Artist oil pigments added to oil on first coat only, test where it does show before use on visible parts of gun.

 

I've never used Dembart oil but with BLO and Tru Oil you can mix it 50/50 with mineral spirits and darken it with repeated applications.

 

Claysmoke, if the darkness is from the wood, a light oil will not be a problem. If the stock finish is from a stain then you might have to add some to the oil you put in the checkering. Do a little trial in a small area in th middle of the pattern to find the answer. You can always use some solvent to remove it if you need to add stain.

 

Thanks for the replies. The wood is a low grade straight grained walnut and has been stained quite dark. I did try some of the Dembart oil on the unfinished butt end surface and it adds very little, if any color, and that was end grain.
I have some of the brown dye that comes with Acraglass, would that be suitable for coloring an oil finish?

 

I have finished several stocks with Dembart Checkering Oil. I would highly reccomend it. I have never added pigment to this finish, always used the natural color of the wood and have been very satisfied.

 

I think that the dye that comes with acraglass is closer to an epoxy. I think some stain would serve you better.

 

I spoke with Walt at Dembart and he feels that an aniline dye would be compatible with their oil. I have some on order and will post an update when I have some results.

 

I spoke with Walt at Dembart and he feels that an aniline dye would be compatible with their oil. I have some on order and will post an update when I have some results.

Any updates? Pics?

 

I've not used Dembart oil but Pilkington's spirit stains will work with TruOil as I've used them for years. They can even be used to darken a coated surface though it must be protected by further coats. These stains don't block the figure of the wood.

 

I ended up getting some water soluble brown aniline dye and mixing it with alcohol, and brushed the mixture into the cut wood. It took 3 coats of the dye solution to get where I was ok with it although its a bit darker than I would have liked. Still looks very good though. If you try this, mix enough dye to do all the pieces at the same time instead of trying to mix another batch and matching the concentration of the dye. This dye mixture dries very quick and didn't raise the grain or anything. I put 4 coats of Dembart oil over it, no problem with dissolving the dye or anything. Overall I am very pleased with the results, especially for a first try at this stuff. Here is a shot of the left grip:

 

The checkering looks very nice.

 

The checkering looks very nice.

Thanks. I made 100 mistakes but am still happy with the result, even if it did take an incredible amount of time and concentration. I guess that is what separates the pros from people like me.