Enhancing a Beechwood / Beech Gun Stock

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Bear-of-Grayling

Bear-of-Grayling

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Dec 19, 2021
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Alabama, United States
Beechwood is not my favorite choice for a gun stock. Most springers these days come with one however. Also, most come with colored spray on finish. Not very exciting to say the least. This is a HW30 with the deluxe stock. Plain Beechwood with a spray on finish, checkering and all.
This is the third refinish in the past three weeks. First one, I didn’t like the color. Second one, didn’t like the clear coat. This one I did the slow way. Stripped, sanded, flame striped, stained, stained again and then oiled 4 coats with three more to go. Allowing 24 hours dry time between every coat. This was my first attempt at flame striping to add some character. Might do more next time. Different stock though. This one is done. Third time is a charm. Also added an adjustable butt pad because with a diopter the stock was to straight. First picture is the original stock. Then stripped and oxidized. (wood was to white) Then the completed project.
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Before and After.........
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Yeah, just one of the things I don’t like about synthetic stocks. Custom stock certainly crossed my mind but I remembered what BoG did to his. Like to keep my guns as original as possible so would be good option. He’s helped me before with refinishing questions, he knows his stuff. Should probably get the gun in and see what I think about it first. Hopefully someone at HW is paying attention to what most think of their new stocks. Maybe they’ll change them back.
 
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There is a lot involved to get an “old world” look on a Beechwood stock. Here is the step by step.
1. With a chemical paint and varnish remover, remove the original finish. Use lacquer thinner to remove stripper film.
2. After a 24 hour drying period sand the stock by hand.
3. Using a softer thin wire (from harbor freight) gently wrap (try to use a shield around the sharp edges of the stock) the stock from front to back about 1/4 between the wires. Make the wires very wild, with bends and not at all uniform. Check youtube for this.
4. Using a propane torch burn the stock until a desired affect is achieved. The wires will protect the wood and will cause striping.
5. After the striping check the stock for wire damage on the sharp edges of the stock. Lift all dings by sweating them out. Soldering iron and a wet rag. Let dry for 24 hours.
6. Staining. Getting red to the wood is key for color. Minwax makes several red stains. Let dry 24 hours. Then a Walnut or Gun Stock stain if desired. Both are colors. Avoid the checkering. Let dry 24 hours.
7. Finish. I use Watco Teak oi or Varithane polyurethane satin. (Oil version not water)
8. Tape off checkering. 3 coatts of polyurethane or 7 coats of Teal oil. Each coat of teak oil must be applied then immediately rubbed as dry as it can get. 24 hours between coats. Watco makes a very watery Teak oil that really absorbs in. Don’t use any other brand. They are not the same. With the Teak oil use 0000 steel wool between coats. With the Poly use green synthetic wool between coats.
9. I also use a oxidation stage that I would not recommend trying because it is very difficult and can get you in a mess in hurry.
Lots of little things that could make a book. PM me if you are wanting to do it and I’ll be glad to talk you through it. Maybe practice on a lesser gun to start and learn with. It is a fun hobby.
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I think the factory finish (especially the 80s era Beemans) is about as good as you will get beech to ever look. I've seen tons of refinished beech stocks and they never come out looking quite right. It's just a not a wood that lends itself to being able to stand on its own IMO.

It's a great wood for a stock to be made from, it's just ugly.
 
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Thanks BoG,
I see very little evidence of striping on your stock - it's very subtle. Burn marks seem to be evident on the pistol grip and muzzle end. Maybe just the grain absordbing more stain:unsure:.

Does the heat applied through striping reduce the blotching from oil stains - sealing the wood?

I would like to know more about the oxidation process and will contact you - :)
 
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thumper said:
I think the factory finish (especially the 80s era Beemans) is about as good as you will get beech to ever look. I've seen tons of refinished beech stocks and they never come out looking quite right. It's just a not a wood that lends itself to being able to stand on its own IMO.

It's a great wood for a stock to be made from, it's just ugly.
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Yes - I would like to know the formula behind the Beeman Goudy stocks "staining process".

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Here is an R1 I refinished using MinWax Poly Shade stain/finish and TruOil. I wish I could remember if I sealed the wood first or not.

This began as a botched attempt at building up the poly shade finish to a sufficient thickness to eventually sand smooth. I applied the finish very heavy with a small paint gun and set it aside for several days to dry, which it didn't! It stayed soft and I couldn't do a thing with it but removed it and try another method. Frustrated, I saturated a rag with more MinWax and tried to wipe away the goopy layer only to discover that the days of being exposed to uncured stain/finish was a good thing as the wood actually absorbed enough of it to take on a nice, uniform color! I set it aside to allow the finish that remained to dry then sprayed several coats of TruOil on.

I think I got lucky and would not recommend this method but thought I'd share the outcome.

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cjtamu said:
See what mine looks like when it gets here. With the holidays and bad weather this week I asked Lewis to wait till next week to ship. This will be the first HW we’ve gotten with the new look stocks. Maybe they look better in person than in photos.
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The oxidation process darkens the wood. Made striping very difficult. More of a rustic effect. Oxidation attacks the minerals in the woods and they change color. You never know what color you will end up with. Sometimes just totally black. It does not leave a muddy color however. I agree with with thumper that the 80’s Beeman imports are probably the finest examples of how wonderful Beech can be finished. I think they used some type of oxidation or fuming process to achieve this. I been trying to duplicate it for decades. I don’t think it was a stain because when removing that finish the stock never got bright again. The finish was also a elegant satin to matte luster. I remember our local gun shop was a five star Beeman dealer with a rack full of R1’s and R7’s. No two stocks were the same color. Some brownish and some reddish. This is what fuming or oxidation produces. It could have been some type of staining process but if so I’ve never figured it out. I grew up in the antique import business and my father imported antiques from 7 European countries. We imported a 40 ft container a week. Matching old finishes was an everyday task. Then later I owned a furniture store and had all the commercial products I could get. So this is not new to me. Haven’t figured it all out and surely would not make that claim. But always experimenting with new things.
 
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Here is a closeup of SpiralGroove’s wonderful old Beeman stock. The grain is not covered over with a dye or penetrating stain. The grain is very present and that White Beechwood stock has a gorgeous Walnut color. I would really like to know the secret. My mission is to figure this out. Merry Christmas everyone.
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r1lover said:
Here is an R1 I refinished using MinWax Poly Shade stain/finish and TruOil. I wish I could remember if I sealed the wood first or not.

This began as a botched attempt at building up the poly shade finish to a sufficient thickness to eventually sand smooth. I applied the finish very heavy with a small paint gun and set it aside for several days to dry, which it didn't! It stayed soft and I couldn't do a thing with it but removed it and try another method. Frustrated, I saturated a rag with more MinWax and tried to wipe away the goopy layer only to discover that the days of being exposed to uncured stain/finish was a good thing as the wood actually absorbed enough of it to take on a nice, uniform color! I set it aside to allow the finish that remained to dry then sprayed several coats of TruOil on.

I think I got lucky and would not recommend this method but thought I'd share the outcome.

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Sounds like you lucked out, it looks great. I learned a long time ago to never put heavy coats of any oxidizing finish on anything.
 
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