Staining question - The Firearms Forum

PharmrJohn · 08-08-2009, 05:03 PM

I am getting my boy and I our first .22 rifle. The obligatory Marlin-60. It is used and needs some work on the wood. So I want to sand it down and re-stain it. The sanding part is easy. No problem. But what kind of stain do I use? Any suggestions?

kingchip · 08-08-2009, 05:06 PM

Man, I would just strip it and then tung oil it. I do that with all of my rifles. I just like the look. I don't do shiny.

artabr · 08-08-2009, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingchip

Man, I would just strip it and then tung oil it. I do that with all of my rifles. I just like the look. I don't do shiny.

^^^ This ^^^

Heres a link with some directions at the bottom.

http://www.realmilkpaint.com/oil.html

You could also go with Birchwood Casey Tru Oil.

http://www.birchwoodcasey.com/sport/howto/bcref2003.pdf

Art

swanshot · 08-08-2009, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingchip

Man, I would just strip it and then tung oil it. I do that with all of my rifles. I just like the look. I don't do shiny.

Yeah, I would go with this advice. If it's a nice piece of wood, or you want to do a really good job of it, you can go the whole oil finish.
Oil finish is time consuming, but not difficult.
If you want to go with a stain, it depends what the wood is. Chances are it's beech, or ash. If so then a walnut stain is as good as any.

pawn · 08-08-2009, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingchip

Man, I would just strip it and then tung oil it. I do that with all of my rifles. I just like the look. I don't do shiny.

+1

Unless the stock is in horrible shape, just rub it down with a stripping agent. Then stain as you like and finish it off with tung oil. I would go with about 5 coats. Apply tung oil, allow it to dry, lightly scrub it with 000 steel wool, then rub all surface areas with a tack cloth to remove the residue. Repeat with the next application of tung oil. Do this as many times as you like.

~pawn

Tom Militano · 08-08-2009, 06:25 PM

I'll go along with everybody else on this, don't sand it down, strip it if your have to refinish the stock.

delta13soultaker · 08-09-2009, 12:59 AM

+1 strip it.

When I was a kid, I made the mistake of sanding a Springfield rifle stock. By the time I got it even, I'd removed so much wood that the butt plate was too big etc etc, changed the feel of the forearm etc.

I wish I'd of been given the advice given on here so far.

I'd add this option too. It sounds cheesy, but Minwax has a finish stain called Gunstock #231. It actually really does, with several coats, leave an old school dark red-ish Winchester looking stain.

Suicide*Ride · 08-09-2009, 01:53 AM

While I agree w/ everyone's advice, I'd like to add my own.

I once bought a sad excuse for a shotgun from a co-worker. A Stevens 311B 12ga SxS that had spent most of it's life behind the seat of a pickup for roughly 25yrs., along w/a tool box, tow chain, rusty tire chains (snow), jumper cables, etc.

Needless to say the stock had more than a few dents & sanding didn't rid the wood of the worst damage, so after staining w/ dark walnut I tried some satin urethane. Steel wool between coats & WOW! Some wood looks better just stained, but once in a while a thick clear coat really brings out the grain that would otherwise go unnoticed.

I've seen some furniture that looked awesome plain (dark walnut, cherry, etc) but sometimes the wood is dirt cheap, like some of the junk that can be found on walmart specials or has severe damage & warrants the need for a clear coating. The stock on the Stevens was very cheap & pretty soft wood so the urethane added extra protection from nicks & dings.

John, just remember that I said satin finish & not gloss! If you really want to see the finish I'm talking about, let me know & I'll take & post some pictures of how it turned out. The urethane coating was an extra pain, but worth the trouble. I don't regret spending the time saving that old shottie.... it is a point & shoot clay pigeon buster from he**!!

SR

PharmrJohn · 08-09-2009, 07:11 AM

Hey, thanks guys......this is going to look good.

TheGunClinger · 08-09-2009, 07:36 AM

I agree with the strip it, light sand and tung oil.

topper · 08-09-2009, 07:54 AM

i done my marlin 60 by sanding throughly to the bare wood (original finish was crappy) and applied 10 seperate coats of hand rubbed boiled linseed oil. each cost must dry 24 hours and very very lightly sand and apply another coat. a lot of work, but makes a very nice finish you can be proud of. and linseed oil is cheaper than most other finishes. use only BOILED LINSEED OIL, it dries much faster than regular type.

Keep the chamber fully loaded!

