[Ken]

It's the middle of our winter, halfway through. I picked this up last week at the Mankato show.
It's a homemade replacement for a Paige and Lewis rifle. It was a tough looking mess, the rifle and stock, before I gave it the Easy Off shower.
Since I can't just go get another stock refinishing this will have to do.
From the looks of the finish and the aged color of the wood I am estimating it about 75 years old.
I need to figure out a finish that won't darken the wood. Oil based finish will turn it too dark. I want to preserve the current color and character.

 

[Ken]

I had not thought about Deft. I used it years ago and didn't care for it. Nasty smell or something like that. And it's not available around here.
Someone else suggested Minwax natural as a good cross between oil based and water based. I was thinking water based but too many have said this is the wrong application.
I will pick up a can of Minwax this week and experiment.
If I don't like it I can always use it on shelves.