So my HW30 finally came back from its trip to the spa.
Like Intenseaty's recent post ( https://airgunwarriors.com/community/airgun-talk/hw30s-urban-pro-goes-to-the-beauty-parlor/ ) it started with a used urban pro with a laminate stock. In my case, the original owner sent it out to John in PA for a tune with a vortek kit. He also found it too long, so the original moderator was removed and replaced with a short muzzle brake. The seller also threw in an extra HW30 stock that had some nasty dents and gouges in it – I originally figured maybe I’d chop the butt and have a short LOP stock for my kids when they get a little older or something.
But then I started thinking maybe I’d try some experiments with it first. I liked the idea of a blonde stock, so I stripped it down and sanded smooth. Got it looking good, but some dark figuring at the top of the butt caused me to give up on the blonde idea.
I decided to try refinishing with dye instead. Originally was going to go with classic brown, but then thought I might as well swing for the fence and try something crazy – so I settled on blue. There was quite a bit of trial and error to get the right color, and I spent far more time on it than I care to admit. In the end, I ended up using some tinted clear poly over the wood to get the rich, deep color I wanted, then wet-sanded to get smooth and finished with tru-oil. I’m sure it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I think it turned out pretty well! The pics really don’t do it justice, but they’re the best I could manage. The pic of the butt is the best representation of what it looks like - deep blue, without looking greenish or purple, and with the grain still clearly visible. I ended up liking it so much, I put the stock on the urban pro and added a new moderator and a Maccari trigger guard. The gun shoots very well, but now it's even quieter (and looks cooler!) so the starlings don’t have a prayer and the neighbors don't have a clue.
But now I had an extra laminate stock in need of a gun, which was the perfect excuse to buy a plain, stainless finish HW30 from AOA and then put the laminate gray on the stainless action, which is a look I’ve always liked. That one will keep its open sights for plinking.
Of course, now I still have an extra factory new beech stock lying around. I could sell it, but I’m tempted to try another experiment instead…but too many other projects right now and not enough time to shoot!
I don't think I would have gone with blue but seeing yours makes me think I would miss out. The blue looks really good I think. Nice work and an eye opener for sure. Not only is the blue pretty but it shows the texture of the wood very well.
I like the blue stock but it needs and black butt pad and for the other stock I would wrap it up and put it in storage but again they can be had
you know back in the day Diana made painted stocks in yellow, blue, red, white and black for there model 75's and have always thought a black ebony stock like a piano would be sharp but it would have to have a black butt pad
so a thumbs up from me and the silver in the laminated stock is sharp
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/yellow/how-rare-is-the-diana-75-in-black-t230541.html
and other models or model
take care
mike
WOW! Very nice!! I likes it a lot!
Nothing wrong with that , looks like all your efforts paid off looks great, nice job and a pleasure to look at.
just needs that black butt pad
Mike E
Finally got around to taking some better, high-res pictures – hope everyone likes them.
Several people have commented that I need a black recoil pad. I 100% agree and already have a black Pachmayr ordered. If I had any idea it was going to turn out like this when I began this project, I would have put one on before I started the process! Now it’s going to be more complicated to fit it, but it needs to be done!
Pretty cool color great job.
Oh that is cool !
I like that ... very unique & Blue is timeless as bluejeans
