AquaFortis ?????

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
To avoid problems with AQUAFORTIS, use ferric nitrate. Just mixes with water or alcohol. No longer acidic, so no need to neutralize.

Whiskering IS necessary, but 220 is all that is needed.
 
I plan on finishing my curly maple stock with AquaFortis. I did a test run on the butt and it turned the stock almost black.
I watched Mr. Kiblers video(Kibler video) and in this video he introduced Tannic Acid and it turned that stock almost black also.

He showed rubbing it down with the Maroon scotchbrite and some Varnish Oil and it lightened the wood....some. Then he used some Amber stain; for enrichment.

Question: is there something else you can rub down with? Just use the maroon sB? I really don't want to "seal" the wood with the stock almost black, in case the "lightening' does not occur.
Or am I worrying about nothing?
I don't remember 100%, but I believe I just used a blue kitchen-type scotch brite/scrubbing pad and some Murphy's oil soap to scrub back the tannic acid on my build.

I'm not really sure why yours would have turned black with only AquaFortis, did it turn black after heating it? My first guess would be that you're heating it too much, if that's the case.

With AquaFortis it should go from a sickly sort of grey/green to a rich reddish brown when heated, not black. It is the tannic acid that is meant to turn it black as you know. It basically ends up looking like a flat black paint all over the stock that more thoroughly embeds in the grain of the wood which then leaves the dark stripes and also a "weathered" used look in crevices and low spots when the majority of it is rubbed back.

Some people also achieve this weather look using flat black spray paint instead of tannic acid. You just spray the stock with it and then rub most of it back, leaving the paint in crevices and low spots where grime would collect.

This is a rifle I used AquaFortis and Tannic acid on:
20210411_174114.jpg


Anyway, my guess would be if you only used AF and the stock is turning black then you are heating it too much and actually burning the wood. I would sand the area back to remove the black and try again. Just my 2 cents.

Good luck!
 
It was the yellowish color until I heated it, It went from yellow to black. Didn't have an in between.
I don't think I burned the wood.
Thanks
 
No tricks, AF normally makes rust red after heating, not black. A heat gun works well, do not burn the edges. AF = Ferric Nitrate in water or alcohol. I would never use Nitric acid for a variety of safety and practical reasons. Scotchbrite means the maroon industrial pads. They are similar to #320 grit paper in how fast they cut and the finish left.

Staining wood is a cut and try thing. Try something else.
 
On the last rifle I built, I wanted to highlight the yellow undertones so I used aniline dye on the stock before applying the Aqua Fortis. I got a big surprise when I applied the AF, thank goodness I tried it on a piece of scrap first or I might have slit my throat with the results.
 

Attachments

  • 20210822_163004.jpg
    20210822_163004.jpg
    52.4 KB
  • 20210823_143538.jpg
    20210823_143538.jpg
    65.7 KB
  • 20210823_144040.jpg
    20210823_144040.jpg
    64.3 KB
  • 202108284.jpg
    202108284.jpg
    92.9 KB
  • 20210828.jpg
    20210828.jpg
    98.3 KB
I just tried some Aqua Fortis from Wahcon Bay Outfitters, on 2 pieces of scrap, and, put a heat gun on them and they both just turned black. Must be some trick I don't know about.

Dave

you and I got the same touch!
I've got Wahkon as well.
On the last rifle I built, I wanted to highlight the yellow undertones so I used aniline dye on the stock before applying the Aqua Fortis. I got a big surprise when I applied the AF, thank goodness I tried it on a piece of scrap first or I might have slit my throat with the results.
That purple is kinda pretty! Could start a new fad.
 
Last edited:
I just tried some Aqua Fortis from Wahcon Bay Outfitters, on 2 pieces of scrap, and, put a heat gun on them and they both just turned black. Must be some trick I don't know about.

Dave
Keep the heat gun at a distance and keep it moving. If left in one place too long it can discolor the wood to black.
 
Sounds like a good way to ruin a $300 stock blank. I wish ya luck on your chemical staining , think I'll stick with alcohol stains , which are changeable , repairable , and controllable . Can imagine the difficulty of going back over complicated detailed carving after chemicals and water put on it. Your probably better at this than I am............oldwood
 
Sounds like a good way to ruin a $300 stock blank. I wish ya luck on your chemical staining , think I'll stick with alcohol stains , which are changeable , repairable , and controllable . Can imagine the difficulty of going back over complicated detailed carving after chemicals and water put on it. Your probably better at this than I am............oldwood
I suppose I'm gonna have to heed your point(and others). Give up on the AF
 
Focullen.................When I started building m/l guns , back in 1970 , I read all the instructions ,articles , notes on restroom doors , etc. , and ruined the looks of quite a few chunks of stock wood , using acids , bases , etc.. So , I went back to my college printing press ink days , and broke the stain colors down into shades and how wood reacted to them. I found that , no two pcs. of maple reacted to the same color pigments the same , due to hardness ,porosity , and , wood chemistry itself. Alcohol stains allow for this diversity , and are controllable as to color. The black alcohol base color , colors the end grain in the curl, It can be lightened , or darkened , at will. Then ,pick the color for the rest of the background. Old rifles are many different shades. The curl is generally two shades of black to grey. The rest is the alcohol pigment , color choice ,plus the hue of the actual finish . Man am off in the weeds. Like anything in finishing wood , there is a process , and in alcohol staining ,I find it is versatile and easy to accomplish. If you want "Process" , make an additional post, and I'll answer..............oldwood
 
In that video Jim mentions every piece of maple reacts differently to AF.
It does have a tendency to go darker than I like…
I’ll have to try diluting it like Eric suggested.
Still I like AF much better than dyes/ stains.
What you neutralize with can also affect final color, lye gives an orange cast where ammonia doesn’t.
 
