i have gotten myself into a pickle. advice on staining birch needed.

[deerstalkert]

over the last 60 or so years i have from time to time acquired a rifle with a birch stock that needed attention. I learned early on that wood is a pain to stain.
I eventually just got a new piece of walnut or cherry and built a replacement. easier on my sanity than watching stain blotch on the birch.
here in my senile senior years i decided to build a stock for a shotgun out of birch. birch that i logged 15 years ago and milled. birch that has some sentimental value to me. the shotgun also has sentimental value to me. was given to me by a man i much admired.
there in lays the problem. in my senility i forgot that i was going to have to put some kind of finish on the thing.
I have it almost ready for finish and the dim bulb in my skull lit.
i really want to stain it dark with a red tone. any help will be most appreciated.

 

[springfield art]

over the last 60 or so years i have from time to time acquired a rifle with a birch stock that needed attention. I learned early on that wood is a pain to stain.
I eventually just got a new piece of walnut or cherry and built a replacement. easier on my sanity than watching stain blotch on the birch.
here in my senile senior years i decided to build a stock for a shotgun out of birch. birch that i logged 15 years ago and milled. birch that has some sentimental value to me. the shotgun also has sentimental value to me. was given to me by a man i much admired.
there in lays the problem. in my senility i forgot that i was going to have to put some kind of finish on the thing.
I have it almost ready for finish and the dim bulb in my skull lit.
i really want to stain it dark with a red tone. any help will be most appreciated.

Hmmm. Will be interested to see what suggestions come up!

 

[64Springer]

Ferric Oxide Solution will turn birch maroon in color.

I have a Jukar .45 Kentuckyish that looks like a Hershey Chocolate wrapper.

Apply it like aqua fortis then hit it with a heat gun.

You can find recipes online. Very easy to make. Muriatic Acid + Hydrogen Peroxide + 0000 steel wool.

 

[deerstalkert]

. Muriatic Acid (check, have it)+ Hydrogen Peroxide(check, have it) + 0000 steel wool (check, have it). watch for a mushroom cloud.
thanks 64Springer. have some scraps to test.

 

[Panama Red]

This fellow has some good videos on stock refinishing and repair. I’ve got a different guy that has a good one on a walnut stock that he finishes in boiled linseed oil. How to hand rub a finish. Good stuff. I’ll post that one if you’re interested. One of the videos I watched (it was beech wood) discussed sealing the wood with MinWax pre-stain to seal off some of the softer grain to give it an even color.

 

[Panama Red]

All mine will be YouTube videos, because I haven’t done it yet, LOL! Take it for what it’s worth…

 

[64Springer]

. Muriatic Acid (check, have it)+ Hydrogen Peroxide(check, have it) + 0000 steel wool (check, have it). watch for a mushroom cloud.
thanks 64Springer. have some scraps to test.

This solution requires cooking.

Be careful.

 

[64Springer]

Sorry about the blur.

 

[deerstalkert]

Sorry about the blur.

if i can achieve that evenness of color i will be ecstatic! thank you again.

 

[Panama Red]

Sorry about the blur.

I’ve always liked a bit of red in my guns, but that right there is beautiful!

 

[64Springer]

if i can achieve that evenness of color i will be ecstatic! thank you again.

If you go this route, don't be dainty trying to apply it.

Flood the wood with the solution then wipe it off and allow the wood to dry for a couple of days.

Then apply heat.

 

[deerstalkert]

This fellow has some good videos on stock refinishing and repair. I’ve got a different guy that has a good one on a walnut stock that he finishes in boiled linseed oil. How to hand rub a finish. Good stuff. I’ll post that one if you’re interested. One of the videos I watched (it was beech wood) discussed sealing the wood with MinWax pre-stain to seal off some of the softer grain to give it an even color.

i have a gallon can of BLO that is about 3/4 full. if i had a dime for every coat of BLO i have rubbed in over the last half century i could take the bride dancing! if she could dance!

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
Aqua fortis or Ferric nitrate dissolved in water (same as aqua fortis) or alcohol will stain birch very much like maple. Here is an example with a lamp made by my late wife. The base is white birch burl stained with ferric nitrate. The lighting is dark but you can see the warm light reddish-brown color.

dave

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

Hi,
Aqua fortis or Ferric nitrate dissolved in water (same as aqua fortis) or alcohol will stain birch very much like maple.

dave

This has been my experience with birch stocks

 

[Johnny Tremain]

I have a birch stock Ive redone 3 times, stripping it down this summer again.
Everything Ive tried has failed to give it a finish I like.

 

[kansas_volunteer]

My first rifle, a 22, has a birch stock originally finished with a light amber varnish. After six decades it was looking very rough. I stripped the varnish leaving a plain piece of white wood. I stained with LMF honey maple, which took well, and applied my favorite beeswax finish. It took on an amber color much like the original look. I'm well satisfied with it.

 

[deerstalkert]

I must have not ever held my mouth just right on my attempts over the years to stain birch to an even finish. there is the distinct possibility that i didn't sand correctly also. wasn't known to be a patient man in my youth!
possibly i just had a poor expectation of the "common mans maple" and didn't try hard enough.
am at the second wiskering stage today and may do a third if i have the oomph today.
the shotgun i built this for has zero value to anyone but me so how ever it turns out will be only my pleasure or discomfort.
thank you to one and all.
may post pictures for your humor.
DS.

 

[Philip Lebow]

Gents, I use Vanderhave Military stock stain for birch. I think Brownells still carries it.

 

[deerstalkert]

Well, I ventured forth and went on safari, looking for a bottle of muriatic acid in one of my outbuildings that i try to avoid because of the jumbled mess. distinct possibility of one disturbing a precarious pile of sh... stuff and becoming buried alive, or not!
on a shelf about center of the densest part of the mess, I found a old box of Beverlee's stain and finish from the 60's. where it came from wa probably a yard sale "might as well" purchase 40 years ago.
it was still good.
So... i tried it on a sanded cut off from this stock. it was exactly the color i was after. guess i will have to build another stock to try out all the great ideas you guys proposed. you all have my deepest thanks!

 

[Panama Red]

i have a gallon can of BLO that is about 3/4 full. if i had a dime for every coat of BLO i have rubbed in over the last half century i could take the bride dancing! if she could dance!

Somehow I missed that you had plenty of experience… when I re-read your original post I thought, “Yeah, not a noob…” Sorry about that!