Coal Tar and stain for difficult wood like Beech

[DaveInGA]

Recently, I posted this pic on the black rifles thread:



If you look close at the 4 wood stocked rifles, only the Vepr Hunter .308 on the left is walnut. The M14S is Chinese "Chiu" wood, the RIA M20P 22 is beech and the M1 Carbine potbelly replacement stock is birch. All of these rifles were very, very light, trending towards blond. The Vepr had a shellac coating over rough wood, the M14S had some nasty chinese stain, the RIA .22 had black paint over the beach stock and the M1 carbine stock came unstained.

Here's what I did to the stocks to darken up what was very light wood, even the walnut Vepr Hunter. I used coal tar from American Rope & Tar, Fair Oaks, California to significantly darken and bring out the grain in each. For the Vepr Hunter, I used a mix of a red/brown alcohol/spirit stain and the coal tar, then finished with a satin coating of raw tung oil. It didn't get all the blonde out, but it darkened it significantly and turned an ugly stock into a fairly pretty one. On the Chiu wood M14S, I used a red/brown spirit stain and the coal tar to darken the wood and get it to a more military look. I also used raw linseed oil that darkens and reddens over time to help with the color. It still isn't walnut, but it is decent looking. The M1 carbine is not yet finished, but the stock has a red/brown spirit stain mixed with some coal tar to bring out what grain the birch has and to enhance whatever properties the wood has. Later, I'll add additional coats of raw linseed oil and finally finish with tung oil when it's starting to look like something color wise.

Finally, the RIA M20P .22 rifle had the paint stripped, then a red/brown spirit stain mixed with coal tar added. I've since enhanced this a bit using a mix of 1/3 coal tar, 1/3 beeswax and 1/3 raw linseed oil:


I used two coats using a paste mixed by heating/melting the coal tar, beeswax and raw linseed oil. Once it was done and while still soft, I added a tiny bit of mineral spirits to help dissolve the ingredients so they would go as deeply as possible into the grain. Here are some closeups:

Here you can see the coal tar has brought out the beech grain as much as possible while the raw linseed oil added red and the wax created a soft warm glow.

On this opposite side, you can see the little "c's" of the stock. Rather than try to hide them, I enhanced them to bring out all the beauty this plain jane stock can have.

On this right side of the stock, all the available grain has been brought out and the stock is a soft warm brown in a general sense, pleasing to the eye. Not a georgeous stripped walnut, no, but certainly nothing to be ashamed of any more.

Left side of the stock. Again, all the grain the little stock has is pulled out and the warm glow is there.

Left side near trigger guard. The stock looks good, but the trigger guard's original black paint is peeling off. Luckily, I've got some Cera-cote available in a nice flat black that'll go good with the parkerized metal on this little .22 carbine. I've got a stainless steel AR15 barrel to coat this week, so I'll pull this aluminum trigger guard off and ceracoat it as well.

Thanks for looking!

[GasGuzzler]

Nice. I've been doing "crappy" 10/22 whoknowswhatwood stocks for a while for charity auctions, profit, and friends. Wood is wood...all can look OK.

Here's an example of what a Ruger mud 10/22 stock can look like.



I need an M1C....and some supplies like you have (I have the beeswax).

I've only used boiled linseed oil. Did so on a Marlin that was mostly OK as is.

Thanks for posting. I usually cheat and use Minwax stains.

[Fyodor]

Nice work, guys!

[DaveInGA]

Gas Guzzler:

Some information for you in red in the quote.

Nice. I've been doing "crappy" 10/22 whoknowswhatwood stocks for a while for charity auctions, profit, and friends. Wood is wood...all can look OK.

I need an M1C....and some supplies like you have (I have the beeswax).

I've only used boiled linseed oil. Did so on a Marlin that was mostly OK as is.
The boiled linseed oil has been polymerized (as well as having chemical dryers to speed it's finishing) and so it dries quickly and long term, you'll get a good, solid finish over your wood, but it will not add color like the raw linseed oil, which is not polymerized, so it dries slower and dries with a reddish brown color. This is what you see on old US military surplus stocks, that red is the raw linseed oil. It's also called flax seed oil and you can order it off of amazon delivered to your front door in pint bottles. I bought Swanson EFAs Organic Flaxseed oil. Using the finger dunk method, it'll last a long time.

Thanks for posting. I usually cheat and use Minwax stains.
I used to use those too, but they use boiled linseed oil as their base, so the stains end up laying on top of the wood and hiding a good bit of the grain, rather than getting down into the pores. I learned about the alcohol (spirit) dies from leatherworking projects and woodworking. Finally, I ordered an assortment of Transtint liquid wood dye in concentrate form off the internet. These are very good dies and can be mixed. Because I'm not an absolute dye mix pro, each of my mixes ends up a bit different, so each stock is different. It takes very little (a drop or two in your alcohol) of the stain to make more than enough to do your rifle stocks with, so it can be used very sparingly.

On the M1C, I suggest first clean the oils, greases and filth out of the stock, then use just the raw linseed oil. Get it fairly wet with the oil and let it soak in for a good while, then wipe off the excess. Let sit for two weeks to allow it to dry. Repeat until you get the tone you want. Not fast, but much more satisfying long term.

When you're "there," add some raw tung oil over the top and perhaps a bit of beeswax, then buff it down. Short term, you'll want the rifle to shine, but long term, you'll begin to remember it's a military rifle and want it dull, but clean and well finished. I had a tru oil shiny finish on my first M1 Garand until my first High Power match. After seeing how the flat military finish looked "right" on everyone else's Garands shooting there, I stripped the shiny off and redid my M1 in raw linseed oil and topped it off with the tung oil to provide water protection. (Note: I don't keep it out in the rain, it's an antique at this point.)