Maple staining tips

[HighUintas]

 Are there some general tips that can be provided for achieving a nice stain only finish on maple? I have LMF Lancaster maple and did a couple of test pieces. They are.... Ok. I also have a stain made up of a saturated solution of turpentine and gilsonite. It seems to provide a light brown color in most areas and darker brown in grain.  I also have permalyn sealer. I have been experimenting with a few different methods of applying the stains and sealer and nothing has really seemed to stand out yet. My piece of maple is very plain. I'm it trying to turn it into something it's not, but want to bring out the best that it has, or at least not hide it.

I'm thinking of:

how to reduce blotchiness - does burnishing prior to staining or rubbing out after a stain coat help? Also, I read somewhere that applying a sealer before staining can help reduce blotchiness.

How to increase color depth - rubbing back a coat w steel wool and adding another coat seemed to possibly increase the depth of color. Would adding a coat of stain in between a couple of the sealer/finishing coats add depth even if it's the same color?


With my test pieces being relatively small, it's hard to know what will happen when I apply it to the whole stock. Is there anything I should make sure I do NOT do?

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

HU:  forgive me if I sound blunt, but you're asking questions that you can only learn the answers to by doing the work and noting the results.  What you're requesting is for someone who has invested the time, energy, money etc to give you everything you need without you having to invest anything.  Most of us who have been there, done that, are pretty generous with our experience and expertise, but there comes a point when we'd like to see you step out on the limb and see if it will support your weight.  What's the worst that could happen?  You cannot reach a destination without having made the journey.

[Daryl]

Every piece of wood is different. These two pieces were given EXACTLY the same stain and finishing process.

[RAT]

Any stain you apply will have to be applied before any sealer/finish. Stain put on over finish won't soak into the wood.

How are you applying your stain? With a pad or patch of fabric? OR with a paintbrush? Using a paintbrush will allow more stain to soak into the wood. The result is usually darker.

Sometimes the wood affects the blotchiness. Some areas just won't absorb as much stain as the surrounding wood. Good clean wood is also important. Any grease or oil on the stock will affect how the stain is absorbed.

I don't burnish and I never used permalyn. Not because I'm against it... I just never got into using them. So I can't share any experience with those.

[HighUintas]

HU:  forgive me if I sound blunt, but you're asking questions that you can only learn the answers to by doing the work and noting the results.  What you're requesting is for someone who has invested the time, energy, money etc to give you everything you need without you having to invest anything.  Most of us who have been there, done that, are pretty generous with our experience and expertise, but there comes a point when we'd like to see you step out on the limb and see if it will support your weight.  What's the worst that could happen?  You cannot reach a destination without having made the journey.

Taylor, I understand that and respect the decision for information to not be shared for that reason. Blunt is good

I felt silly for asking... Because it's just staining wood and I should be able to figure that out with scrap pieces. Then again, I've actually never stained a piece of wood that needed to have a quality job done and after experimenting a bit, my thoughts went to... "Huh, I guess this isn't as easy as I thought". .

[BrianS]

There are many threads where folks generously share their knowledge of staining and finishing. Search for them. The knowledge shared is a bit dizzying as there are many options and lots of folks have their unique working methods. Regarding your current experiments, there are two things not yet mentioned: it might take multiple applications of stain to get to your desired color and don’t sand too finely as that can impede stain saturation. Good luck!

[Hungry Horse]

 I recommend watching some of Jim Kibler’s videos on stock staining and finishing. He seems to get some pretty interesting finishes on plain stocks with stains and bone black. But he never gives up. He just keeps at it until he figures its as good as it going to get. Don’t be afraid to rub it back with ScotchBrite and try something else. Good Luck.

hungry Horse

[Dphariss]

I used Ferric nitrate on maple and Hickory rods.
I do occasionally us stain on walnut. But its either because its got “issues” or if I need to MATCH a COLOR on a repair or a replacement on a mulit-piece stock.
I have had pretty good luck with the spirit stains by Brownells. And I used the last of them a couple of years ago on a US military rifle stock. These are little bottles and I had been using the same ones for about 30 years which should tell you how often I used them “English Red” and “Pre-64”   HMM… They only show Pre-64 and Gold-Brown now. Well times do change. BTW these will penetrate some finishes. And Ferric Nitrate mixed with denatured alcohol will hep penetration when doing repairs on maple stained with this unless some synthetic finish is used then I cannot say.

