Colour of oiled stock

[poorpeet]

I decided to strip off the old chipped and scratched varnish from my sbs woodwork. I thought it best to do the forend first.

I've refinished it with Tru-oil which has left a nice finish but it's much lighter than I'd hoped. What's the best way of recovering the situation? ie darkening it down a bit bearing in mind it's got fresh oil finish on it now

Edited August 23, 2010 by poorpeet

[libs]

You could steam the tru-oil out and go straight at the bare wood with something like rapid-oil then a red oil finish which will give a very water resistant dark stain, or you could work in a very small amount of red oil over time using the palm of your hand to warm the wood over the top of the tru-oil, what ever happpens you can always steam it and rub it back so theres no worry of ruining it. Just be careful not to overload the oil becuase it will sweat out on very hot days and make your face and hands oily!

 

Best of luck whatever happens, I was really please when I got my stock how I wanted it, even if it did take 10+ hours !!

 

(although I am told 400+ hours go into the oil finish on a H&H gun )

[mattslaptop247]

You could steam the tru-oil out and go straight at the bare wood with something like rapid-oil then a red oil finish which will give a very water resistant dark stain, or you could work in a very small amount of red oil over time using the palm of your hand to warm the wood over the top of the tru-oil, what ever happpens you can always steam it and rub it back so theres no worry of ruining it. Just be careful not to overload the oil becuase it will sweat out on very hot days and make your face and hands oily!

 

Best of luck whatever happens, I was really please when I got my stock how I wanted it, even if it did take 10+ hours !!

 

(although I am told 400+ hours go into the oil finish on a H&H gun )

 

 

You need to use "red oil" wich is oil of alkanet root. The best supplier of this is Dig Hadoke, just follow this link. Strip off the tru oil, apply the red oil and re-apply the tru oil.

 

http://www.vintageguns.co.uk/index.php?pag...t&Itemid=31

[poorpeet]

Thanks for the reply's

When you say 'steam it out' what do you mean & how should i go about it?

[libs]

Thanks for the reply's

When you say 'steam it out' what do you mean & how should i go about it?

 

 

Simply put, with the stock off the gun, hold it over a kettle with the lid open or pan on the boil directly in the steam and you will literally see the finish/oil bubble out of the wood which can be wiped away with a cloth. Get the whole stock nice and hot and then move around it methodically until the finish looks dull, then you can run over it with something like 600 or higher grit wet+dry to flat down the grain.

 

If you have a fairly open grain you can add rapid oil to the wet+dry and the paste it forms with the wood dust from your stock will sink into the grain, and after the oil has gone tacky (about 30-75 mins depending on temp) it can be wiped off across the grain and you will slowly start to see it fill in. Obviously tape up your checkering and avoid letting any oils like rapid oil dry on at all costs becuase its a pig to take off!

 

This is my gun before and after the process I have just described, the tone change is without using any red oil, so if you want darker wood still use this after too.

 

 

[poorpeet]

I'll get steaming. Glad I just did the forend now! Hope mine looks as nice as yours when it's finished.

Thanks again

 

Pete

[Gordon R]

libs - I have been following the thread - out of interest. Very nice job on your stock and forend.