I am trying to refinish a SA M1A1 walnut stock. I sanded down the original dark flat finish to bare wood. I applied a mixture of 50/50 BLO and mineral spirits. Upon completing that, most of the stock looked great. However, a portion of the stock was significantly lighter than the rest. This was identified as "sap wood" by my local Woodcrafters Store, a condition common for walnut. I did not find this light color acceptable with the traditional dark walnut color on the rest of the stock. So, I re-sanded down the stock, removing all traces of the the BLO mixture. I want to find a way to get the traditional dark brown walnut color over the entire stock. Now, my question - I have seen other threads where folks mix stain with BLO and apply it through several coats. Or apply a dark walnut stain, such as Miniwax, and then BLO on top of that. I think I am leaning toward applying the Minwax dark walnut stain first to get it to soak into the grain and even up the color. And then apply the BLO on top of the stain to seal it in.
Your thoughts?
Your thoughts?
