OT - Red Stain For Gunstock

[damienph]

I am restocking a rifle and would like the walnut to have the red color that many Winchester stocks have. The final finish will be tung oil. Any ideas how to get the right color?

[kimwcook]

Here's some that should meet your needs.

http://www.tapaderaswinchesters.com/stain.html

[Tycer]

http://www.levergunscommunity.com/viewt ... in#p204680

[gunner69]

Herters used to have some of the best...... don't know if it's still offered.

[damienph]

Thanks for the replies. The Tapaderas stain looks like just what I need.

[BJ Snow]

Another product you might consider is Cabot's Australian Timber Oil in the mahogany flame color. I find it to give a nice red tint and is easy to use. It is a finish, not just a stain. Contains tung oil, linseed oil and other stuff I don't remember right now. Very weather resistant, as it was formulated for decks and fences.
I just brush some on, let set for 30 min. or so, and rub off across the grain with a mechanics shop rag, down to the wood, and re-apply. repeat all this til you get the depth you want. After the last coat is rubbed of, polish with an old t-shirt, and apply a coat of your favorite wax. I use Rennaisance, beeswax, crumbled fine and mixed with turpentine to about the consistency of applesauce works very well, too.
I use this on my wooden knife handle, custom pistol grips, and so far on one custom rifle stock. It goes into the wood as well as on the wood, and is easy to touch up if you scratch it or something.
I haven't had a chance to use any of the tapadera product mentioned so can't say if one of these is better than the other.
I get the Cabot stuff from Lowes or Home Depot, can't remember which. My first quart can is over 3 years old and still over3/4 full.
GBA
BJS

[Mike D.]

I just use Minwax Red Oak stain on walnut. Good enough and a small can will do many gun stocks.

[Pete44ru]

I mix Minwax Red Mahogany into Minwax Black Walnut, topped with worked down TruOil - and have had Winchester dealer/collectors not be able to tell the difference in color, between mine & Oliver's work.

.

[damienph]

Is the minwax stain a finish too, or does it need a finish applied on top of it?

Pete44ru, what is the ratio of the mix that you use; Red Mahogany/Black Waknut? 1/1?

[Pete44ru]

I've been getting the best results by starting with a small batch at a ratio of 1/2 Red Mah:2/3 Walnut - but testing it inside the barrel chanel to see what color it gives with a particular stock, as every stock will stain up little differently.

I do a small area, let it dry, then drop a dollop of finish on the spot & let it dry also B 4 I decide (I didn't say it was fast )

Yes, the MinWax stain has some finish in it, but after it dries at least overnite, I go over the top with the 1st of several coats/rubdowns of TruOil, anyway, to get the desired result.
I don't do any more than a single TruOil app per day, FWIW - letting it dry good B 4 ea. OOOO steel wool rubdown.

.

[damienph]

Thanks guys for the minwax suggestions, I'm going to try it (mixing the two), at least I should be able to get it at the local hardware store instead of ordering it.

Thanks again!

[coyote nose]

There is a huge difference between tapaderas stain and the minwax stains. Tapaderas stain is spirit based (ie: alcohol based). Minwax stains are not. I have experimented with stains for 35+ years now, and had settled on Pilkingtons red stain to match Winchesters color. That is, until I discovered Tapaderas stain. I cannot tell the difference between Pilkingtons red at 30$/bottle versus Tapaderas N35 red at 10$/bottle. They look, apply, and smell the same. Both are spirit stains. They say you can apply them over finish and they will penetrate. It seems like they do, but they do leave different luster when you do that requiring another finish coat. The spirit stains dry very fast, even here in humid Ohio. Tapaderas also sells a N35B which is a brown stain that can be mixed with the N35 red to get any shade of red-brown you desire. For the finish coat I use minwax polyurethane satin, and lately have experimented with Arm-R-Seal, but the minwax is a spray and I get a better finish versus any wipe on. For redoing old trapdoors I use hand rubbed coats of tung oil, but for the winchesters I prefer polyurethane. BTW, I once tried making my own finishes based on looking thru old time gunsmithing books. One recipe was 50% varnish and 50% boiled linseed. I tried it. Looked, smelled, applied, and dried exactly like tru-oil. Just my 2 cents. I would get the tapaderas and try it out on a sample of walnut.

[JB]

I agree alcohol based dyes are far superior to stains such as Minwax.

[2ndovc]

This Marlin had really mismatched birch stocks. I refinished them with minwax walnut with a few drops of Olympic Merlot.
A couple coats of hand rubbed tung oil and it turned out great for birch.



jb

[Chuck 100 yd]

Brownells has Herters French Red. That`s the one I use.

[coyote nose]

Okay, if this works...here goes..this is a picture of a 1906 winny with Pilkingtons English Red (appears to be the same as Tapaderas N35Red).


And here is an 1892 winny with the same stain and finish. For some people this is too red, but remember you can mix it with a spirit based brown (ie: N35B if from tapaderas) to cut the red some.

[Pisgah]

One product I have had exellent results from is Fiebing's Leather Dye, Medium Brown color. Use it undiluted, and you stock will look like red plastic; but thin it with alcohol, and you will get something very close to the old Winchester red. It's inexpensive, available at almost any leather or shoe repair shop, and one bottle will last through many, many projects.