Aqua Fortis / Bone Black

[BozoMiller]

This may be a stupid question but I'm asking anyway. Can I mix a bit of Bone Black with Aqua Fortis to get a darker finish? I am in the process of building a Kibler SMR and purchased the Bone Black to use as a stain for the maple but I am thinking it may be too dark. I will be using Tru Oil for the final coat. Thanks for any input and suggestions.

 

[Flintandsteel]

No! Aqua fortis is the stain. It must be blushed to change the color from nasty gray to amber brown.
Bone black is fine charcoal, and can be used to darken areas to show wear.
I personally hate tru-oil. It dries too hard and can crack, or check with age.
There are MUCH better finishes out there.

 

[BozoMiller]

No! Aqua fortis is the stain. It must be blushed to change the color from nasty gray to amber brown.
Bone black is fine charcoal, and can be used to darken areas to show wear.
I personally hate tru-oil. It dries too hard and can crack, or check with age.
There are MUCH better finishes out there.

Thanks for your knowledge on this. What is a good finishing oil, that you would recommend? Thanks again.

 

[Dutch7]

there will be many opinions on finish, I use hand rubbed BLO - takes a lot of applications.
have a look at Jim Kibler's videos on applying bone black, also using tannic acid over the nitric acid - good content. I used the tannic acid and got great results, I think the bone black will fade or wear off but not the tannic.

 

[Kevin Houlihan]

…What is a good finishing oil, that you would recommend? Thanks again.

Jim Kibler has a zillion videos on building and finishing his kits on You Tube. He goes over using bone black, aqua fortis and tannic acid. In his videos he uses Tried and True Oil Varnish.
Kevin

 

[deerstalkert]

you can achieve a darker stain with the aqua fortis by applying it. blushing (heating ) it, then lightly sanding it back, then reapplying the AF again and blushing aggressively. go over the AF with the heat several times.
Tried and True is great. Or you can do plain old Boiled Linseed Oil finish which takes much longer. but that's what muzzleloading is about. Patience.
Tru oil is faster but it needs multiple coats also, and ends up plastic coated looking unless you rub back the final coat with a cloth.
Tru oil may give better protection from rain/moisture but I have never had a problem with my oil finished stocks.

 

[Flintandsteel]

Linseed oil by itself is NOT a finish. It’s oil. Things can be added to make it dry, but it’s still water permeable. I use a combination of Tung oil sealer, spar varnish, and Chamber’s oil finish. 2 coats of Tung oil sealer, 2 coats of spar varnish, then any aging is added at this point, then 2 coats of spar varnish, and finish with 2 coats of Chambers’s oil, applied with a scotch rite pad to even out the nice, hand rubbed looking finish.
Its IN the wood, not ON the wood. Here’s one I just finished.

 

[DuncNZ]

The boiled linseed oil finish the British gun makers used / use has boiled linseed oil in it plus dryers and other secret ingredients . Its not and never has been just boiled linseed oil . A lot of hand rubbing is also involved , the friction developed by the hand is sufficient to change the structure of the "oil" and harden it . I was told this by a guy who worked for Purdy.
I use artists grade boiled linseed oil , it is hard to find and more expensive than linseed oil but it is worth it .
The main ingredient in the original spar varnish's was boiled linseed oil .
Tung oil is an Asian , mainly Chinese oil , was it available in America in the 17th and 18th centauries ? The Chinese used it to waterproof their ships and the Japanese used it as a stock finish on their Arisaka rifles . It can cause some Europeans to develop skin rashes .

 

[deerstalkert]

i toured the Royal coach works in London and talked with the finishers. the one i talked with of course wouldn't tell just what the formula was but he expressed much the same as Cutfinger said in the above post. I have used BLO for years and have never had a problem with my stocks. you may experience different results. all i can relate is mine. my application takes several months.
plus it smells heavenly!

 

[frankie]

tung oil is best. Mix a dab of urethane. Not polyurethane. Linseed is not water proof. Lots of old guns were sealed with linseed oil and that is why they are oil soaked. Boiled linseed is, somewhat water proof. It's one of my trade secrets. Heat the wood with a hair dryer and heat the tung oil a little before applying it. before applying additional coats sand the previous surface (lightly) with 400 grit lightly.

 

[Colonial Boy]

I’ve tried spar varnish, ordinary varnish, shellac, shellac and blo as well as the modern plastic finishes but for my own firearms it’s just plain old, not boiled, linseed oil rubbed in as needed over time.

 

[Reno]

AF is a great stain. As others have said. I do like it because you can control the degree of color. I started using a heat gun that you would use to peel
Paint off walls. The one I use has two settings, high and low, I nearly always use the high.
I keep it moving and you can also control the color By controlling The distance from the stock.
I nearly always apply the Af twice and heat.
I finish with Tung oil.

 

[Flintandsteel]

Do we really believe that a gun maker of the 18th century took months to put a finish on a stock?
He used a varnish! It had driers in it so the gun could be delivered.
Lead was a common drier. Varnish dries quickly, oil with driers does not.
These finishes are done in a couple of days, not months.
”Come back in a year, and your gun will be finished” He said never.

 

[BJamesBeck]

I finished this Kibler with AF and blushed, followed by tannic acid. With the tannic acid you can rub back as little or as much as you want. Rubbing it back less will leave a darker/grimier looking finish. I tried using bone black also and preferred the tannic acid as it seemed to give me more control. After this, I finished it with three coats of Tried & True. Whole process took a few days, mostly because of the 24 hour dry time recommended for the T&T. Actual work time was probably less than 6 hours on the actual finish.

 

[frankie]

I finished this Kibler with AF and blushed, followed by tannic acid. With the tannic acid you can rub back as little or as much as you want. Rubbing it back less will leave a darker/grimier looking finish. I tried using bone black also and preferred the tannic acid as it seemed to give me more control. After this, I finished it with three coats of Tried & True. Whole process took a few days, mostly because of the 24 hour dry time recommended for the T&T. Actual work time was probably less than 6 hours on the actual finish.
View attachment 131293

beautiful

 

[frankie]

Linseed oil by itself is NOT a finish. It’s oil. Things can be added to make it dry, but it’s still water permeable. I use a combination of Tung oil sealer, spar varnish, and Chamber’s oil finish. 2 coats of Tung oil sealer, 2 coats of spar varnish, then any aging is added at this point, then 2 coats of spar varnish, and finish with 2 coats of Chambers’s oil, applied with a scotch rite pad to even out the nice, hand rubbed looking finish.
Its IN the wood, not ON the wood. Here’s one I just finished.View attachment 131246

beautiful rifle. I agree with your statement

 

[dr.beav]

If you get too much shine with your finish, try rubbing it out with a pumice stone and motor oil mixture -- will remove the shine but leave the protective finish.

 

[SnakeHair]

Rookie question here: what about applying a layer of gun wax after using BLO? Was any kind of wax used as a protectant?

 

[deerstalkert]

i would venture that many a rifle received a coating of whatever lube they were using on their patches.
i have used renaissance wax, but generally don't wax every gun. oil finished i will wax but those with a plastic like TC's i leave alone, or strip them and oil.

 

[Siringo]

No! Aqua fortis is the stain. It must be blushed to change the color from nasty gray to amber brown.
Bone black is fine charcoal, and can be used to darken areas to show wear.
I personally hate tru-oil. It dries too hard and can crack, or check with age.
There are MUCH better finishes out there.

Two coats of aqua fortis will be plenty dark. Try inside barrel channel.