[JohnnyFM]

I also suggest you watch Jim Kibler’s YouTube videos on staining gunstocks. The man has the experience to back up his technique. And His wife does a very good job as a videographer. I also recommend watching  the video on I Love Muzzleloading channel where Ethan has an interesting video taken of a gun building seminar led by Mike Brooks and Wayne Estes on different techniques staining and finishing a long rifle stock. Ethan himself also has a video showing  his finishing procedure and, by his own admission, is a beginner at it. Good stuff.
It should give you enough confidence to get it done.

[HighUintas]

Thanks, all. I do always research as much as possible before asking questions. I've watched nearly all Kiblers videos, including the staining ones but not the bone black one as I hadn't planned to have an aged appearance here. But, maybe it would give me some additional ideas anyway.

I'll check out I love muzzleloading's videos. I don't think I've seen any of his yet.

[Daryl]

I say, let them "get old" honestly, with use and handling. That said, some of the guys here are exceptionally talented at "aging' rifles.

[mikeyfirelock]

I have been using the LMF products for a number of years now and have been quite happy with them.  I try to get the stock prepared as completely as possible before applying….sanded with progressively finer paper, wet and grain raised with a heat gun, ( maybe twice) then gone over with OOOO steel wool.    I apply stain with a well saturated pad as evenly as possible. If need be,  I may fo over lightly with OOOO steel wool again.   Then I apply Permalyn sparingly….let dry….and apply again sparingly.   This will not make plain wood anything more than plain, but will give a nice even finish, and has worked well for me . 

[mountainman]

I felt silly for asking... Because it's just staining wood and I should be able to figure that out with scrap pieces. Then again, I've actually never stained a piece of wood that needed to have a quality job done and after experimenting a bit, my thoughts went to... "Huh, I guess this isn't as easy as I thought". .
[/quote]
Sometimes it is one of the hardest thing to do in the gun building process, "to get it to look right"!

[HighUintas]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm continuing to experiment with my scraps and I think I'm figuring it out. I just may end up using all my scrap wood 

[mgbruch]

Since your stock is very plain it's going to be that way when finished; so I would concentrate on color for the stain.  Not on guns but other projects using Red Maple and Sugar Maple, I've used a TransTint die.  On maple, sometimes a die, instead of a stain, will reduce the blotchiness.  The die comes concentrated, so you can dilute it with water to achieve the color you want.  On figured wood I've also used it fairly concentrated, rubbed back, then a LMF stain applied on top.

[DavidC]

Clean it with pure turpentine before hand to remove any residues, oils, or errant smudges. Give it a bit to dry, maybe 10-15 minutes, and I like to hand rub with old t-shirts I've cut up, always 100 percent cotton. Wear gloves, try to hold the gun where it would normally be held so any discoloration looks natural.

Buy a board from woodcraft or something to use as a bigger test piece if you're really worried. It's tough to mess up unless you're lazy or negligent. Good luck.

[kutter]

Don't hesitate to use more than one 'color' of stain on the job.
Maybe start with the Maple. Then after it's dry and has set for a day, lightly scuff the surface with scotchbrite and give the wood another go with a Walnut or another color/tone.

Some of the 'Cherry' color stains are VERY red, so I'd try them on a scrap piece first.
I get along OK with the Laurel Mtn Lancaster Maple and (whatever they call it) Walnut colors.
They penetrate well.

[oldtravler61]

  A few years ago I asked Ian Pratt a question about aging metal.
His answer was short but to the point. " If I tell ya how to do it. What are you learning ?"   
At first I was upset with the response. But it was also the best advice I have received on building guns and other things. I'm still plugging a long at it. I still screw up but I'm better at hiding it.