aqua fortis wood stain

[cjcgunnutt]

does anybody have pics of a cherry stocked rifle stained with aqua forits (nitric acid). is the result good. i am thinking of etting a rifle in cherry and want the stain to be aqua fortis.

 

[Goldhunter]

Don't have a picture but its been posted here in the past. From what I remember it made the wood really dark.

 

[cjcgunnutt]

is there a stain or method to take a plain graind wood and make what little grain it has to pop out at you.

 

[rabjr]

This was a highly diluted wash of aquafortis and then walnut stain over it.

 

[Robby]

This shows one I used A/F on. It does make the wood dark, almost black, depending on the piece of wood. A little 4/o steel wool, some elbow grease and it brings out a nice aged cherry color. http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid...
Robby

 

[bnail]

This shows one I used A/F on. It does make the wood dark, almost black, depending on the piece of wood. A little 4/o steel wool, some elbow grease and it brings out a nice aged cherry color. http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid...
Robby

didyou have any problems with freckling after you used steel wool?

 

Generally the stain, coloration of choice for Cherry is Lye, to wit Easy-off oven cleaner. This will give you the deep red color most want. A/F will make the Cherry almost black and then it needs to be worked back. Cherry generally gets its red color from natural oxidation, the lye just speeds it up. While the A/F needs an a base (baking/washing soda),and the lye needs an acid (vinegar) to neutralize it. Different woods, Maple vs. Cherry require different agents to bring out the color. Both are HC, and both will work. The fun is in the application. A/F generally also needs heat to achieve the color, where as the lye does not need it.

Bill

 

[Robby]

Skagan, No problems with freckling from the use of steel wool.
Robby

 

[Zonie]

Whether one gets freckles on their stock after using steel wool depends on what their next step is.

If the next step after using steel wool is to apply anything that might have water in it (water based stains, lye water, aqua fortis etc.) they will end up with thousands of tiny dark freckles all over the wood, caused by the tiny steel fibers that remained on the wood rusting.

This is why I say, "Never whisker a stock with steel wool." Staining or a lye water treatment is almost always the next step and even alcohol based stains can absorb water from the air and cause problems.

If the next step after using steel wool is to apply an oil finish of any type there is no water to cause rusting so there will be no freckles.

 

[Robby]

Zonie, I understand what you are saying, and I have seen many postings warning about the use of steel wool and freckling. I don't have a set procedure or sequence on how I proceed with the steps in finishing, and usually just have at it with whatever my gut tells me. I almost always use steel wool at some point, I have never had freckling. On the gun shown, if I remember correctly, after applying the heat to turn the wood I slathered it with linseed oil while the wood is still hot, let it set for a while, wipe it down good, let it sit over night and then have at it with the steel wool. I have never neutralized the aqua fortis, and have seen only had one gun that showed the merest indication on the barrel that it was still working. On that one I did not use linseed oil, which led me to believe that maybe the oil may neutralize any active acid that was not used up in the reaction. I could be wrong in this as I am not a chemist and am not disagreeing with your caution, just offering observations from my experiences.
Robby