I think it looks pretty good so far, but I wouldn't rule out starting over some day and going for that red look. I read somewhere that if left in the sun (don't know how long) a tru-oil stock will darken to reddish brown. Actually, I'm not sure if they were talking about tru oil or tung oil, or something else. I did a lot of reading and it's all melding together now in my muddled brain.
When you guys strip the finish, what do you do about the checkering? Will mineral spirits or pain stripper get all the stain out of the checkered area? What about sanding the stock before applying a new finish, do you sand the checkered area or leave it alone? If I don't sell my Mod 95, I'm thinking of trying to refinish the stock and see how it comes out.
Quote from: PaulT58 on June 25, 2017, 10:42:03 PMWhen you guys strip the finish, what do you do about the checkering? Will mineral spirits or pain stripper get all the stain out of the checkered area? What about sanding the stock before applying a new finish, do you sand the checkered area or leave it alone? If I don't sell my Mod 95, I'm thinking of trying to refinish the stock and see how it comes out.For the checkering, I used a small toothbrush style brass bristle brush to scrub the checkering and was very careful NOT to sand any of it so that I didn't sand off any of the outlining.Here's the before and after of my 95 stock using straight up Minwax Gunstock stain, 3 coats of Birchwood Casey sealer and 12 coats of Tru-Oil.