trent/OH said:
I didn't notice any difference in the way it took the stain. My light sanding cut through any patina it had acquired over the years and the tack-protected areas seemed to stain just like the rest of the stock. 'Course I really wasn't all that concerned about it since I was going to replace the tacks anyway.
One more picture: After living with the results of my renovation for a few days, I decided that I really should do something about the barrel. I had some left over 220 aluminum oxide from a previous project so I masked off the top three barrel flats and blasted them to a matte finish. On the spur of the moment, just to see what would happen, I masked off a quick sketch of some scroll work on the top flat. (Ordinarily, I would have cut the design and then masked it off around the edges.) I don't think I'll do that again. The sketch mask streched and moved slightly when I was burnishing it and so, when I stripped all the masking off, I dismayed to find that I would have to cut the design a bit loose to try and match the wavering border between the two finishes.
Here's how it came out:
