Stock refinish question

[Viper22]

I'm looking for suggestions of what to use to refinish the stock on my .22 rifle. I think a lighter stain than what is on the stock now, with a more reddish tint would look good. Any ideas?

Here's the stock now:

 

[rickster58]

Depends on what is on there already. It looks like walnut, that being said it may not have any stain on it. If that's the case trying to lighten it up without bleaching it first will be a lesson in frustration. Take it apart and sand a small section that doesn't show (maybe under the butt plate) See what color the wood is naturally. Make sure after you sand it to wet it to see what color it'll be with a finish applied. It easier to go darker if you want a reddish hue but going lighter will depend upon what you find out about its true coloring. Hope that was of some help.
Rick<><

 

[Viper22]

I'll have to try the water trick...I've got half the stock sanded already, so there's no turning back now.

 

[SKS Ray]

If its a reddish tint you want, there are dyes out there that will give you the effect you're looking for and Minwax has water based stains that come in all kinds of colors, I'm just not sure what kind of finish with the exception of a water based poly that could go over it.

If its just a hint of red and you want something easy, you can mix tung oil with regular stain for your first coat, let it dry well, then use straight tung oil for the next couple of coats. Just remember to buff it down in between coats to de-nib and smooth out the finish.

 

[Viper22]

What would you buff the stock with?

 

[meth0d]

Nice looking stock, I'm subscribed to see the outcome.

I'm really diggin' natural wood stocks lately, much more so than synthetics and dare I say...EBRs?

 

[Viper22]

Hopefully I'll have spare time this weekend and get to pick up some stain. I want to get this rifle back together so I can put a new scope on it for Christmas.

 

[JohnFH]

buff with burlap cloth between oil coats

 

[SKS Ray]

To de-nib and smooth it down in between coats, you can use 600 grit sandpaper.

 

[Viper22]

Cool, I have access to anything from 100 grit to 4600 grit sandpaper at work. I'll snag some come Monday.