Stock refinishing - how to match vintage Remington Model 11 original finish and color tone?

[cash_tx]

I am restoring and refinishing the stock and forearm on a good friend's old Remington Model 11 semi-auto. My plan is to go back with some type of hand-rubbed oil finish, and my friend would prefer to get as close of a match to the original color tone as possible. From what I've been able to research, these stocks were made with American black walnut, and had an oil finish from the factory (pics below, which I believe is the original finish). I bought some Watco Danish Oil in Black Walnut, but am now wondering if that will give me the results desired. I will of course get a scrap piece of black walnut to do some color samples; but until I do, I figured I would ask this community for any advice or input in getting as close to the original finish as possible. At this point, I have stripped, steamed, and sanded the stock about as much as I can to get it prepped for applying the finish. I plan to apply the oil by hand, then work it in with some very fine sandpaper going across the grain. I think it is about as restored as I can get it, but plan to take one more pass with some 1000 and 2000 grit sandpaper prior to cleaning it with mineral spirits, and applying the finish a few days afterwards. This is my first attempt at refinishing a stock, so thanks in advance for any input you have to offer.

Before:

After stripping, steaming, and sanding:

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I would not stain that stock. My dad had a Model 11 that's now my brother's. The finish on your stock was not original. I'm fairly certain someone slobbered varnish over the original oil finish which would have been very flat, not glossy. If you use Linspeed oil finish, it will darken quite a bit. Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil will not darken. If you decide to go with Linspeed, let me know. I can give you some tips that will greatly speed up the process.

Here's my 404 on Czech 98 Mauser I built spring of 2023. This is the first stock with Linspeed.

Then I restocked it when a great deal came up for used one. That one required stripping and refinish similar to your project.

And this is my 03A3. First restocked in 1981 and refinished at least three times (I hunt hard!).

Here's my Citori I refinished with Linspeed a couple years ago.

 

[jomw10]

You should be able to get some good dark color with the danish oil. Rub one coat in and immediately remove excess with a clean cloth. Come back some time later and with clean cloth and rub again. One coat may be enough.
The Danish will offer no protection, you should apply a top coat after it has dried (several days).
Be careful with the rags used to apply it, they can easily start a fire. Leave them to dry outside flat before disposing of them.

 

[cash_tx]

I would not stain that stock. My dad had a Model 11 that's now my brother's. The finish on your stock was not original. I'm fairly certain someone slobbered varnish over the original oil finish which would have been very flat, not glossy. If you use Linspeed oil finish, it will darken quite a bit. Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil will not darken. If you decide to go with Linspeed, let me know. I can give you some tips that will greatly speed up the process.

Here's my 404 on Czech 98 Mauser I built spring of 2023. This is the first stock with Linspeed.
View attachment 679728
Then I restocked it when a great deal came up for used one. That one required stripping and refinish similar to your project.
View attachment 679727
And this is my 03A3. First restocked in 1981 and refinished at least three times (I hunt hard!).
View attachment 679729
View attachment 679726
Here's my Citori I refinished with Linspeed a couple years ago.
View attachment 679725

Thank you! I actually have some Linspeed oil that I bought for a different project, and have never used. My original thought was to use the Linspeed straight out of the bottle on this project, because I think it will make that wood grain really pop. However, friend thought it might be too light, so I looked for other options and wound up buying the Watco Danish Oil in Black Walnut. I will revisit the idea of using the Linspeed Oil.

 

[CBeck]

SB McWilliams alkanet oil….for the color

 

[Nhoro]

You can buy commercial wood stains at a wood working shop. But I have hadgood results using food colouring. My wife had a basic colours, and I used the red and a touch of black instead of alkanet root. So you could lightly stain it with a little black to match the old finish- remember the oil finish darkens up quite a bit so just a little colouring in water. You can sand it back to lighten it up a little.

 

[Grumpy gumpy]

Food colouring isn’t uv stable. Alkanet would be my choice cbeck's stock finish is what I would aim for. Old stock finishes will darken overtime and often hide what is underneath
Gumpy

 

[Tgood1]

Try a sample of teak oil

 

[cash_tx]

@Ontario Hunter, per your earlier comment, if you have any tips for using the Linspeed oil, I'm all ears. Also, did you apply any stain to the wood prior to the Linspeed? Your rifles look great!

 

[Ontario Hunter]

@Ontario Hunter, per your earlier comment, if you have any tips for using the Linspeed oil, I'm all ears. Also, did you apply any stain to the wood prior to the Linspeed? Your rifles look great!

No stain. Linspeed colors the wood a bit. As I said, Birchwood Tru-Oil really doesn't darken so if a more natural (i.e. blonder) look is desirable, go with that stuff.

Here's what I do. First, skip putting any finish on the stripped checkering until the last coat. Apply Linspeed with finger, rubbing it into pores/grain. Let first coat dry about forty minutes, then rub it off with paper towels. Keep rubbing until you feel you're down to smooth wood. You will know you're there when the paper towel stops grabbing/sticking to Linspeed. Then apply the second coat and repeat rubbing it out. Then the next coat, etc. The objective is to fill the grain. Most guys will wait days between coats for oil finish to dry before taking it down to wood with steel wool ... and a LOT of elbow grease. Dumb! Why wait? Just get rid of each coat as quickly as possible to fill the grain. When grain is finally filled (about a dozen coats rubbed out), then you decide if you want glossy finish or satin (i.e. finish taken down to wood). Glossy finish is achieved by applying two or three final coats after grain is filled without rubbing them out. That usually requires at least a day between those coats to allow oil to dry completely. Glossy oil finish is not very durable. Soft and easily scratched (but also easily touched up). I prefer satin.

I can easily finish a satin stock with twelve coats of Linspeed in a day using the above method.

 

[cash_tx]

@Ontario Hunter - Awesome, that sounds like excellent advice and very much appreciated! Do you dilute any of the coats, or just use it straight out of the bottle?

 

[Ontario Hunter]

@Ontario Hunter - Awesome, that sounds like excellent advice and very much appreciated! Do you dilute any of the coats, or just use it straight out of the bottle?

I have used it straight out of the bottle. It is a bit thick. Perhaps if one is desiring the glossy finish, the last couple coats might be thinned so they dry faster = less risk of dust, etc. I don't know about Linspeed because I'll take it down to the wood but it's what I have done with urethane finish on tables, etc.

 

[cash_tx]

Gotcha, and thanks again! The tips about waiting only 40 minutes between coats, and saving the checkering until last, make total sense to me.

 

[Woodcarver]

Hey @cash_tx , this is a stock I refinished & carved for my nephew a few years ago using the method I described. He wanted a bit more sheen, but not a gloss finish. If I remember correctly, this has about 15-18 coats. Spent a little over a month on the finish, from the 1st day to the last, with the drying time. The 3rd pic is what it looked like when he gave it to me. Have fun!