What can I do?

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cujo	What can I do?	Lead	[-]
Posts: 329 (12/14/09 03:27 AM) active member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Tags : None Hey All, I have a savage No4 and after cleaning the stock when I got it I started to apply BLO to darken the stock. Well the stock in some areas is dark and others a lot lighter and the BLO only did so much with four coats. So what I am asking is what can be applied over the BLO to darken it to a uniform color. Right now as I said it is dark and light in areas and it is making me a little frustrated since the dark areas are a little darker while the light areas are about the same color before I started. Any help would be very appreciated. Thanks, Mike
Cabinetman		#1	[-]
Posts: 5402 (12/14/09 02:03 PM) Host Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Hi Mike This is a common issue with stocks that have been handled for a long time. Essentially, where it's usually dark is where the soldiers have held the rifle time and time again such as the under-forearm, and the wrist of the stock. There, the stock has been profiled which cut through a lot of end grain which, over the years, has absorbed the debris from shooting and the shooter's hands. So, even if you clean it extremely well, you'll always see that those areas are darker than the surrounding ones. You may be able to mitigate some of the lighter wood to blend it with the darker wood using a dye. You'd have to find one that matched the color of the darker wood on your stock. You'll have to strip away all the oiled finish, too, because the dye needs to get into the pores which it can't, now, because they are pretty much sealed in. Then, you would simply wash the stock with the dye, waitint about 15 minutes between coats to build the color. Tha would help you get it more uniform. Then re-oil as usual. That's about it! Rome A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.
cujo		#2	[-]
Posts: 334 (12/14/09 03:26 PM) active member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Thanks Cabinetman, I think I will just leave the stock as is and not strip the oil finish. Now I understand that shellac can be applied to the wood as of now? If so is there a way I could add a pigment of some sort to the shellac? Thanks again. Mike
Cabinetman		#3	[-]
Posts: 5403 (12/14/09 04:15 PM) Host Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Sure. You can add pigment to the shellac. The issue is, however, that think of a pair of sunglasses. If you apply color to the stock and cover it with shellac that will produce a different effect than tinting your shellac and applying it. The tinted shellac will act the same way as a sunglasses lens. You'll see color but you'll also see the lighter wood below. Best apply any pigmentation to the wood directly then shellac. Rome A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government.
cujo		#4	[-]
Posts: 335 (12/14/09 08:55 PM) active member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Thanks for the advice cabinetman. I will leave it alone since I would never use stripper on a stock ( even a dirty one ). Just goes against me since I do like the look of a worn rifle more than a new looking one. Has that been there done that look ya know. Mike