Alcohol staining maple wood...........U need........ Black alcohol stain. , Small bottle. Small bottle of orange , or yellow , and red. Prepare the wood with sanding ,and finally steel wool...OOOO grade. U need a heat gun ,or a strong hair dryer. (a little slower.) . Process......Polish the wood with steel wool . If the maple is softer than say Hard sugar maple , you might elect to cut the black color by thinning with 90% strength rubbing alcohol.n (has less water than 70%. rubbing alcohol. Process...........Apply the black to the raw wood with a swab being careful to make it even w/o stripes and smears. Dry the black stained wood with the hair drier or heat gun. Once the wood is dry as to look and touch , polish with OOOO steel wool , making sure to de-whisker as you go. (Try the stains in the naked barrel channel for true color analysis.) Mix the orange , or yellow and red , and try until the final stock color is reached. Once desired final color is reached , apply the color over the black , dry the color coat w/ the heat gun , and steel wool OOOO grade as usual. Any staining imperfection can be fixed by adding color , or to adjust the color , rub the color lighter , with the 90% alcohol. Any time you dry the stock with the heat gun , always polish the wood with the OOOO steel wool. I mix up a couple different bottles of different color shades to try ,and pick what you like. Once all is satisfactory color wise , apply a penetrating sealer , ( Thin viscosity wipe on , wipe off finish ) to the wood until the wood will hold no more and wipe the excess off. Allow to dry in a slightly warm dry place. Allow the sealing coat to dry at least three days. The VOC chemicals in the penetrating sealer might not play well together with say a poly urethane base finish. The last coat of anything to go on the stock is a furniture wax , like Minwax Special Dark Finishing Wax. This final wax is the Maintenance coat to keep the rest of the finish and dings from use in good shape. ...................Questions?..............Wish ya well.....oldwood
 
Thanks. Appreciate the time and effort.
Any particular brand of alcohol stain that you prefer?
 
Stain , I use is Fiebings . I get it from Leather Unlimited , by the quart bottles. I buy black , tan ,red ,yellow , and orange. Those colors , pretty much , can stain most any wood used for guns , and a bonus , it's leather stain so , good for that as well. Fiebengs is sold by woodworker's stores , and Tandy Leather. All this stuff is on line. All these stores have the smaller bottles as well. I use enough of it , quarts are handier for me. That Leather Unlimited , has bundles of what they scraps cutoff from cow bellies. These cow belly scraps make fine slings , and straps for shot pouches , etc. ,Hope you've found all this , at least , amusing. I've been building m/l guns for over a half century , not for profit , but for fun. I won't give anyone something , I wouldn't use myself. I've built some fancy copies of famous guns , but find the work tedious , and few folks will , or can pay for what it's worth. On the frontier , guns were tools for defense , for getting food , and amusement. I have a number of popular books about life on in 18th century frontier , and nowhere ls there described , a frontier man sitting on a log admiring his expensive rifle. Guns , mostly, were purchased using animal skins , in an extremely frugal economy. Man , I'm off in the weeds , again.Luck to ya...........oldwood.
 
oldwood, have you ever used Minwax wipe on poly over ferric nitrate? I've used it on several Winchester 52 stocks and would like to use it on my upcoming Virginia rifle build.

Thanks, Justin
 
Justin , in the 1960's , the Mod. 52 I had, was stained w/ Birchwood Casey walnut stain. Back then , I'm not sure what the BC stain was made from. It was what we had back then. Final coat was Linspeed , boiled linseed oil stock finish. I currently have been using a Poly. GEL finish over the initial sealer coat , or a penetrating oil "wipe on,wipe off " product. The Poly Gel adds depth to the finish. Once the Poly Gel cures well , I microscopically abrade the finish with OOOO steel wool. This micro abrasion , allows for a final coat of wipe on , wipe off varnish to maintain an egg shell look , with depth. This finish is complete with a coat or two of Minwax , Special Dark finish wax. This wax ,is the forever maintenance finish. When the gun has seen hard use , wax will restore the original look ....................oldwood
 
I may have to experiment and see how it reacts, I really like the satin finish.

Here's my 40XB with the satin wipe on poly.
IMG_4408.JPG
 
A lot has to do with the wood itself. Some maple will turn black instantly with the application of heat. I have a stock like that - I applied two coats of AF , let it dry then hit it with a heat gun and poof - instant black. I like it after I scrubbed it down with maroon Scotch-Brite to get rid of the deep black color.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top