I found some Aquafortis Stain sold by an online vendor. I called them and asked if had the nitric acid base stain and they said yes. I know many companies have quit selling the product for environmental reasons. I am looking forward to trying it and was wondering if any of you have use it on curly maple and can post a picture or two of the end result. Also is a hair dryer hot enough to use to darken the grain or is a heated paint peeler better.
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Aquafortis Stain
- Thread starter Stoner
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Stoner,
You need heat about like a stove top or a propane torch, so your 'peeler' sounds about right.
I've used aqua fortis on maple, beech, elm and hickory, and got great color. Don't know how to post pictures, though.
So, who's this online vendor? Don't be stingy with that kind of info!
You need heat about like a stove top or a propane torch, so your 'peeler' sounds about right.
I've used aqua fortis on maple, beech, elm and hickory, and got great color. Don't know how to post pictures, though.
So, who's this online vendor? Don't be stingy with that kind of info!
The reasons weren't environmental actually. Nitric acid is regulated by the Department of Homeland Security if I'm not mistaken. Most companies didn't feel like all the hassel. Having used it, and even made it, I think Dangler's and LMF are superior.
hangfire1755
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Alcohol based stains will fade with time, Agua-Fortis gets richer with time.
Mike Brooks
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You're 'paint peeler" is perfect for the job. Aquafortis is an excellent stain. If you don't want it to go too dark on you be sure to "kill" it with a baking soda wash after you blush it with heat. Don't worry about it turning green, that's chromic acid that does that, chromic acid is sometimes sold under the name "Magic Maple Stain".
hangfire1755
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Aqua-Fortis might have a green tint to it if not heated properly, but if used right, there's nothing like it. I've also seen Magic Maple stain fade or turn blond with age. I might use MLF or MM for touch up work or repairs but thats it.
Years ago, I was so impressed with the effects of Magic Maple on my Curly Maple stock that I completely resanded it and started all over again.
It left a lasting impression on my mind.
It left a lasting impression on my mind.
Guest
A rifle never leaves my shop with anything other than AFortis as a stain. I have never seen any antiques with green stocks and Aqua Fortis is what they used in the good old days on maple. The pigments were added to the varnish if you wanted it red. I have seen plenty of chromium tri-oxide stained stocks go green on modern made rifles though. :shocked2: No problems with Aqua Fortis. There is no other way to finish a rifle and get the depth of finish on curly wood that you get with Aqua Fortis. Try it you'll like it. :thumbsup:
There's a lot of confusion regarding "Magic Maple" and aquafortis. Magic Maple will turn green, it is chromic acid and it is NOT aquafortis. Aquafortis will not turn green as stated above if heated properly. It may go darker and darker if not neutralized. Here is a picture of maple stained with combinations of AQF, strong, weak, single, double, and with potassium permanganate. And no, potassium permanganate will not turn green either. It's chromic acid that turns green. Nothing else turns green except the envious faces of gunmakers who do not use aqauafortis when staining their guns.
A is no stain. B, C, and E are aquafortis, varying strength and number of applications. The other 2 are potassium permanganate alone or in combo with aquafortis. I can get any color I want with those combinations. Every piece of maple will vary. C is the hum-dinger if you ask me.
A is no stain. B, C, and E are aquafortis, varying strength and number of applications. The other 2 are potassium permanganate alone or in combo with aquafortis. I can get any color I want with those combinations. Every piece of maple will vary. C is the hum-dinger if you ask me.
Stoner
On Plan Maple Stock , 2 coats of Aquafortis Stain .Still needs touching up not done with this one yet.
Heat Gun or Paint Peeler might work OK I used my Propane Heater .Tried a hair drier it was not hot enough. Have to be really careful with Propane Heater or Torch as you can burn wood real quick.
Slenk
On Plan Maple Stock , 2 coats of Aquafortis Stain .Still needs touching up not done with this one yet.
Heat Gun or Paint Peeler might work OK I used my Propane Heater .Tried a hair drier it was not hot enough. Have to be really careful with Propane Heater or Torch as you can burn wood real quick.
Slenk
I place my order already for the Aquafortis Stain. Here is the where I found the stain. Hope this helps the people that may want to give it a try. [url]
http://oct-country.com/products3.php?productid=493[/url]
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Stoner,
Thank You for the kind words, I'm still learning and have a long way to go .
I visited the site that you posted and am a bit concerned over the last line in the ad. "It is Cromium Trioxlate. I think it is CRO2. "
Please Read the post by Mike Brooks above.
What I have is true 78% nitric acid mixed 4:1 with water, Iron added and cooked until desolved.
Craig
Thank You for the kind words, I'm still learning and have a long way to go .
I visited the site that you posted and am a bit concerned over the last line in the ad. "It is Cromium Trioxlate. I think it is CRO2. "
Please Read the post by Mike Brooks above.
What I have is true 78% nitric acid mixed 4:1 with water, Iron added and cooked until desolved.
Craig
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Has anyone tried using a space heater or will the kerosene fumes cause problems with the staining process?
Guest
I would recommend a hot air gun (or paint peeler) You can use a hair dryer but it takes a lot longer to get it to turn. With the hot air gun you need to keep the gun moving or it will scorch corners just like a flame will. Practice on some scrap and you'll do fine.
Don
Don
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I use a hot air gun on the higher setting. I used to use an old hair dryer, but it quit and most hair dryers won't get as hot as that one did. YOU CAN SCORCH THE WOOD. Be careful.
