doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Can I make my gunstock darker?

Water based stains or potassium permanganate need to be used on bare wood. A solvent-based ye stain can be used over an oil finish. Rub it in.

Hi Pete
I�ve refinished a number of gunstocks using a homemade alkanet root (AR) stain. AR stain is what the British gunmakers used to give their guns that rich reddish-brown color. There are many ways to make the stain, I made mine by obtaining some ground-up AR and then I mixed it with alcohol and let it sit for a few days (the longer the better) to allow the stain to leach out into the alcohol. I usually use Tru-oil and simply apply several coats of stain, using a rag, before I apply the 10 coats of Tru-oil I use to finish the stock. AR stain has been discussed before on the board so if you�re interested you may want to research it here. BTW I obtained my ground AR over the internet where it is sold for use in home medicines.
Another thing, AR stain seems to actually enrich any figure in the wood making it stand out better.
Steve
PS is their any pheasant hunting in Canada or are the winters too rough on the feathery dears.

Alkanet root oil is the stuff to do the colour properly. It is easy to make - just put alkanet root into linseed oil and leave it for a year. You can gently heat t if yiou like but this in not necessary. You can also buy it.

He states that the gun is finished with Tru Oil as it is now, so it is not an oil finish.

Actually Tru-Oil is linseed oil based finish, but...
Boiled Linseed Oil makes wood darker and pops up wood colors and layers. Tung Oil (or Danish Oil) makes wood lighter and its satin finish.
Extremely luster finish is CA (cyanacrylat Super Glue) and becomes more and more popular among billiard key, pen, call makers and gun makers in Ferlach.

thanks for the help folks.