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I'm going to be refinishing my beech stock. Let's see some examples!
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Mine technically counts.... It's a pistol stock, but was a bit of a pain, mainly because I cut thru various layers of stain. To get ALL of the stain out, I'd have to take off way too much material from the stock. So, it was a game of stain matching. Beech is notorious for taking on stain unevenly, so it can be interesting to work with.
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FWB300s Mini that I did a few years ago. First two were after stripping the factory brown stain? Finish? And after I updated the black in the stippling.
Middle two vertical stock pics were after some rubbed in coats of boiled linseed oil.
Last two were after a finish called Formbys tung oil, which doesn't actually have much Tung oil in it. It gives it a nice gloss that's easily repairable by simply putting more on. I understand the Formbys gives a similar finish to the Tru-oil product that many people like.
Fun project. Learned my lesson on an old marlin rimfire that staining beech doesn't go well, even with wood conditioners applied pre stain. Still comes out blotchy and uneven. If you're considering refinishing beech, best to live with a blond stock, in my opinion.
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I have used General Finishes gel stain called JAVA on Beech with good results. It is a chocolate color not ebony, yes it is a dark stain but the gel does not penetrate so deeply. When it's wiped off the grain is still clearly visible. It will transform a blotchy sanded Beech stock into a evenly colored stock. Available at Woodcraft stores. Same company sells gel wipe-on varnish that is easy to apply.
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Here’s some. I will confess that I didn’t put great effort into these. My main objective was getting rid of the stained with a turd look.
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The dark area on the butt is a shadow. Came out really nice. Wood was sealed before I stained with minwax oil stain followed by Tru oil.
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BSA Mercury Challenger carbine .22. Rare. 1982 I think. Only made 1 year. Last of the very popular (especially UK) BSA Mercury line. Rebuilt with an HW50 spring I had, and O ring and buffer washer from Customairseals. Wears a period correct early Bushnell Sportview Airgun scope in BKL reach mounts. I had to mill the dovetails out to 14mm for that nuisance Maxi grip rail. I had the BKL 11mm on hand. Handy 7 lbs and accurate BSA barrel. Decent trigger given it's simplicity..Fake 2 stage. Good little gun. Attractive. And you don't have one!
Typical, I had to repaint the trigger block and guard Gloss black Rustoleum. Not a spray can. Airbrushed. Nice paint finish?
Typical, I had to repaint the trigger block and guard Gloss black Rustoleum. Not a spray can. Airbrushed. Nice paint finish?
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You stumbled upon the motherlode of whitewood stock refinishing, gk.
Having been a professional bowyer (custom bow-maker) in a previous life, I'm definitely wood connoisseur/snob/purist enough to ABHOR the "walnut-stained hardwood" bull***t so often peddled by snake-oil salesmen to deceive the ignorant into believing they are buying WALNUT. Consequently, when refinishing white-woods I usually let the natural wood shine through a fantastic finish that, when well-done, is like putting the product underneath under a magnifying-glass.
In my opinion, wood stains are nothing but lip-stick; and natural woods and women don't need such unnatural adornment to be gorgeous. In fact, I enjoy stripping "walnut-stained" b**poop to lay bare the natural beauty lying 'neath! Most of my examples below were stripped of their factory 'walnut-stained" PAINT, to show their natural beauty, figuring and personality. No snake oil required!
Having been a professional bowyer (custom bow-maker) in a previous life, I'm definitely wood connoisseur/snob/purist enough to ABHOR the "walnut-stained hardwood" bull***t so often peddled by snake-oil salesmen to deceive the ignorant into believing they are buying WALNUT. Consequently, when refinishing white-woods I usually let the natural wood shine through a fantastic finish that, when well-done, is like putting the product underneath under a magnifying-glass.
In my opinion, wood stains are nothing but lip-stick; and natural woods and women don't need such unnatural adornment to be gorgeous. In fact, I enjoy stripping "walnut-stained" b**poop to lay bare the natural beauty lying 'neath! Most of my examples below were stripped of their factory 'walnut-stained" PAINT, to show their natural beauty, figuring and personality. No snake oil required!
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"VERY NICE ! i'd stain them. lol !" Thanks, K.
This might be a good time to divulge that many white-woods don't stain well at all. In some cases, they don't stain worth a flip. Hence, one reason why manufacturers use walnut-colored PAINT to deceive unsuspecting buyers. The other reason; paint is CHEAP and EASY.