45nut · 08-09-2009, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by delta13soultaker

+1 strip it.

When I was a kid, I made the mistake of sanding a Springfield rifle stock. By the time I got it even, I'd removed so much wood that the butt plate was too big etc etc, changed the feel of the forearm etc.

I wish I'd of been given the advice given on here so far.

I'd add this option too. It sounds cheesy, but Minwax has a finish stain called Gunstock #231. It actually really does, with several coats, leave an old school dark red-ish Winchester looking stain.

This really works and looks good.

TranterUK · 08-09-2009, 10:20 AM

I apply stain to gunstocks with a sponge. I used to use a cloth, then some one said a sponge was better, and it is so. Work quickly and evenly.

Bobitis · 08-09-2009, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by topper

i done my marlin 60 by sanding throughly to the bare wood (original finish was crappy) and applied 10 seperate coats of hand rubbed boiled linseed oil. each cost must dry 24 hours and very very lightly sand and apply another coat. a lot of work, but makes a very nice finish you can be proud of. and linseed oil is cheaper than most other finishes. use only BOILED LINSEED OIL, it dries much faster than regular type.

Keep the chamber fully loaded!

I'm with topper on this one.
I've heard lotsa good stuff on tung oil, but never tried it.
I've done a lot of wood with linsead oil, and its always turned out beautiful.
As he said, 'boiled' and hand rubbed. Hand rubbed is VERY important. The heat from the rubbing conveys the oil into the grain of the wood, thereby bringing out its character. If done properly, your hands will get cramps in them. It's serious work that's well worth the results.

delta13soultaker · 08-09-2009, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 45nut

This really works and looks good.

Yeah it does. I have some Winchester-colored cedar furniture in the bedroom thanks to it.

Powderhorn · 08-09-2009, 03:41 PM

I rebuilt a Model 60 a couple years ago. It was a total turd. I paid $0.98 for it (long story). Needless to say, it needed some loving attention.

The stock was a wreck. I bead-blasted the cheesy pressed-in checkering, and all the dings and dents got steamed out. Then I filled the depressions with PC-7 (its like JB Weld, but way tougher), and sanded it all down smooth. Then I sprayed with duracoat a nice flat dark earth.

The barrel and action got the same treatment in KG Gunkote. I smoothed and reworked the trigger assy, and the action, and installed new ejectors and firing pins, and associated springs. I apologize for never getting a pic. I gave it to my son for Christmas, and he has it at his house now.

gdmoody · 08-10-2009, 08:29 PM

The last one I did was my Mossberg 42M-B. Many years ago, I foolishly had it painted black at an auto body shop. Looked really good when first done but many years later the paint was chipping and peeling away from the wood. I bead-blasted it, sanded it, and used tru-oil finish. Used three coats of tru-oil with 000 steel-wool buffing between coats. I could not get all of the black paint out of the stock but it still looks better now than it did. You can still see the very dark areas down on the butt and the fore stock. Wish I had taken a lot more time with it - but what the hey!!

johnlives4christ · 08-10-2009, 08:39 PM

if you want stain it all depends on how dark you want it, and what type of finish you're going to put on it after it's stained. my suggestion would be tung oil. but you can get tung oil with walnut stain already in it. what you do is sand your stock very good with progressively finer grades of sandpaper until you get to around 320 or 400. then blow it off good with an air gun and wipe on a good coat of tung oil. then let that dry for a day or two and when it's not tacky sand with fine steel wool and repeat. if you do it a few times it'll be a good finish. if you do it 6 or 8 times it'll be a glossy finish. now comes the tricky part. how to hold a gunstock while you finish it. the way i would do it would be to take the buttplace off and drive a couple screws into the existing screw holes and wrap some wife around them to form a loop to hang it from, then after doing most of the stock while in hand, do only the last little bit while it hangs. with tung oil. it cures best in light, even artificial light.

johnlives4christ · 08-10-2009, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swanshot

Yeah, I would go with this advice. If it's a nice piece of wood, or you want to do a really good job of it, you can go the whole oil finish.
Oil finish is time consuming, but not difficult.
If you want to go with a stain, it depends what the wood is. Chances are it's beech, or ash. If so then a walnut stain is as good as any.

i've never seen an ash gunstock.

