Here's the finished product.
http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?p=864958#post864958 Turned out okay. The stock had 3 chemical stains running down the side. I had to throw everything I knew at it to get them out. Strip, bleach, poly, draw in grain with a sharpy. I hate poly but this one I had no choice. Poly works good when you draw and shade wood. The checkering looks better in person...poly reflects in a pic. If anyone has any other tips to shade wood I'd appreciate the hint. I hate poly. It is especially a bummer when metal and wood are made to fit very close.
Here's a tip I stumbled on...I work in the gun business and this one surprised a few gunsmiths. French grey finish on a receiver is metal treatment. There's a metal treatment at Ace hardware that matches perfect. It's called opsco....it looks like green water and is for steel. (they have types for different metals) I experimented on the trigger plate, where it was hidden under the guard and it turned out a perfect match. You clean the metal then keep applying until the area turns black. Wash with water...then hit with oil and steel wool lightly until it matches the other finish. Be careful you stay off the good finish. You could use flitze to blend it...it's not as harsh as steel wool. It will turn shiny when you rub off the grey. This is how I knew the french grey was a metal treatment. When I cleaned the receiver with flitze, some of the grey rubbed off....exactly what happens with opsco. You can not blue over this stuff...I tried it on a G3 I built. I applied 10 coats and it would not blue. Had to paint it which I should have done from the start. A very good metal protector.!
