• Friends, our 2nd Amendment rights are always under attack and the NRA has been a constant for decades in helping fight that fight.

    We have partnered with the NRA to offer you a discount on membership and Muzzleloading Forum gets a small percentage too of each membership, so you are supporting both the NRA and us.

    Use this link to sign up please; https://membership.nra.org/recruiters/join/XR045103

wood staining question

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Jul 3, 2012
Messages
6,232
Reaction score
3,133
Location
Washington State
Ok, I know you guys are gonna roll your eyes but...

I have a deal working for a couple more T/C Hawkins and I was thinking of striping the stain on one of them so I can stain it pink. I was wondering if there is a wood srtipper and a pink stain that is better than others for a rifle stock. As I have not worked with a wood stain or a wood stripper since I was in 8th grade shop class I figure I would ask the actual craftsmen.

(I don't even care to hear about how horrid an idea this is, I want a hot pink hawkin.)
 
Don't know about the pink stain, but I've used Jasco Paint Stripper on everything from furniture to classic wood boats to gunstocks. Works great, but use gloves & eye protection. If your dealing with lifting a dark stain, you may want to bleach the wood after stripping to prepare for that nice pink finish (if there is such a thing :hmm: ).

One thought on the pink look: for minor gouge repairs/touch-ups in the boat shop, we used to add stain to the varnish. You might be able to seal the wood & then add the pink to the finish layer. Just make sure you use like with like; if using a water-based finish, then add a water-based pigment/color/stain; likewise, mix oil-based with oil-based. Experiment on scrap lumber until you get a finish you like.
 
That pink Hawkin will go great when you're being toted around in that sedan chair at the Rondy! Pink might be hard to pull off with stain but I suppose it's possible. I have seen a couple of nice red stains and maybe if mixed with one of those opaque, "antique" whitish stains you could achieve it.
 
Just cover it in pink duct tape and you'll be ready for 'Possum Lodge Rendezvous!

So much for The Traditional Muzzleloaders site!

:doh: ..... :rotf: :rotf: :rotf:
 
A can of pink spray paint is about the only way but pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese don't!
Deadeye
 
cynthialee said:
Ok, I know you guys are gonna roll your eyes but...
Why do you think that? T/C's, while traditional in that they are a sidelock fired, wood and steel ML gun, are hardly rare and stocks are a dime a dozen.

Anyway, as pointed out, the stocks are probably walnut so any stain or dye is out. You can darken walnut but not lighten it.

Has anyone here tried "bleaching" walnut? Works on some woods. If walnut will bleach then dyes might be an option, but dyes can be unpredictable. :idunno:

To achieve hot pink your best option is to sand smooth. I wouldn't use a stripper for fear of removing any grain filler in the pores of the walnut. Clean the wood well with denatured alchohol and paint with a good lacquer spray paint in your choice of pink. Follow the directions on the can and clear coat it with a finish recommended for covering lacquer.

I say go for it. Guys build flint chunk guns and paint 'em tractor red and John Deere green.

As a bonus, the UGA study in the 1990's revealed that deer see hot pink as grey. So as long as you aren't hunting turkey or some other fowl, the game won't care.

Enjoy, J.D.
 
I thought that if I could ever get my little girl into shooting I might have to build a rifle for her and stain it pink. They make a pink leather dye that would probably work good for it. Like the others I don't know if the stains would work on walnut. I like the paint idea. You could even put some black faux stipes on top of the pink. If someone bad mouths it all you have to do is go to the range and outshoot their butt! Dew
 
You might like to check your local, friendly autobody shop. Some furniture builders use those finishes & techniques to achieve some really nice finishes on wood.

Paul
 
Like the others said, the stock on a TC Hawken is walnut. Some of them have very nice walnut but, back to the question.

In order to allow walnut to look pink after staining you will have to first, strip off the existing finish.

A good paint remover from the hardware store will do that.

Then you will have to bleach the wood to remove all traces of the natural brown that walnut is.

I don't know what kind of bleach the professional refinishers use to do this but if it is the typical chlorine bleach you've got problems.

Except for some strong acids I don't know of anything that attacks steel parts as distructively as chlorine bleach.

If you put it on the wood, I seriously doubt that you could wash the dried bleach off well enough to prevent it from rusting the barrel.

Anyway, if you figure out how to bleach the wood (without setting up a potential problem) then you can apply your pink dye.
Some woodworking stores that specialize in woodworking hobbies have Solar-Lux stains and I'm sure they come in pink. I know they come in a lot of other unnatural colors.

The best suggestion is to just buy a spray can of pink paint and spray the stock with it.

Do me a favor. If anyone asks about folks who helped you with this project be sure to forget I was involved.
 
:shocked2:
well.......it will be different~the gal at Barrett has a pink M-16~

I just haven't seen a pink M1 garrand.....yet~
:rotf: :surrender:
 
I went online seaching for a pink black powder rifle and the only thing I could find was one of those guns we don't care to discuss in these parts.

If there were more pink options in firearms then you could get more women into shooting. When I see a pink gun my first thought is 'oh thats cute, I want it'. Anouther thing, when we get our hands on a tough looking gun, then our brothers, fathers, and husbands yoink our stuff and end up kinda claiming it for them selves. When we have that little voice in the back telling us 'it is nice but the boys will likely steal it from me' you really don't care to bother. With a hot barbie pink rifle I doubt I will ever have this issue.
 
jdkerstetter said:
To achieve hot pink your best option is to sand smooth. I wouldn't use a stripper for fear of removing any grain filler in the pores of the walnut. Clean the wood well with denatured alchohol and paint with a good lacquer spray paint in your choice of pink. Follow the directions on the can and clear coat it with a finish recommended for covering lacquer.
That's just what I was thinking,
Nix the stain and paint it, light sanding to give the paint something to stick too, but not so much as too open the grain.
 
lowes has min-wax stain in colors. not sure about pink but i know they have red, blue, green, and a few more colors.

if you can find it parks wood bleach works fairly well to lighten the outer wood & also removes any oil. it's a 2 part deal. one bottle is a really strong bleach(wear heavy duty gloves) & the other is a strong peroxide to remove/neutralise the bleach. lowes used to have it too but stopped stockin' it for some reason.

as for paintin' it, i used krylon pink on my sister's shootin' match gun & it worked good but be sure to put a few coats of clear over it or oil/sweat from yer hands will eventually soak in & discolor it in the grip area.

and for what it's worth i agree with yer sentiment that the hubby/boyfriend/brother/whatever ain't as likely to glom onto a barbie gun. luck & have a good'en, bubba.
 
Back
Top