Powderhorn · 08-12-2009, 02:56 AM

When I rebuilt this Savage 24, I discovered under the crappy factory finish there was a beautiful figure just waiting there. I can just imagine a weary finishing-room employee, spraying away, not minding the work in the least, dreaming of the cup of coffee he will have on his next break. This nice piece of wood, just another stock to him.

bluesea112 · 08-12-2009, 12:12 PM

Strip it, don't sand it. Then stain it with your choice of color water based stain. Finish it off with 4 or 5 coats of tung oil. Finally, rub on a couple coats of paste furniture polish and buff it to a nice satin or gloss sheen.

BTW, Nice work Powderhorn. You just inspired me to strip my Savage 7mm Mag to see if there is a hidden pot of gold.

08-08-2009, 05:03 PM	#1
PharmrJohn Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Western Washington Posts: 975	Staining question I am getting my boy and I our first .22 rifle. The obligatory Marlin-60. It is used and needs some work on the wood. So I want to sand it down and re-stain it. The sanding part is easy. No problem. But what kind of stain do I use? Any suggestions? -->

08-08-2009, 06:25 PM	#6
Tom Militano Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Jacksonville, AL Posts: 1,255	Re: Staining question I'll go along with everybody else on this, don't sand it down, strip it if your have to refinish the stock.

08-09-2009, 12:59 AM	#7
delta13soultaker Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Depends on Uncle Sam's whim every 3 yrs. Posts: 2,948	Re: Staining question +1 strip it. When I was a kid, I made the mistake of sanding a Springfield rifle stock. By the time I got it even, I'd removed so much wood that the butt plate was too big etc etc, changed the feel of the forearm etc. I wish I'd of been given the advice given on here so far. I'd add this option too. It sounds cheesy, but Minwax has a finish stain called Gunstock #231. It actually really does, with several coats, leave an old school dark red-ish Winchester looking stain. __________________ Never say die! "A nation who forgets its defenders is soon forgotten itself." "A good shot must necessarily be a good man since the essence of good marksmanship is self-control and self-control is the essential quality of a good man." – Theodore Roosevelt

08-09-2009, 01:53 AM	#8
Suicide*Ride Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Golden, Colorado Posts: 1,340	Re: Staining question While I agree w/ everyone's advice, I'd like to add my own. I once bought a sad excuse for a shotgun from a co-worker. A Stevens 311B 12ga SxS that had spent most of it's life behind the seat of a pickup for roughly 25yrs., along w/a tool box, tow chain, rusty tire chains (snow), jumper cables, etc. Needless to say the stock had more than a few dents & sanding didn't rid the wood of the worst damage, so after staining w/ dark walnut I tried some satin urethane. Steel wool between coats & WOW! Some wood looks better just stained, but once in a while a thick clear coat really brings out the grain that would otherwise go unnoticed. I've seen some furniture that looked awesome plain (dark walnut, cherry, etc) but sometimes the wood is dirt cheap, like some of the junk that can be found on walmart specials or has severe damage & warrants the need for a clear coating. The stock on the Stevens was very cheap & pretty soft wood so the urethane added extra protection from nicks & dings. John, just remember that I said satin finish & not gloss! If you really want to see the finish I'm talking about, let me know & I'll take & post some pictures of how it turned out. The urethane coating was an extra pain, but worth the trouble. I don't regret spending the time saving that old shottie.... it is a point & shoot clay pigeon buster from he!! SR __________________ "The price of FREEDOM can be seen here" ****(the sign outside every VA hospital)****** In an emergency, people don't rise to the occasion, but are reduced to their level of training. When something is trying to eat you, it is hard to get off a good shot! "If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man." - Twain

08-09-2009, 07:11 AM	#9
PharmrJohn Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Western Washington Posts: 975	Re: Staining question Hey, thanks guys......this is going to look good.

08-08-2009, 05:06 PM	#2
kingchip Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Marble Falls, Texas Posts: 541	Re: Staining question Man, I would just strip it and then tung oil it. I do that with all of my rifles. I just like the look. I don't do shiny.

08-09-2009, 07:36 AM	#10
TheGunClinger Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: SW Florida Contributor Posts: 2,399	Re: Staining question I agree with the strip it, light sand and tung oil. __________________ New England Patriots Rule Next year.

08-09-2009, 07:54 AM	#11
topper Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: deep in the woods Posts: 748	Re: Staining question i done my marlin 60 by sanding throughly to the bare wood (original finish was crappy) and applied 10 seperate coats of hand rubbed boiled linseed oil. each cost must dry 24 hours and very very lightly sand and apply another coat. a lot of work, but makes a very nice finish you can be proud of. and linseed oil is cheaper than most other finishes. use only BOILED LINSEED OIL, it dries much faster than regular type. Keep the chamber fully loaded!