I'll often adorn white-woods with exotic rosewood accents that REALLY stand out against white 'backgrounds'. And in some special cases I've actually just cut out a block of the factory white-wood stock inletting, and built a walnut stock around the whitewood inletting. Examples-
Walnut adornments on a laminated white-wood custom stock-
A rosewood grip-cap adorning a nicely-figured white-wood stock stripped of it's factory walnut-colored paint-
A walnut custom stock built around the factory inletting of a white-wood stock-
Customs built from 1950s and 60s vintage Crosman 180s and 187s-
A rosewood grip cap attached to a white-wood stock stripped of its factory walnut 'stain', then REstrained before refinish-
Not a white-wood stock, but a Bocote grip-cap attached to cover up previous butchery of a beautiful custom stock made more-so with an awesome refinish-
This might be a good time to divulge that many white-woods don't stain well at all. In some cases, they don't stain worth a flip. Hence, one reason why manufacturers use walnut-colored PAINT to deceive unsuspecting buyers. The other reason; paint is CHEAP and EASY.
I'll often adorn white-woods with exotic rosewood accents that REALLY stand out against white 'backgrounds'. And in some special cases I've actually just cut out a block of the factory white-wood stock inletting, and built a walnut stock around the whitewood inletting. Examples-
Walnut adornments on a laminated white-wood custom stock-
A rosewood grip-cap adorning a nicely-figured white-wood stock stripped of it's factory walnut-colored paint-
A walnut custom stock built around the factory inletting of a white-wood stock-
Customs built from 1950s and 60s vintage Crosman 180s and 187s-
A rosewood grip cap attached to a white-wood stock stripped of its factory walnut 'stain', then REstrained before refinish-
Not a white-wood stock, but a Bocote grip-cap attached to cover up previous butchery of a beautiful custom stock made more-so with an awesome refinish-
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Don't be discouraged by some who say it's too hard to stain beach. Try it for yourself. There are several methods that will leave the wood with depth and a translucent appearance that far exceeds the plain unstained look at least to my eye.. The same goes for other woods.The walnut on my .25 Tomahawk for instance.
Here is the way it came from the factory. I knew I could improve it with stain.
After reshaping the comb to suit myself I stripped, sanded, stained, and finished. After the oil stain dried It was too dark so I washed it down with mineral spirits next day before applying stock oil finish. Totally transformed the gun. This was a very light colored walnut and I don't care for that. I wanted something richer. Did I ruin it?
Look at my BSA Mercury a few posts above. Does that look like paint to you? Patchy? No, I stripped off the "paint" and stained the beech in a way that I believe improved it greatly. Ha! you should see it in person. Same with the 124 shown above it I did. The wood came out beautiful. You should see that one up close. Real perceived depth and clarity. Pictures do not do either of these any justice.
Stain that sunny beech!
Here is the way it came from the factory. I knew I could improve it with stain.
After reshaping the comb to suit myself I stripped, sanded, stained, and finished. After the oil stain dried It was too dark so I washed it down with mineral spirits next day before applying stock oil finish. Totally transformed the gun. This was a very light colored walnut and I don't care for that. I wanted something richer. Did I ruin it?
Look at my BSA Mercury a few posts above. Does that look like paint to you? Patchy? No, I stripped off the "paint" and stained the beech in a way that I believe improved it greatly. Ha! you should see it in person. Same with the 124 shown above it I did. The wood came out beautiful. You should see that one up close. Real perceived depth and clarity. Pictures do not do either of these any justice.
Stain that sunny beech!
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A friend in UK just showed me his Mercury he restored. Good beech refinish. I like the color. Most Mercurys are blonde. He got a nice contrast. And I don't usually like beech.
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Here’s one of my beech staining disasters off a Chinagun. Looks like it was in a house fire.
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What I did not state above is the fact that some white-woods that don't accept stains are not easily distinguished from Beech, even by educated eyes. See Vetmx's post (above) for evidence of the consequences.
K got great results darkening unimpressive Walnut with stain much for the better. However his experience should not be confused with staining white-woods. Excellent work and results on that Walnut stock, K!
If One simply has an aversion to white-woods, One can end up with a stock that looks like it was in a house fire. Been there; done that.
K got great results darkening unimpressive Walnut with stain much for the better. However his experience should not be confused with staining white-woods. Excellent work and results on that Walnut stock, K!
If One simply has an aversion to white-woods, One can end up with a stock that looks like it was in a house fire. Been there; done that.
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This is an old Crosman StormXT in .177. It originally had a shiny yellow colored stock. I stripped off the original finnish and gave it five coats of wood stain and then two coats of Tung Oil. The trigger has been redone as well and it's a very good shooter.
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The dark area on the butt is a shadow. Came out really nice. Wood was sealed before I stained with minwax oil stain followed by Tru oil.
One of the best jobs I've seen on a 124 stock. Congrats on that one.
Bill
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