Hello everyone,

I picked up an old .22, and I decided to take the plunge and refinish the rifle, my first refinishing job. It was in cosmetically rough condition, but very good mechanical condition. I first stripped the old varnish using Citristrip, and then steamed out the dents and old stain off the wood. I then sanded the stock down using 100, 150 and 220 grit sandpaper, and raised the grain between changing grits.

At this point I was going to straight stain the stock using Birchwood Casey Walnut stain, however unfortunately I was misguided and was told to go ahead and fill and seal the stock before staining...

As you can guess, I had to start over from step 1, re-stripping, steaming, sanding...etc.

Now, back to where I finished off, I've begun staining the stock, however it's come out as patchy. My plan is to finish the stock using Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil, and I'm hoping that the inconsistencies of the stain will blend together nicely. However, I'd like to get some advice from more experienced peeps out there, and see what I can do to make the stain more consistent. Basically I'm wondering if it's fine as is, or will require a lot more work before finishing?

From what my inexperienced eyes tells me, it looks like flippin' crap.

Any help greatly appreciated


Links:
http://s45.photobucket.com/user/Apocalypticaman/media/14db7ba8-4db7-4215-aa46-912b8ad46f31_zpsbrvh9rpj.jpg.html

If I had to guess I would say the inconsistency in likely due to the sanding and that some areas are smoother that others causing the stain to soak up more in the slightly rougher areas.  Would also think that after steaming that you should let it sit for a couple of days to dry out prior to sanding as areas that may have been steamed might have soaked up enough moisture to prevent the stain from soaking in evenly.

pre-stain wood conditioner