Stock Refinishing

[RoaringBull]

I was thinking of changing the finish on my Kentucky, maybe going to a lighter finish.  How would I go about doing this?  Might combine this with the changing of the pins to wedges.

[mongrel]

Hmm. The stock on your Kentucky is walnut -- good chance there's already just a natural finish on it, rather than an actual color stain, and in that case she's pretty much as light as she's gonna get. Maybe someone else here knows more about Pedersoli's finishes than I do, but that's the best I can tell you.

They have made several versions of your rifle with maple stocks. May still, I don't know. Dixie Gun Works was selling them as a new item only a couple years ago. You might contact them and see if you can't get a replacement piece of wood. I know Pedersoli Kentucky kits are either what Dixie refers to as Level One or Level Two projects, meaning a relatively small amount of actual woodwork -- mainly the minor final inletting of some parts and then sanding and finish.

Then there's the new stock option -- buying a precarved stick of wood from one of the stockmakers who cater to us sick freaks, inletted for your diameter barrel and drilled for the ramrod, but with no lock inlet. Doing a precarve project is a huge step toward being able to build a gun from scratch, so it's not to be taken lightly, but it would be an option.

[karwelis]

me i would try jasco stripper, and then sand clean. one the walnut stock on my GPR i used LMF american maple stain didnt make it darker but made it glow with a reish orange glow. and i put 10 coats of trueoil on it



karwelis

[RoaringBull]

Think I'm gonna wait til the end of the year/first of next year and restock it in something nice and light, maybe even change styles too, go with more of a light-colored stock and dark steel furniture.

[bull frog]

Has anybody tried leather dye?  I just got done sanding a stock last week on a CVA Bobcat, went to stain the stock then realized the bottle of walnut stain I thought I had must have been used or lost in my garage some where.  I read in some article that some rather unorthodox substitutes have been used in a pinch so I went looking for a substitute.  All I had on hand was a bottle of Cordovan and a bottle of Britsh Tan leather dye from Tandy leather.  I kind of like a redish tint to my stocks so opted for the cordovan.  Turned out fairly well.  Put a half dozen coats of trueoil over the top and was happy with the results.  This past week I desided to experiment farther.  I made several bullet loading blocks out of maple and used both the cordovan and the Britsh Tan to stain.  Was suprised to find the Tan had a slight orange tint to it and really brought out the curl in a piece of extra curly maple.  It stated that different color variations can be made on leather by mixing combonations of the dyes to get different shades.  Bought  two more colors in a yard sale today, this bears further experimentation...................Bullfrog

[Chaffa Hosa]

The leather dyes are good for wood as long as they are alcohol or water base and have no wax or oil products that will keep the finish from adhering

[bull frog]

I don,t know if the dye is alcohol or water base but would guess alcohol by the strong smell.. I used TrueOil as a finish over the top of the rifle stock and the bullet loading blocks without any problems.  Met with "Ned Christy" today and showed him the colors, seemed to like them both but like me, he seemed to like the British Tan a little better.  It has a rich golden honey color with just a hint of reddish orange tint to it.  A really beautiful color.  Will continue to experiment with different colors and maybe try mixing to see what I come up with.  This really brings out the figure in curly maple.........BULLFROG

[hawkchucker]

wow that looks like a nice gun karwelis

[karwelis]

wow that looks like a nice gun karwelis

yeah she is but she is a beast! them GPR's are heavy. what i dont get thow, my daughters 50cal traditions kentucky doesnt kick like my 50 cal gpr with the exact same load

[Mike 56]

I have been make my own stain using out of Rit Dye and 90% rubbing alcohol. Been using dark brown and scarlet. I have been getting real nice colors. It dries fast you can recoat every few minutes. Works well with closed grain wood.

Mike