DARK WALNUT alcohol based stain COMBINATION to work great. I alternate layers I do NOT mix them together. Sometimes I apply 14 to 20 coats.
You do NOT need a store. You can buy BEHLEN's ON LINE
My guns look like 1700 and 1800 guns.
After stain I hand rub 14 -18 very thin layers of TUNG Oil and once it is dried for 2 days I lightly rub with pumice and rotten stone to take the shine down and achieve a great hand rubbed deep rich finish.
You do NOT need a store. You can buy BEHLEN's ON LINE
My guns look like 1700 and 1800 guns.
After stain I hand rub 14 -18 very thin layers of TUNG Oil and once it is dried for 2 days I lightly rub with pumice and rotten stone to take the shine down and achieve a great hand rubbed deep rich finish.
I have never done this, but I remember reading on this site that somebody stripped all the hardware off a stock and then took it to a furniture stripping place, they said it worked fine. Maybe some other member can post more info.Good smoke, Ron
paulvallandigham
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I tried furniture Strip-EAZE years ago and was not impressed. The new compounds contain acetone, with some kind of stabilizer to allow them to be sprad on the wood surface and stay.
Acetone evaporates quickly, but its a liquid, and the finishes and paint literally wash away as the stuff is wiped over the surface.
Start at the top of the stock, with the bottom in a pan of some kind, and let the drips remove the finish as its flowing down the stock. Work the top and work down from there with an old brush. I stripped a stock in about 2 minutes using just acetone liquid, bought from a paint store.
This stuff is nasty, so wear gloves to protect your skin, and do it outside, with the wind blowing the fumes away from you.
That 2 minute stock had both some kind of varnish or lacquer finish AND paint on the wood. I am sold on using just the Acetone liquid for stock stripping. The faster it gets done, the sooner I can get on with refinishing the stock. :thumbsup:
Acetone evaporates quickly, but its a liquid, and the finishes and paint literally wash away as the stuff is wiped over the surface.
Start at the top of the stock, with the bottom in a pan of some kind, and let the drips remove the finish as its flowing down the stock. Work the top and work down from there with an old brush. I stripped a stock in about 2 minutes using just acetone liquid, bought from a paint store.
This stuff is nasty, so wear gloves to protect your skin, and do it outside, with the wind blowing the fumes away from you.
That 2 minute stock had both some kind of varnish or lacquer finish AND paint on the wood. I am sold on using just the Acetone liquid for stock stripping. The faster it gets done, the sooner I can get on with refinishing the stock. :thumbsup:
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