Restore finish

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

My nephew has an old Hatfield rifle. During the cleaning process, some of the cleaning solution trickled down the sides of the butt stock. It didn’t cause him any concern. The rifle was put away clean.

After a few days, he checked the rifle and noticed streaks along the stock where the cleaner had dribbled. The stock is a fairly nicely figured maple. The original stain and whatever sealer on the wood was bleached away. Now he has blonde streaks across what used to be a medium dark Cherry stain.

Without completely stripping the stock, are there any other methods to put some color back into the wood, if even to camouflage it some ?

Asking for a nephew….

 

[Vaino]

I'd completely refinish the stock.......the present finish evidently isn't impervious to some solutions so a repeat will happen. Use one of the "proven" finishes on the market.

The finish on my first build was hardware store BLO and when I took it deer hunting, the rain made the finish a gooey mess which I wiped off w/ my red hanky. .....Fred

 

[sheriff john]

Don't know what the Hatfield finish is. My Hatfield flinter's finish is not durable, either.

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

Thank you both for your replies. My nephew is going to have a project on his hands, or live with the streaks.

 

[necchi]

are there any other methods to put some color back into the wood, if even to camouflage it some ?

Nope.
I guess I'd try some Old English every couple of months as it sits in the storage locker again for a year,, nothin to loose.
Ya might be surprised how well a "patina" grows on ya with time,,
Just carve another notch in the learning curve,,

 

[TFoley]

There are a number of gun cleaning unguents that act as perfect strippers, often, as in your case, coming as a total surprise.

Chief among these is a marvellous barrel cleaner invented in Finland many years back for cleaning the barrels of infantry mortars - THE definitive large muzzle-loader if ever there was one - and taken over by those who shoot unmentionables as a very effective bore cleaner.

It is sold under a number of brand names, but some of you here will know it a Forrest Foam or just Bore foam or some-such. My experience was, thankishly, second-hand, but a very sad time for the owner of a beautiful sporting Mauser-action rifle made by John Rigby in or around 1910 and still owned by the great grandson of the original owner. He had squirted it liberally into the muzzle end of the bore without a bung cloth in the breech, and it overran the surrounding wood work while he went off for a call of nature. When he came back, the stock finish had been utterly ruined around the breech - as you note - bleached.

It cost him around £500 to have it 'repaired' by Rigby stockers.

 

[Robby]

I'd probably try some 0000 steel wool and see if I can make it disappear then use a good quality wax on it. I don't really like the look of the modern finishes used today and would probably steel wool the entire stock and wax it.
Robby

 

[OldSmoky1967]

Nope.
I guess I'd try some Old English every couple of months as it sits in the storage locker again for a year,, nothin to loose.
Ya might be surprised how well a "patina" grows on ya with time,,
Just carve another notch in the learning curve,,

That is what I do to. It works nicely.

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

Good idea Necchi, I’ll pass that information on to my nephew. He recently acquired the rifle. It was pristine when he got it. The bleaching job happened after I think his first trip to the range. I don’t know what kind of solution he used, but he had ‘help’ from another black powder shooter…. Not me.

For an almost new, older rifle, I liked the color of the stock, but really was not impressed with the top coating finish. It just didn’t seem durable. I think there is finish, finish, and then there is finish. That rifle to me, was just barely past the first finish stage.

Unfortunately for the nephew, he is sort of taking this oops like the first scratch in the paint of his first car, from that runaway shopping cart.

I’ll pass on all the information everyone has contributed. Thanks again.