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Thread: Russian Red

  1. #1
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    Russian Red

    Hello there again.... I absolutely love the finish on this rifle... He used Tandy leather dye to achieve it and it looks great. Anyone have any ideas on how to achieve similar results but easier using products from your local Home Depot type store? I really like the depth in the buttstock... I did search but no answers that mimic this particular look...

    "The stain was a mix of Tandy Leather water-based Red, Yellow, and Cordovan dye and poly as a top finish.
    As always, the photos look redder. The actual color is the dark Russian Red"



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    Last edited by jdpan; 07-29-2011 at 12:09 PM.

  2. #2
    Conributor 09/13 slamfire51's Avatar

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    Nice color for sure. I like it!!

    Whoever "he" is, maybe you can contact him and ask what the formula is.
    I've used RIT clothes dye to achieve a Reddish color, but I don't think it is
    exactly that color.

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  3. #3
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    Yeah, it's sweet for sure.. I do have a message in to the guy, unfortunately, his post was from '08 in another forum I'm waiting on approval to. Yours looks very nice as well! I've read mixed reviews on the Rit dye process.

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    Red Stocks

    I've got a little knowledge about staining stocks from building muzzleloaders an to get the real red color you've got a couple of options, besides RIT that is, I'd be worried rit would raise the grain as its water based, but have never used it so don't know, what I use on rifle stocks is alcohol based stains, they penetrate the wood better than oil based (I never use oil based stains) stains do an they are easier to work with to get your desired color, you can keep wiping it on in layers till you get the color you want. You can mix them to get a certain shade also, For the Red color I use a stain called Old Towne Lehigh Valley Red If you ever seen the old flintlock Lancasters or Penn rifles with that deep red stain, this is the color, another option is a company call Laurel Mountain Forge, their Cherry and Maple are different variants of red, I like to mix the two, I'd get some scrap wood or just put some on the inside of the handguard to see the color its going to be an mix an match till you find a shade you like then do the outsides, no one but you will ever see where you experiminted on the inside of the hand guards. Sorry for the long winded post but hope it helps.
    Chris

  5. #5
    Moderator & Team Gunsnet Platinum 07/2011 O.S.O.K.'s Avatar

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    The RIT dye method is NOT water based - just fyi. You use denatured alcohol and mix scarlet, yellow and brown (at least that's what I used) to mix the desired color.

    Here's a pic of my Russian Type III build that I refinished the stock on:



    I finished with Bullseye garnet shellack too. That was obtained at Home Despot.
    ~Nemo me impune lacessit~




  6. #6
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    I ended up using Minwax dark mahogany stain and Tru-oil, Not done yet but so far it looks, ehh. Wasr laminated furniture is pretty rough even after some sanding, maybe it'll improve with a few more coats of oil. If I were to do it again, I might try tinting the oil with red food coloring instead of the stain. I like to keep things as simple as possible.

  7. #7
    Conributor 09/13 slamfire51's Avatar

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    The thing I hate about oil based stains is that it take a god awful time for it to dry.
    Using RIT and denatured alcohol, it dries in 3 minutes max. Addition coats can be applied to darken the finish. After applying it can be hit lightly with 0000 steel wool and a clear coat sprayed on.

    I'll never use oil based stain again.

    My formula is 1 tbsp scarlet/1 tbsp orange/1 tsp brown mixed with 10 oz. denatured alcohol.

    Mosin done with RIT.

    Last edited by slamfire51; 08-12-2011 at 05:31 PM.
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    Yeah, that looks nice.... I wish I would have seen that recipe before I proceeded but that top gunstock looks really cool using the leather dye.

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    Red Dye

    yeap I didn't think about mixing it with alcohol so basically your taking the powder mixes an mixing with alcohol instead of water, I make blackpowder horns an dye them with Rit but use hot water to do it, thats why I was thinking that direction. I've got some of the alcohol based dyes that I mentioned so I just used them on my Romy G.

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    This is where I'm at right now. The flash makes it look much more orange than it really is.. Probably do a few more coats and see what happens... I may add some red food coloring to the oil for the last few coats just to give it more of a reddish color.



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  11. #11
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    Mine

    Heres a couple of pics of my wood, crappy pics taken with my Iphone but you can kind of see.


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    ^^^ What's your recipe?

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    Moderator & Team Gunsnet Platinum 07/2011 O.S.O.K.'s Avatar

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    I see that you're leaving the handguards installed? Why not dissasemble - that would make it a lot easier to work on...
    ~Nemo me impune lacessit~




  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by O.S.O.K. View Post
    I see that you're leaving the handguards installed? Why not dissasemble - that would make it a lot easier to work on...
    I will if I decide to do it again so I can use a mechanical sander, for now I just wanted to try it the lazy way.... It's not too bad working on it with the stocks installed, the hardest part was getting the tape to stick.

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