I will end up staining wood a dozen times or more. I cannot easily see the imperfections in the wood surface when it is still "white" so I stain and then see if there are any scratches, high spots, etc. and then fix them and stain again.
When I stain, I slop the stuff on HEAVILY. Too light an application, and it will not turn color well. I let it sit for at least an hour and it will turn a grayish color (red maple will turn greenish usually, but I avoid using red maple). I will heat it with the heat gun and it will turn color. There will sometimes still be a greenish undercast to the color. If you soak the wood with paint thinner (turpentine works too, but the fumes are not pleasant) and then heat the stock again with the heat gun (it should be obvious to NOT use any kind of torch or burner plate or anything here!!!), and steam out the paint thinner, the heat carries into the wood more deeply and gets rid of all the green cast. Also, the more you stain, the more the green goes away anyway. You know, I haven't tried simply wetting the stock with water then heating...Might work just as well. I do know that you do NOT want to wet it with the stain again then heat immediately, as new applications of stain will cancel out the previous application. Heating the stain while it is still wet, before it "pre-darkens" will yield a screaming orange color.
A good thing about AF is that it is NOT a pigment stain. It actually changes the color of the wood itself. If I stain the stock, and then scrape off a high spot to clean wood, I can stain it again (usually two applications is necessary) and it all evens up. It doesn't get darker with further applications. It is just as dark with 3 applications as it is with 6. By the way, I do NOT whisker. after all my staining and handling of the stock, there are no whiskers remaining and the stock is quite slick. So much so that water has a hard time soaking in...
When I am finally satisfied with the surface of the wood, I neutralize with a mild solution of Lye. Slop it on and rub it in. For you weenies out there, wear rubber gloves. It will melt off your fingerprints. The color will change to a more reddish-orange. The color change shows that it's working. When done, wash off the entire stock with water. Slop it on, rub it in, and rinse it off...I usually use the garden hose. Dry it off and let it sit and dry and it's ready for finishing.
All of the maple stocked guns on my photo albums are stained this way.[url] http://photobucket.com/albums/v326/Fatdutchman/Flintlocks http://photobucket.com/albums/v326/Fatdutchman/Flintlocks2[/url]
I HAVE seen an old gun that was green (chromium trioxide). It was a late 19th century small caliber percussion rifle. Full stock and everything, very slim with a long brass tube telescope sight! Curly maple that was as green as a pea! I have never seen any 18th/early 19th century gun that was anything but the classic aqua fortis red-brown....well, except for those Berks and Lehigh guns that were not stained but had a red varnish on them....really cool.
I will end up staining wood a dozen times or more. I cannot easily see the imperfections in the wood surface when it is still "white" so I stain and then see if there are any scratches, high spots, etc. and then fix them and stain again.
When I stain, I slop the stuff on HEAVILY. Too light an application, and it will not turn color well. I let it sit for at least an hour and it will turn a grayish color (red maple will turn greenish usually, but I avoid using red maple). I will heat it with the heat gun and it will turn color. There will sometimes still be a greenish undercast to the color. If you soak the wood with paint thinner (turpentine works too, but the fumes are not pleasant) and then heat the stock again with the heat gun (it should be obvious to NOT use any kind of torch or burner plate or anything here!!!), and steam out the paint thinner, the heat carries into the wood more deeply and gets rid of all the green cast. Also, the more you stain, the more the green goes away anyway. You know, I haven't tried simply wetting the stock with water then heating...Might work just as well. I do know that you do NOT want to wet it with the stain again then heat immediately, as new applications of stain will cancel out the previous application. Heating the stain while it is still wet, before it "pre-darkens" will yield a screaming orange color.
A good thing about AF is that it is NOT a pigment stain. It actually changes the color of the wood itself. If I stain the stock, and then scrape off a high spot to clean wood, I can stain it again (usually two applications is necessary) and it all evens up. It doesn't get darker with further applications. It is just as dark with 3 applications as it is with 6. By the way, I do NOT whisker. after all my staining and handling of the stock, there are no whiskers remaining and the stock is quite slick. So much so that water has a hard time soaking in...
When I am finally satisfied with the surface of the wood, I neutralize with a mild solution of Lye. Slop it on and rub it in. For you weenies out there, wear rubber gloves. It will melt off your fingerprints. The color will change to a more reddish-orange. The color change shows that it's working. When done, wash off the entire stock with water. Slop it on, rub it in, and rinse it off...I usually use the garden hose. Dry it off and let it sit and dry and it's ready for finishing.
All of the maple stocked guns on my photo albums are stained this way.[url] http://photobucket.com/albums/v326/Fatdutchman/Flintlocks http://photobucket.com/albums/v326/Fatdutchman/Flintlocks2[/url]
I HAVE seen an old gun that was green (chromium trioxide). It was a late 19th century small caliber percussion rifle. Full stock and everything, very slim with a long brass tube telescope sight! Curly maple that was as green as a pea! I have never seen any 18th/early 19th century gun that was anything but the classic aqua fortis red-brown....well, except for those Berks and Lehigh guns that were not stained but had a red varnish on them....really cool.
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If you've ever seen a Brown Bess, you've seen Dragon's Blood.
[url] http://photobucket.com/albums/y298/Packdog1/Mathew Gillespie/?sc=1[/url]
Dangler dark brown (and a touch of cherry)with satin finish tung oil.
[url] http://photobucket.com/albums/y298/Packdog1/Mathew Gillespie/?sc=1[/url]
Dangler dark brown (and a touch of cherry)with satin finish tung oil.
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