08-09-2009, 10:20 AM	#13
TranterUK Advanced Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Cambridge UK Posts: 5,103	Re: Staining question I apply stain to gunstocks with a sponge. I used to use a cloth, then some one said a sponge was better, and it is so. Work quickly and evenly. __________________ DVC - Diligentia, Vis, Celeritas - Accuracy, Power, Speed. The light at the end of the recession tunnel IS a train coming the other way!

08-09-2009, 03:41 PM	#16
Powderhorn V.I.P. Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: NH Posts: 165	Re: Staining question I rebuilt a Model 60 a couple years ago. It was a total turd. I paid $0.98 for it (long story). Needless to say, it needed some loving attention. The stock was a wreck. I bead-blasted the cheesy pressed-in checkering, and all the dings and dents got steamed out. Then I filled the depressions with PC-7 (its like JB Weld, but way tougher), and sanded it all down smooth. Then I sprayed with duracoat a nice flat dark earth. The barrel and action got the same treatment in KG Gunkote. I smoothed and reworked the trigger assy, and the action, and installed new ejectors and firing pins, and associated springs. I apologize for never getting a pic. I gave it to my son for Christmas, and he has it at his house now. __________________ 'Tis sad irony that the very people who work against our gun ownership are the ones that we will be called upon to defend should the need arise. -Me

08-10-2009, 08:29 PM	#17
gdmoody Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Northeast Georgia Contributor Posts: 6,407	Re: Staining question The last one I did was my Mossberg 42M-B. Many years ago, I foolishly had it painted black at an auto body shop. Looked really good when first done but many years later the paint was chipping and peeling away from the wood. I bead-blasted it, sanded it, and used tru-oil finish. Used three coats of tru-oil with 000 steel-wool buffing between coats. I could not get all of the black paint out of the stock but it still looks better now than it did. You can still see the very dark areas down on the butt and the fore stock. Wish I had taken a lot more time with it - but what the hey!! __________________ NRA Endowment Member GeorgiaCarry.Org Member Retired US Army Postal Worker Personally, I carry a gun because I'm too young to die and too old to take an ass whoopin'.....author unknown (but obviously brilliant) Last edited by gdmoody; 04-22-2013 at 11:32 AM..

08-10-2009, 08:39 PM	#18
johnlives4christ Former Guest Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Kentucky Posts: 3,828	Re: Staining question if you want stain it all depends on how dark you want it, and what type of finish you're going to put on it after it's stained. my suggestion would be tung oil. but you can get tung oil with walnut stain already in it. what you do is sand your stock very good with progressively finer grades of sandpaper until you get to around 320 or 400. then blow it off good with an air gun and wipe on a good coat of tung oil. then let that dry for a day or two and when it's not tacky sand with fine steel wool and repeat. if you do it a few times it'll be a good finish. if you do it 6 or 8 times it'll be a glossy finish. now comes the tricky part. how to hold a gunstock while you finish it. the way i would do it would be to take the buttplace off and drive a couple screws into the existing screw holes and wrap some wife around them to form a loop to hang it from, then after doing most of the stock while in hand, do only the last little bit while it hangs. with tung oil. it cures best in light, even artificial light.

08-12-2009, 02:56 AM	#20
Powderhorn V.I.P. Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: NH Posts: 165	Re: Staining question When I rebuilt this Savage 24, I discovered under the crappy factory finish there was a beautiful figure just waiting there. I can just imagine a weary finishing-room employee, spraying away, not minding the work in the least, dreaming of the cup of coffee he will have on his next break. This nice piece of wood, just another stock to him. __________________ 'Tis sad irony that the very people who work against our gun ownership are the ones that we will be called upon to defend should the need arise. -Me

08-12-2009, 12:12 PM	#21
bluesea112 Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: West, TX Contributor Posts: 1,262	Re: Staining question Strip it, don't sand it. Then stain it with your choice of color water based stain. Finish it off with 4 or 5 coats of tung oil. Finally, rub on a couple coats of paste furniture polish and buff it to a nice satin or gloss sheen. BTW, Nice work Powderhorn. You just inspired me to strip my Savage 7mm Mag to see if there is a hidden pot of gold. Last edited by bluesea112; 08-12-2009 at 12:13 PM..