I just bought a Sako 85 in 9.3X62. As you can see, the stock is real blonde colored, what oil/finish, would be best to use to make the wood a little darker?
I have sanded down & oiled a few other factory stocks, but with oil that didn't change the color too much...I want to make this one darker.
A cabinet guy, mentioned using medium Walnut Danish oil.
I will take off the recoil pad and test prior to doing the entire stock, I am looking for suggestions on what to use.
Thanks

I have no idea how to darken a finished stock but thought I'd say I really like the light color it is.
Nice looking rifle.

to do a decent job the existing finish must come off. otherwise there is always rust oleum

I guess I should have clarified a little better, I plan on taking the factory finish down to bare wood.
This stock has a real blocky, squarish feel below the mag well, so it will come out, along with the factory oil.

You have to stain it first before applying oil. And by oil, I mean varnish or urethaane based oil; not plain linseed or tung. those are worthless as water protectants. That Danish oil is urethane based as I recall, and some has stain in it. I prefer to stain and oil separately. If you want it to look like walnut, use walnut stain. If you want a red tint, use a pre-64 winchester type. I use Laurel Mountain stains and they make lots of colors. You will learn nothing by staining under the recoil pad; that is end grain which will look nothing like the sides of the stock.
Try inside the barrel channel first. Getting the old finish out of the checkering will be hard; try paint or varnish remover. I do not know what finish is on it now; if it is plastic or epoxy, God help you because it does not want to come off.

I think that stock is gorgeous. If you want it dark for hunting just slide a gunsock or camo tape over it.

I like them all but blondes tend to age quicker than darker shades.

Find some "gorilla snot"? Usual threads are in reverse -- how do I remove the g.s. finish and show the pretty wood underneath? That's a pretty rifle!

Add bone black to your sanding oil

to darken the stock and bring out the wood grain use Alkanet( red root) oil. it is available on ebay and probably elsewhere from stock finishers in the UK. follow it up with Trade Secrets or CCL stock oil.the process is somewhat lengthy but worth the end result. CCL and Trade Secrets sell kits that include everything.i started collecting British air rifles a few years ago( the cheapest i own was $1300 and most are well over $2000) and did a lot of research on stock refinishing. the standard British "best gun" finish is pretty much all the same- and time consuming.

I, personally, do not like the red tint so never use the Alkanet dye colors. I use several shades of Laurel Mountain stains and mix them to suit my mood at the time.

Boil at a slow boil Linseed oil with a dryer as from Brownells and add lead Oxide..I get the lead oxide from bullet casters, its the stuff that floats to the top of the hot lead that they skim off...

Ad a nickle size piece of lead oxide to the boiling linseed and let boil until it disolves.

Do it outside and don't breath the fumes...let cool and thin to water like thiness and swab it on the sanded wood and let dry for a week or so and repeat several times..it will darken walnut very well indeed..

Then wet sand the stock down and continue wet sanding with the linseed mix...once filled, finish as you wish.

Actually I usually sand it back to wood and fill with Birchwood Caseys clear or walnut filler, a couple of coats wet sanded and dust rubbed in will do it..then continue to wet sand and finish with the Linseed oil or whatever..I like the GunSavR product from Brownells about as well as any finish I've tried, and thats about all of them.

For what its worth, Jasco Paint and Epoxy remover will remove any known finish you can put on a wood stock...On the checkering just paint it on thick, let stand 10 minutes and use a hard tooth brush or one of those brass bristle tooth brush looking gun brushes and scrub it out. It you have a tough spot with epoxy just let it soak longer and you can speed things up with a scraper made from a hacksaw blade with the teeth sanded off on a wheel. I gring both sides of the blade and make them in different sizes and shapes as they are also a good stock making tool..

I'm all about different strokes for other folks, but I compel you to find the beauty as is and whatever it seems to lack, get it from another rifle. You won't screw this one up, it'll look great when you get done with it, but I think your efforts are misplaced.

Boiling linseed oil will do nothing; it still is the worst water repellant extant. Unless it is treated with dryers. I would not recommend witch brewing your own; too many modern finished out there already made.

I have used Alkanet root for my Mannlicher Schoenauer project. http://forums.accuratereloadin...981000291#2981000291.

I just got some dry root from a craft / country soap maker and tried a variety of infusions - in Mineral spirits, turpentine, Boiled linseed oil etc. All of them infused well and were compatible for mixing / thinning. I found no need to grind the root.

Finally I just used the mixture along with Danish oil since it has a drying agent with waterproofing additive in it.

My stock is very dark since the original walnut was dark grained with lots of figure.

Now, Danish oil is a good finish since it will actually form a waterproof barrier; linseed oil, boiled or not, won't. It might look nice but do not take it out into the rain.

Everybody has their own way of doing things. I never, never stain bare wood. I always stain after several coats of oil and just before adding the last couple coats of oil. Laurel Mountain stains work well for doing it this way.

I don't like to stain bare stock wood because it is very hard to control what is happening. Some spots might drink it up and become very dark while harder spots stay light. By using the Laurel Mountian stains, I can control what happens.

So, I don't know what Sako uses for finish but you might not need to strip it to bare wood.
Phil