Hi all,
I have mid 60's Voere rifle stock that I am having a problem with.
I bought this rifle because of the stock. It had a few dings and scratches, but nothing bad. I really liked the stock for the colour and the style. The stock was kind of a yellowish colour with a dark grip cap and a dark fore end cap. It was a semi-gloss finish.
After an accident, the stock developed a crack. I thought this would be a great time to refinish the stock. A friend volunteered to do it. He stripped it down. When he tried to stain it, the wood was so dense it would not take stain. He put three coats on it and it looks like there is none at all. He then used Tung oil to finish it. The Tung oil is crystal clear. This is not the finish I wanted.
I told you all that to ask you this, does anyone have any idea what was used back in the 60's to stain these rifle stocks? What did they use to finish them?
I have thought it must be some type varnish, due to the yellowing.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, John

Have any idea what the wood is? I'm gonna guess maple. and maple doesn't take stain very well.

On maple (and other similar) woods I have used aniline dyes with good result. Stain on maple usually winds up as a top coat, whereas the anilines actually dye the wood.

At this point, if you want a darker finish, you're gonna have to strip it back down to the raw wood and start over.

Hi Craigster.
First off, thank you for the reply.
You are probably right about the wood. I do not know.
Where might I get the aniline? Does it come in varing degrees of darkness? Thanks again, John

You're welcome. You can get it here:

http://www.woodworker.com/cgi-bin/search.exe

Many colors and shades available.

craigster is right about the analine dies and maple. But the problem may be that you haven't gotten under the original finish yet. Remember, we all try to get our finishes to penetrate the wood as far as possible. I would try a stripper to make sure the finish is off and then try restaining.

Thanks, Clowdis.
I promise you it was stripped!! We stripped it several times to make sure. When it was samded, you could tell we were in the wood. Thanks again!! John

Fuming is probably the best way to darken maple.
you need an airtight enclosure for the stock & ammonia (to produce the fumes).

IMO Only use a solvent soluble aniline dye stain NOT a Water based product .

If your unhappy with the stains lack of penetration into the wood .

The solvent type allows for " Color Masking " Which is VERY EFFECTIVE for darkening light wood .

Simply mix the stain in either lacquer or alcohol use a small sprayer such as auto detail gun

or AirBrush set up and if you don't have one of those don't sweat the small stuff . Simply use one of these .

http://www.jamestowndistributo...word=prevail_sprayer

Reference for product descriptions purchase which ever brand of who's you like .

Some of the finest wood finishing products made Bar None belongs too Epifanes !.

http://www.epifanes.com/products.html

http://www.mohawk-finishing.co...rowse.asp?ictNbr=180

http://www.mohawk-finishing.co...rowse.asp?ictNbr=213

http://www.mohawk-finishing.co...rowse.asp?ictNbr=232

http://www.jamestowndistributo...pifanes_polyurethane


I personally prefer plural component Aerospace urethane high gloss , then either the

last two coats using a semi or matte finish . Or I'll dull the gloss with a burnishing pad

or felt and compound . I prefer Ultimate protection ,over simple oil finishes . However each

too their own right !.

Thanks to all that replied. I never knew there was so much different stuff out there. I will check some of these out.
I had never heard of fuming wood before. I'll bet that is an interesting effect.
Thanks again. John