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March 31, 2009
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I’m with Chris. I have a cabinet full of stains that I often mix to get what I want. Some of the new water based stains can be laid on top of the existing finish and when dry you can add something to give it a sheen if needed. Just don’t rub so hard you remove the stain.
January 8, 2025
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Well. Thanks a lot guys. I feel a lot better. And I’m happier looking at them after the BOL has dried. I also have a cabinet full of different stains and the like. I didn’t have any denatured alcohol, BOL, Danish Oil, or acetone. But I was able to get it all at Home Depot. You won’t find it at Menards, at least I couldn’t. I have tongue oil, I would hazard a guess that if I would use that on top of the BOL, I should give it the full 72 hours of dry time.
January 8, 2025
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So here’s the riffle back together. I wanted it to look more original than it did with the varnished yellow stocks. I’ll let y’all be the judges.
Thanks for all the help!
July 14, 2016
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Looks good mate. You were already up against it with the sanded stocks before you started, but you’ve done a nice job.
A man can never have too many WINCHESTERS...
January 20, 2023
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I’m impressed. You’ve really come a long way with it. Congratulations.
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
November 7, 2015
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Good job. Restoration is one thing but IMHO performing overdue maintenance is another. Wood finish of the day was not durable in anything but ideal conditions and a working gun seldom had that luxury. A bit of fresh oil now and then was just good maintenance just as we polish our old wood furniture. It will never again be original or pristine but it damn sure has character and it is down for hanging on the wall or a range trip. Enjoy!
Mike
December 9, 2002
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TXGunNut said
Good job. Restoration is one thing but IMHO performing overdue maintenance is another. Wood finish of the day was not durable in anything but ideal conditions and a working gun seldom had that luxury. A bit of fresh oil now and then was just good maintenance just as we polish our old wood furniture. It will never again be original or pristine but it damn sure has character and it is down for hanging on the wall or a range trip. Enjoy!
Mike
Well said Mike!
MidwestCrisis said
So here’s the riffle back together. I wanted it to look more original than it did with the varnished yellow stocks. I’ll let y’all be the judges.
Thanks for all the help!
I applaud you for you’re hard work and a nice job on this rifle. I’ve been following along and some nice work here that you have showed us and kept us updated. Many good comments, and suggestions, by the members also.
As much as I like it, and I’m not knocking on it. It has that light finished look to it, almost like a light Birch, wood colored stock. Personally, if I was to do the work that you did, I would have taken it a step farther, and tried to darken the colored finish to “The Winchester Red”, tone! Just my personal opinion. I do appreciate you’re work! There is also nothing wrong with the way you chose to do it, as to just “different strokes”! IMHO!
Anthony
January 20, 2023
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Adam, If you should ever want to try reblue the steel, after taking it down to bright metal there is a particular bluing agent you might want to try because it doesn’t need to work on a completely oil free surface. Brownell’s Oxpho actually works better in the presence of a little oil.
Oxpho will not give you a dark blue like hot salts will but rather a soft grayish blue. It is very durable and doesn’t require equipment. I’ve used it and Ike it.
Now, nobody with sense is going to put Oxpho or any other cold blue on a collectible gun. But — in my opinion — once the steel is rusty and pitted and 50% or more of the original finish is gone, if you want to save it from further deterioration get the rust off and protect the steel. Oxpho blues through rust and removes rust.
You can’t make a race horse out of a pig. But you can sometimes make a very fast pig.
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
January 8, 2025
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Zebulon said
Adam, If you should ever want to try reblue the steel, after taking it down to bright metal there is a particular bluing agent you might want to try because it doesn’t need to work on a completely oil free surface. Brownell’s Oxpho actually works better in the presence of a little oil.
Oxpho will not give you a dark blue like hot salts will but rather a soft grayish blue. It is very durable and doesn’t require equipment. I’ve used it and Ike it.
Now, nobody with sense is going to put Oxpho or any other cold blue on a collectible gun. But — in my opinion — once the steel is rusty and pitted and 50% or more of the original finish is gone, if you want to save it from further deterioration get the rust off and protect the steel. Oxpho blues through rust and removes rust.
You can’t make a race horse out of a pig. But you can sometimes make a very fast pig.
I probably will try that. The rust on the bottom of the receiver doesn’t clean up like the barrel did. It doesn’t have pits, it’s on the surface but seems like a thick coat. I understand there’s metallurgy here I don’t understand. brownells has some pretty good videos with Steve and Caleb going over cold blues. I’ve got a couple guns like the 22 pump that could use it too. You can watch YouTube videos all day long but you’ll never get the experience unless you do it. You guys sharing your experience is priceless. I really appreciate all the time everyone took to comment and give advice. Trust me I’ve absorbed all of it. I’m not done with the stocks yet, have some good ideas on darkening them through the oil I’m going to try. I’ll update this thread as it comes along.
Thanks Again,
Adam
April 30, 2023
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If you want another rabbit hole to travel down on YT, check out ANVIL (Mark Novak) and watch all his videos on conservation and rust bluing….or hell just watch them all, very good stuff.
August 14, 2021
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I find this stuff works miracles with Winchesters on the rare occasion I have to make a new piece of wood. Check out the website
January 8, 2025
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It was a little cold but I took it and shot a little. Kept a decent group to the left. I didn’t have a rest or anything. Mostly just a functional check at 25 yds. I’ll sight her in when it’s nice out. I took a picture in the natural light to hopefully show the color better. I’m really happy with it and I appreciate all the advice.
Thanks,
Adam
December 9, 2002
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MidwestCrisis said
It was a little cold but I took it and shot a little. Kept a decent group to the left. I didn’t have a rest or anything. Mostly just a functional check at 25 yds. I’ll sight her in when it’s nice out. I took a picture in the natural light to hopefully show the color better. I’m really happy with it and I appreciate all the advice.Thanks,
Adam
What a difference! It has some nice character to it! Great work!
Anthony
January 20, 2023
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Concur. It looks like it could serve the hero n a Howard Hawks Western. Really nice restoration.
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
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