help finishing birch

Sanding, rusticating, sandblasting, buffing, etc. All here.
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italdesign
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Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 9:25 am

help finishing birch

Post by italdesign »

Hi guys,

I'm taking a break from pipe making to take on a project for a friend. He wants his birch laminate rifle stock refinished. I have never worked with birch but I know that it doesn't take stain very well and usually ends up with a blotchy finish.

Should I attempt to finish this like I would a briar pipe using leather dye instead of oil based stain? I would like the finished piece to have a dark contrast grain much like Kurt's jet black finish but I'm not sure if it will work ok birch. Also the stock needs to have a very deep glossy look.

I know this isn't' pipe related but you guys have done some of the finest wood finishing I have ever seen and any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
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KurtHuhn
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Re: help finishing birch

Post by KurtHuhn »

I don't have a lot of experience with birch, but I would think that an oil based stain would provide an even coloration. Have you got a picture of the stock? I think my advice would differ based on how it's laminated.
Kurt Huhn
AKA: Oversized Ostrogoth
artisan@k-huhn.com
italdesign
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 9:25 am

Re: help finishing birch

Post by italdesign »

Hi Kurt,

Thank you for the response. I don't have a picture of the actual stock but here is a picture of the same stock I found on the internet after it was sanded with 400
grit.

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q257 ... ms/058.jpg

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q257 ... ms/061.jpg

This gentlemen refinished this using a product called tru oil and did no staining. Here are the results:

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q257 ... 6780e5.jpg

I was looking for a slightly lighter shade and very dark grain contrast but I'm not sure about how to achieve this.
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KurtHuhn
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Re: help finishing birch

Post by KurtHuhn »

Tru-Oil is the gold standard for rifle stocks. It provides protection and gloss, while not affecting the color of the wood too much. What it does is bring out the natural variegation in the wood and enhance the grain that's there. This is pretty standard in modern rifle stocks.

To increase the contrast, you've got your work cut out. The checkering area will pretty much be stained the color of the darkest stain you use. There's no way to alter that once it's done unless you buy yourself some checkering files and chase the checkering once it's stained. I DO NOT suggest this. It's a expensive and a crapload of work.

You might get away with selectively staining with an oil based stain and sanding back, then using Tru-Oil as the final finish. I have never done this, so take it with a grain of salt. Leather stain may penetrate too deeply if applied heavily. I would use oil stain since it can be controlled a little better, particularly in the checkering.
Kurt Huhn
AKA: Oversized Ostrogoth
artisan@k-huhn.com
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Leus
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Re: help finishing birch

Post by Leus »

I would say that Kurt's answer makes sense. The checkered area will absorb more stain.

BTW, I refurbished an oak rifle butt and used normal dye and polyurethane (not TruOil, because that's not available down here.) I used a spitcoat and worked wonders.

Image
Escopetón by leus, on Flickr

Once it was buffed the color changed quite a bit.

Image
Escopetón by leus, on Flickr
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