What stain and finish for hardwoods?

TWalker

I've never had very good luck refinishing hardwood stocks. They always show uneven color because the stain doesn't take well resulting in dark and light spots. Remington used to have some type of finish on their early 788's, 514's, and 580 series guns that totally covered the wood like paint and had a high gloss finish. Some of the Chinese stocks like the Chinese ATD Browning .22 auto copy also have a beautiful finish on really poor quality wood stocks. Will any of you that have found a stain/paint/finish that works well on hardwood or soft whitewoods please share your methods and products with me? Pictures would be great as well. Thanks for any suggestions.

260

Have you tried a good stock filler? The use of gales stains for stocks works well.

jptatum

You need to use a primer sealer first for varnish.

machine gun moran

I've used Minwax oil stain in dark walnut and red mohogany, with good results. I don't use separate filler or sealers, and uniform application is always important, which means that all traces of any former wood treatment must be removed. I apply the stain with flannel patches using light strokes and immediately even any areas where there was a slight excess, and then darken it with successive applications if necessary.

The red mohogany comes close to a color match for the reddish-colored varnish that the Soviets used on their reworked Mosin stocks, and when followed with a coat of tru-oil to seal it in, it looks pretty much 'arsenal'. Mosin wood tends to be a pretty light-colored hardwood. I've used this stain over dark walnut just to see the result, and what appeared was an extremely dark red that looked pretty good on handgun grips. Oil stains need to be given a long drying time before any type of top coat is applied.

Mosins often come with the varnish flaking and falling off right out of the box, exposing the wood to moisture absorption which does bedding (and accuracy) no good. (I know there are 'preservation' nuts out there who may crucify people for any alterations in Mosin wood finish, and probably even for tightening screws, if they were left too loose by a genuine original authentic bona-fide Soviet arsenal worker with toilet paper stuck to his shoes [:D][:D]. But I prefer serviceability.[:)])