old winchester finish
I am refinishing a 1892, 1911 Winchester, lever action rifle, 38-40 caliber. Most of the finish is gone off of the forstock and only flakes left on the butt stock. The flakes remaining shows a clear finish with orangeish/red color in it. It looks like this finish was put right on top of the walnut stocks without any staining first. It also looks like graining holes etc were filled first (not sure with what) and then this finish was put on, leaving the wood with a smooth, satin type finish. Anybody know how I can duplicate that process for this nice old Winchester?? Thanks in advance.
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The finish you are describing is not original. In the timeframe your Model 1892 was manufactured, the stocks were oil finished (5-6 hand rubbed coats) with the colored stain added to the oil. 0 -
thanks for the knowledge Bert on the finish....what kind of oil and what kind of colored stain/dye would I get to try and put the right finish on this gun? 0 -
I'm not Bert but, but you might get close to knowing what was in the original finish/stain, but I think the recipe was lost for ever. You might try Tapadera's n-35.
I remeber reading an old account of boiled walnut hulls and a linseed base were original but I dont believe there is any way to confirm it.
I have got close using a combination of watco danish oil and stains. There was an old guy (his name escapes me) but his business was called "Winchester restorations" that had a very good recipe also. It was a mixture of oil and statin that you hand rubbed. He came really close to the original finish. He used to sell it on the net, but I cant find it any more.0 -
Here you go. I've used it and the formula is supposed to be originally from a Winchester employee if I remember correctly.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=2339822850 -
quote:Originally posted by bigborefan
Here you go. I've used it and the formula is supposed to be originally from a Winchester employee if I remember correctly.
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=233982285
Thats him, John Kay. I should have remembered, he was the lead singer for Steppenwolf. [8D] He put together some very nice shotguns.0 -
Thanks for the link! I appreciate all the help and the info. Diamond 0 -
Here is something simple & cheap..."Old English Dark"....use very fine steel wool...that should do it!...if you want a lighter finish use the regular! 0 -
Similar to cartod, I've used Minwax and/or Homer Formsby's satin finishes and experimenting with the various stains. Alas, "Old English Dark" doesn't have enough red, and is also too dark.
I'm such a fan of Winchester's red stain that I've applied variations to several different make of firearms....before he saw the action, had a guy look at my Remington 700 and comment on how "nice the pre'64 Winchesters look..." [;)]0 -
The 2 guys at www.Tapaderaswinchesters.com sell the finish to relicate the orange tint.
http://www.tapaderaswinchesters.com/gunstockstain.html0 -
Not an exactly similar scenario, but I restored a bunch of Polish Mausers years back and after much consternation trying to replicate the orange-red color, I finally used Homer Formbys Sedona red in conjunction with medium walnut and bingo...finally got it to look right. If one used a little more Sedona than Walnut, as I did, the reddish "Winchester" color will start to come through. 0
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