Has anyone ever stained an Ironwood stock set?

[alex]

I've purchased a hardwood birch stock set and am ready to prep/stain it.

My only problem is that I'm torn on what would make a good color for a Chinese MAK 90. Has anyone tried to match a color to one of these? I'm getting impatient in my search for an "authentic" match and I'm fearful of how different the birch will come out since it isn't the same type wood as an original Chinese AK.

So, any ideas? Specifically what stain brand and color codes?

 

[SpeedRacer]

Birch definitely isn't the easiest wood to stain. If you want an authentic look, you should be using amber shellac. It's kind of a pain to work with first time around, but it would be the correct finish for Chinese furniture.

I redid my Romy PSL furniture using amber shellac tinted slightly red, took me two tries to get it right but came out pretty damn nice!

 

[alex]

Using just google right now, it seems the amber shellac has a red tint to it over the "honey" look on my ugly thumbhole stock.

That really stinks to hear about birch! I'm pretty good with handy work but this will be my first stain job. I suppose I'll be breaking out some spare wood and get my practice on.

 

[southerner985]

i'ev seen "blonde" wood on the chinese AKs that looks really good, but im not sure what color code it is

 

[southerner985]

 

[SpeedRacer]

"Amber" shellac is sort of a generic term, and the color seems to range from blonde to orangish. You can also buy clear shellac and tint it with Rit or any alcohol based dye. Most of the euro/asian countries used shellac/varnish on their stocks as opposed to stain. Much easier/cheaper for them to produce. Again, that's only if you want authentic. If you just want the right color, Minwax makes several shades in the range you're looking for. Just try it out on some sample pieces first.

Don't be scurred...most of the work in refinishing is in the prep work, since you're starting with fresh wood you've skipped 80% of the hard part!

 

[alex]

i'ev seen "blonde" wood on the chinese AKs that looks really good, but im not sure what color code it is

I love the blonde look, but I am already in the process of getting a custom blonde underfolder

Speedracer: I suppose I'm more interested in a matching color than being 100% authentic. Durability and color are my main concerns.

 

[csbutton]

You might also consider wood dye, rather than stain. It is easy to use, can be corrected after application if it is not exactly right, and is easy to color match. Any decent woodworking supply catalog or website should have it. If they don't have an exact match for the color you want, buy a shade lighter and a shade darker and mix your way to the right color. Apply to the wood, then use any finish you want.

Birch is notoriously hard to stain evenly. Dye may give a more even color and allow the grain to show more so than stain...dye actually colors the wood without masking the grain, while stain coats the surface of the wood, and in some cases can mask the grain.

 

[SpeedRacer]

Gotcha. In that case, I'd go with a Minwax stain and poly. They have a very blonde color but I can't remember the name. Sand it smooth (220grit) and go to town. Very simple, just follow the directions on the can. You might want to let the stain sit a little longer than recommended before wiping since you're using birch. And use 0000 steel wool between layers of poly and it should come out lookin' great.

 

[alex]

That sounds like a plan!

One more question: the grip has checkering and Ironwood didn't get all of the "fuzz" off the wood. What would be the best way to get into those small grooves without screwing them up?

edit: after plugging in a more appropriate search term, I found something I'd like:

http://www.bayoushooter.com/forums/showthread.php?52226-First-time-finishing-a-stock

That shade, but a bit more "honey" colored would be perfect for me. The 2-in-1 also satisfies the laziness in me.

 

[alex]

Everything's semi-fitted. It took quite a bit of sanding to get everything to fit. On one hand I was cursing Ironwood but on the other hand, it's a solid fit--no wobbles. I still need to do some rounding everywhere before I get to staining.

 

[LACamper]

Alex, I think I like the blonde color. Sure you don't want to just put a clear coat?

 

[alex]

It's growing on me. What guy wouldn't want two blondes?

 

[SpeedRacer]

Lookin' good, you could definitely get away with just a clearcoat. Poly alone will still "warm" the color up a little with the result being much closer to the pics southerner posted.

 

[charliepapa]

One more question: the grip has checkering and Ironwood didn't get all of the "fuzz" off the wood. What would be the best way to get into those small grooves without screwing them up?

I had to fill/putty a bunch of nail holes in rough-cut western red cedar once. I had sort of the same problem in that I couldn't sand it when done because it would have left flats spots where it was otherwise rough. I wound up using a SS brush going with the grain of the wood, and in the end, it was really hard to tell where the holes were. Maybe that or even a brass brush will work for you, going in the direction of the lines of checkering. Good Luck.

 

[alex]

I ended up folding a piece of 220 and slowly going down each cut. Three beers later and I was set

 

[Smokeless]

My vote is to leave it blond. Looking through random web sites, it seems like your best bet is to use an alcohol, "spirit", based stain if you wish to stain it a darker color. I would be very unhappy to have a splotchy stain after all that work. Looks good though! Where do you find all this time?

 

[lowell66dart]

If you go to one of the unfinished furniture places they will have tons of samples to look at on various woods as they sell a ton of stains. ZAR is the stain that I like. I just redid my cabinets after 20 years of wear and tear. I just wiped them clean with water and reapplied and they look like new.

 

[bs875]

Everything's semi-fitted. It took quite a bit of sanding to get everything to fit. On one hand I was cursing Ironwood but on the other hand, it's a solid fit--no wobbles. I still need to do some rounding everywhere before I get to staining.

So it's not just the sets I've gotten from them that brings out the worst words I know. HUGE pain in the ass to shave it down with a razor knife and a careful Dremel. That blond looks good but isn't quite Chinese if that's what you want. There are a few ways to go depending on what version of a Chinese look you want. Here's a few originals in "blondish".

http://www.sksman.com/acces/AK47 stocks 3.php

I went with more of a Chinese orange like the ones here and the one on an original 84S I used as a guide.

I used liquid rit dye on a birch set of their new "Type 56" stock set. I went with a smooth rather than checkered grip and then rounded it over a little by sanding.

Here's the write up I sent Matt at Ironwood after I finished it.

At first I tried a mixture of one part dark brown, one part scarlet red and four parts golden yellow. All were Rit liquid dyes (not powder). That color was not what I wanted so after studying an original Norinco 84S I saw a lot of underlying yellow. So I decided to coat all of the wood with pure golden yellow. After I had that laid down I then added the remainder of the original formula into pure yellow incrementally. So a lot of yellow and a little of the original dye applied with a foam brush. Then the next coat I added a little more of the original formula to the mix. I continued this until the next to last coat so it was mostly original formula. But because there was already a lot of yellow in the total it didn’t come out too dark. Finally I added one coat of pure dark brown and then wiped it off. This helped fill in the grain of the birch which emulates the dark streaks in the Chinese Chu. After drying I added several coats of the Varathane and wet sanded with 600 grit. For the final coat of Varathane I cut it with a small amount of water. Maybe 10-20% water and the remainder pure Varathane. This makes the final coat extra thin, but not runny, so wet sanding is not needed (since I wasn’t going to buff). The final color is a little light but pretty close to the brownish-orange of the 84S I was emulating. So my take away from all of this is to start with a base of golden yellow. Then add minute amounts of scarlet red and dark brown to the mix and finally follow with one coat of dark brown to fill in the cracks.

 

[alex]

Holy crap...so, how much would you charge to do this?