doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Stain/tint in the finish

Need some help from the finishers.

I am attempting to repair a couple of dents in a stock. After steaming out as much out as I could, I gently block sanded the remainder. There are now 2 light spots where the dents were and in the area feathered out. It appears there was a red tint in the finish rather than a stain in the wood.

If the light spot is stained, the color is correct but it looks like a darker blotch, and the grain is muddled. I carefully removed the stain, put two coats of thinned Pro-custom on the light spot with some overlap of the original finish. I then added stain to a small amount of thinned Pro custom and covered just the light area with a bit of overlap. It is drying now and looks great.

My thought was to put one more thinned coat of unstained finish over the stained finish, with some overlap for feather, and rub it out when dry.

Does anyone add stain to the final finish after sealing, to obtain a slight tint. I'm no woodworker but it seems like that is what was originally done to the stock.

Experimenting and learning!
Best,
IThaca1

That is what Winchester did to their Mod 21's.

Pete,
Great!
I knew Winchester used a red stain but didn't know it was in the finish. It looks good.

Went back and looked at the Plinktons on Brownells site. Yep, stain in the finish.

Thanks,
Bill
Ithaca1

As a part of French Polishing, after I apply the Alkanet spirit stain and start using the shellac, I use a red oil (Andy's Oil) as the lubricant for the shellac. That way the color is in the finish as well.

Ken,
Is the Alkanet spirit stain semi transparent (thin) when you put it on direct? If it is like the Mahogany stain I used, it would wash out the grain.

What I used to match my stock was 3 drops in about a tablespoon full of Pro custom/Mineral spirit 50/50 mix. I had a couple of coats of clear 50/50 mix already on the stock, so I tried the stain mixture a drop at a time, and was able to wipe it right off until I got the correct color with 3 drops.

Best,
Ithaca1
Bill

It's called "toning", and it's an absolutely essential part of finishing. If for no other reason than "how can you reproduce 100+ years of fade, in a couple days?"
I use alcohol based dye primarily.
Here's a veneered fir door becoming a vintage solid pine door w/ linseed oil finish.
Fir door, sealed with shellac to stop blotching

orignals color and tone

Putting some black in the background for texture, you can see where glue from the factory prevented stain takeup. You have to daub that color on just before top coat.

tinted finish to match originals, Black lays in the softwood to highlight streaking to match early pine doors. Top color tinted a cranberry color to capture the red of the originals.


It's quite transformative.

Nice follow up CZ. Yes, I'd suspect there's a difference between dye and pigment coloration. Just a thought, if you used a sealer effectively, you may not anticipate much stain takeup in general. At that point, you may want to consider a staining strategy that is designed to sit on the surface. Only a thought is all.

Craig,
From my limit experience (this stock), you are correct. After sealing, the colored mixture was applied to the damaged areas only, using the black streaks in the grain as a border. I just finished a GENTLE rottenstone/linseed rub to blend the edges. Applied a topcoat after the rub. I was on the fence whether to continue with the color or just use the 50/50 topcoat. Went with the color.

I surprised myself. My wife to!
I'll get some pics after it is complete. Wish I had taken before pics.

Thanks for the help,
Bill
Ithaca1

Yes, it's very thin. It doesn't hide the grain. Here's a Flues Field Grade that's in progress, still many more passes to go..

If you do not know about Timberluxe , you should. Good video relating to your question.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdL2vYnBKHU
JR