refinishing Birch stock...

[x westie]

I have a H&R M1...the stock is birch..which is a lighter color than walnut,..i want to refinish the stock..but not too sure whether i should use a stain to darken the stock..then apply several coats of tung oil.

Thank for your help with this .

Information

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[U.S.G.I.]

I like to stain first myself. Yes you can stain after you put on some tung or BLO oil.

[JimL]

Birch is a challenge to stain. Use an alcohol based stain like Fiebings leather dye for best results.

Medium brown is a good choice.

jiml

[Lance Boyle]

I prefer dye to stains. They penetrate much better which is good for birch.

Products that I've used;

-Chestnut Ridge Supply Military stock stain available in Brownells (very good stuff, it's really a dye not a stain and is reputed to be the same as Feibings leather dye);

-Much cheaper and very good is make your own dye; a quart of alcohol from the hardware store (not the drug store variety which has a lot of water in it) mixed with RIT clothing dye. I've used Dark Brown and Cocoa Brown. I like the Cocoa Brown the best. Other folks have mixed in a touch of red, to get the same tone of aged /mellowed BLO oil that takes on the red tones.

Good luck

[JimL]

RIT dye, good idea.

[JohnF]

JimL says it best, use the Fiebings alcohol base medium brown stain. Birch can stain very blotchy, uneven, and red, so for best results use the Minwax prestain conditioner. The conditioner helps the stain to take a very even application. You can google the stuff on how to apply or read the directions on the can. I finished several birch stocks that are so even in color that it is hard to tell it's Birch until you get up close. If you use darker brown stains or the Chestnut Ridge stain they tend to turn the stock very red depending on the wood and the amount applied. Even the Fiebings medium brown will turn it red at times, so you have to experiment on the amount applied as there are different types of Birch. Old growth and new growth birch can also determine your results.

[trfindley]

Pics of stocks with different finishes:
http://www.trfindley.com/pgwalbir.html

[Rotor]

Stains are for decks and fences. Dye is the way to go.

JR

[RogerFoxDog]

This is a Birch stock from Dupage's. It was listed as the handyman special. It came with a Brown, oily, stained finish that kept oozing oil. I refinished by getting out as much of the oil as possible and applying Feibings Med. Brown dye cut 25% with denatured alcohol. I applied Minwax Tung Oil ( Varnish) to lock in the Feibings otherwise, the Feibings has a tendancy to transfer on to one's clothes and cheek if just finished off with BLO. I still need to knock down the gloss with 0000 steel wool and finish off with Culver's paste(Wax).

[Milsurp Collector]

I have a H&R M1...the stock is birch..which is a lighter color than walnut,..i want to refinish the stock..but not too sure whether i should use a stain to darken the stock..then apply several coats of tung oil.

I prefer the natural blonde color of birch to ersatz-walnut-stained birch. I think a blonde birch stock can be very attractive when contrasted with the dark color of the metal. The hard part is finding matching birch handguards. I am currently refinishing a new CMP birch stock and handguard set that was stained brown. I removed the brown stain so I can get a natural blonde birch color. It's nice to have one blonde amongst the brunettes.