Stock Color

[Bravo]

So I bought this stock to restore my 1903. It was actually pretty cheap, and in pretty good shape.

I also bought a new handguard...the problem is that my Handguard is Walnut color, while my stock is the traditional Brownish Red that most military stocks were during WWII.

I don't want to mess with the stock color, since I like the original color, and think that it probably goes pretty deep into the stock.

My question is; What would be the best way to stain my handguard to the stock color.

Here is the color of the stock, if you're not sure what I'm talking about:

http://www.odcmp.com/Services/Rifles/m1903.9.jpg

I'd like to get the handguard to match that.

[toolman]

Try wet sanding the handguard using 400 grit paper and denatured alcohol as the wetting agent. Sand until the alcohol just starts to dry and wipe everything off, this doesn't take long so have everything ready ahead of time. Sand until you get to a lighter shade of color and then use a cherry colored oil finish (I prefer Watco or MinWax) to get the reddish color. If it's too red, use sparing coats of walnut finish to darken it to match the stock. If it gets too dark, use denatured alcohol before the finish dries to wipe the color out of the stock. This is more of a pain in the a** than it sounds, so try not to overdo the walnut in the first place. 400 grit is usually a pretty good match for a military stock but if you want a slicker finish you can step up to 600 for the final sanding without the de-whiskering step used in really fine finishes.

[Bravo]

Thanks for the advice toolman, I'll let you know how it goes.