Hunter green model 11

Before I did this I looked around the web and found almost no pictures of someone who had used a green stain on a solid wood stock and had it come out well. Plenty of green laminates out there but that wasn't the look I wanted. I inherited a never used model 11 in .243 and didn't really take to the gun (probably because the bolt is lefty and I'm not) so I decided to put some love into it and see if I still didn't like it. My dislikes with the gun were the trigger pull and the cheap piece of wood they call a stock. I adjusted the trigger to a somewhat acceptable pull (still needs a trigger job though) and jumped into the cheap finish on the stock. I'm a carpenter so I work with wood a lot but even if you aren't adept at woodwork you can pull this off pretty easy. The only tools I used in doing this were sand paper, terry cloth, air sprayer and compressor. If you don't have a compressor you can put on the urethane by hand but thin it first and let it cure 100% between coats. They even sell rattle cans of urethane that would work.

Steps:

I sanded the stock all the way out with 120 and 150 until I was looking at white beech everywhere no blotchy spots or finger prints (wear latex gloves why you are sanding as your skin oil is counter productive to what you are trying to do)

When I had it complete, I evenly and lightly roughed the whole surface with 120 grit

If you are using a colored stain wipe it on and be sure to wipe it off within a minute or two at the most. Never allow the colored stain to dry on the stock because the colorant will set up on top of the pores and look like paint and you will just have to sand it back out. If you want it darker just take your time and re apply the stain a few times.

After the stain I just used some straws from a corn broom and some green camo paint to put a little paint over the grip areas. I had planned to match the stock paint to action paint but it looked so good letting the green stain show through the camo paint I had to stop there.

Then I hung it by the sling mounts from the ceiling and sprayed about 10 coats of water thinned urethane over it. (It's currently hung back in the garage on its way to 20 coats which is usually around where I stop.)

Taped the action and scope and did a quick 2 color camo although Im sure to add at least one more green to the color scheme soon.

Bolt it back together and bobs your uncle.

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VERY COOL and unique! I love green (even the green of my new Hog Hunter). IF I get the money to Cerrakote my 110, it will be their dark (I think it's forrest) green, or possibly the desert tan.

Hope you bond with your rifle. Certainly a good looking piece- if you can adapt to the lefty bolt I'm sure it will be a good rifle for ya!

Question if you don't mind; I've never had any good results with clear coats over paint. Is there a coat that is better/best for wood? I did my windowsills a few years ago- used "Spar" I think it was. It came out OK- but a friend commented that I had not sanded it enough between coats. So on a rifle stock- how much do you sand between coats and do you use progressively lighter sandpaper / wool? Thanks!
Brian

Thanks! Not sure if it is the finish or the amount of time I spent with all the pieces in my hands but it already feels better for me.

You used the correct type of urethane. What I would recommend doing is thinning a small amount of urethane and either spraying or brushing it on really thin the first few layers then going to a thicker mix. It's almost impossible to thin urethane too far just mix some in a cup with water. The thinner you get the urethane the thinner you will need to apply it so it doesnt want to sag off the vertical surfaces. I use steel wool or 1000 grit in between coats just to lay down any molecules that may be standing above the rest and knock off any particulate you may have picked up. Always keep a wet edge on your brush or spray and don't ever go back over something you laid down already until it dries. If I get a run or a drip what I do is put on a few more layers so that when i sand out the drips/runs im not sanding through the finish anywhere else.

Thanks dc- good stuff! Brian

Nice job on the green stain. Great idea.