Aquafortis

[wayne1967]

Has anyone played around and tried aquafortis on a wood other than maple? Done with my project and have about 3/4 bottle left.

 

[Stophel]

Turns cherry black (and very lifeless), colors walnut pretty dark too (ugh).

It colors Ash, birch, and beech just like maple.

 

[omarick1948]

WARNING!....Aquafortis is a Carcinagin(sic?) and dangerous to your health....period! :nono:

Do a Google search and see for yourself!

 

[wayne1967]

I wish I knew that before I got yellow fingers from using it.

 

[rabjr]

WARNING!....Aquafortis is a Carcinagin(sic?) and dangerous to your health....period! :nono:

Do a Google search and see for yourself!

Thats probably why Hershel got cancer. Who knows but he never wore gloves. I still a have 3/4 of a bottle from some Eric Kettenburg made several years ago.

 

[wayne1967]

Looks like I'll never use the stuff again. That's one reason I never took up smoking. I read that it would stain skin but nothing of cancer.

 

[LaBonte]

WARNING!....Aquafortis is a Carcinagin(sic?) and dangerous to your health....period!

Not according to the MSDS

Aqua Fortis as used by us is a mix of nitric acid and iron - aka ferric nitrate. In the old days the term Aqua Fortis was used for both straight nitric acid as well as ferric nitrate.

According to their MSDS they are not carcinogens:
Nitric Acid: http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&...5ONZ3Y&sig=AHIEtbRdzq_e_b7H18hNc3r7nS-UA8w6_g

Ferric Nitrate http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/F1244.htm

That is not to say that they aren't bad for you when not used properly. Good ventilation, rubber gloves, a good mask with a properly rated filter, and a rubber apron are always good items to use when handling chemicals, including RIT dye, which can cause skin irritation and respiratory problems.

As for carcinogens: acetone, toluene, and other thinners are commonly found in most commerical leather/wood dyes and finishes are all carcinogens.
Other well known carcinogens: bacon, ham, and any other meats with nitrites, barbecued meats (creoste from the wood smoke), etc.

As to using AF on other woods - a couple of examples:
Osage Orange:

Black Walnut (diluted 50%)

 

[LRB]

Right on Chuck. Life is dangerous to your health, and will ultimately result in your death.

 

[Jaeger]

I've used it to stain Osage Orange, and it turned mine a nice brown color. I'd suggest nitrile gloves, and use it outside. The stuff smells pretty bad when you apply it and then heat it with a heat gun to bring out the dark brown stain. Doesn't smell like anything you'd want in the air inside of a house or garage!

 

[omarick1948]

WARNING!....Aquafortis is a Carcinagin(sic?) and dangerous to your health....period! :nono:

Do a Google search and see for yourself!

If some of you want to use it! Use it!
I just stated the warning as just that. A warning!

 

[wayne1967]

Hey, thank you. Stuff like that scares the willies out of me. Trying not to breath the fumes of barrel browning steam always worried me to. I've had 6 of my aunts and uncles get cancer.

 

[Stophel]

MAKING A.F. stain is dangerous! Using it, not so much. :wink:

 

[bioprof]

WARNING!....Aquafortis is a Carcinagin(sic?) and dangerous to your health....period! :nono:

Do a Google search and see for yourself!

I think you're confusing it with chromium trioxide (magic maple). Cr03 is worse than aquafortis when it comes to health hazard.

 

[rabjr]

What Stophel said. Watch a Hershel House video that shows him making it and you won't want to as you can see it's dangerous fumes. once it's made, it's not so bad. I've used it on a few guns and seems to be no different than any other stain. I do wear gloves when using it but would do so with any othere stain too.

 

[stubshaft]

Expose Osage Orange to sunlight and it will darken with age. I have an Osage Orange self bow that I made over 20 years ago and it has changed from a golden yellow to a deep dark brown (almost black).

 

[Stophel]

A lot of people will say "just drop some steel wool in it"....DON'T DO IT! It reacts way too quickly, it gets HOT, and belches forth great billowing clouds of noxious, red death. Seriously.

Put in a few nails (preferably, very old nails) at a time, and watch them slowly bubble away. Much safer, much more pleasant. Keep adding them as necessary over the next few days until it will "dissolve" no more. :wink:

 

[rabjr]

Yeah Hershal uses steel wool in his video. I remember watching it and says, man that can't be good for ya to inhale. :shocked2:

 

[Stophel]

Oh, man, it ain't. If you take in even the slightest trace of these fumes, your nose, throat, and lungs will burn for some time. It's less than pleasant for your eyes, too.

 

[Jaeger]

Sounds a lot like you've experienced this personally, Stoph! I like the term "Red Death" for the fumes, because when I made mine in a pyrex beaker on an old table out in the middle of my back lawn on a calm summer afternoon, that's exactly what looked like was billowing up out of the container.