Staining & Finishing a Birch Stock

[TN Shooter]

Hi everyone-

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

I have an otherwise nice Marlin Camp Carbine whose stock has been bubba'd. He/she removed the original finish and then used a glossy shellac or polyurethane over the bright-white colored birch stock. I need to sand this finish off, stain it, and then possibly add a satin polyurethane or something similar to try to duplicate the original factory finish that I have on my other Camp Carbine.

Does anybody have a suggestion for a stain and/or final finish?

Thanks!

TN Shooter

 

[PotatoJudge]

A gel stain will give a more even, less blotchy color to the birch stock than a liquid stain. A satin poly should work fine.

 

[fineredmist]

Be careful not to go too heavy on the sanding as you will loose the wood to metal fit. I agree on the gel stain and satin poly or you may think about Birchwood Casey's oil finish. Just a thought.

 

[MountainBear]

simple stain, then a slow velvet oil hand rub with at least 24 hours between coats. Fill the pours with a "mud rub" then put on a few light hand rubbed coats. Make sure they are nice and even with no drips and apply coats till you get to the desired finish. I just finished a Winchester 94 stock and it turned out great...

 

[Sunray]

Use a ployurethane stripper instead of sanding. Then give it a light sanding. Birch takes and stain very well. Use any wood finishing product, but tung oil is your friend. Stain first, then apply with a clean lint free cloth and rub it in until it gets friction warm. Let dry for 24 hours. Repeat the application for about 5 days letting it dry for 24 hours between coats. Gives you a nice sheen. More coats and more rubbing will increase the sheen.
Oil is much better than plastic. If it gets scratched you just add a bit more oil and the scratch is gone. Plastic stays scratched.

 

[TN Shooter]

Thanks y'all!!!!