e advice.

[mike garner]

i need a little advice. what is the best color stain to bring out the strips in curly maple on a new build?
thanks!

 

[wattlebuster]

I like aqua fortis

 

[Swamp Rat]

I'll second aquafortis. The knifes and call before and after pics. Then a barrel channel that I used easy off oven cleaner also worked but the aquafortis is what I like better.

 

[Onojutta]

LMF Lancaster Maple does a nice job too. I put about 3 coats on, then took it down with 0000 steel wool after the last coat. That lightens up the surface but leaves the grain dark so there is more contrast.

The finishing oil or varnish also plays a roll in reflecting the light to help show the figure. What you use and how you apply it really gives it that 3-dimensional iridescence.

 

[Chowmif16]

Aqua Fortis, or Ferric Nitrate, either one. Then if you want to add some more color, you can use a stain. I have used Ferric Nitrate, then LMF Lancaster Maple stain, and the finish was very nice.
In case you didn't know, Aqua Fortis is just nitric acid. Ferric Nitrate is nitric acid with iron dissolved in it.

You have to let the aqua fortis dry, then heat it. A heat gun is a good way to do this. As you heat it, it will change colors, and eventually go brown, and even a bit red if you use ferric nitrate. Don't concentrate the heat so much that you char the wood, just run it over the wood in sweeping patterns.
There are several threads on this forum on how to do it. Try a search.

I used Ferric Nitrate, and then LMF Lancaster Maple stain on this one:

IMG_3496 by chowmif16, on Flickr

Cheers,
Chowmi

 

[Commodore Swab]

Any advice on where to buy any of these online?

 

[mike garner]

very nice photos! thanks for the point in the right direction.

 

[mike garner]

one other question, after you apply and heat the aqua fortis do you have to put on a (stop bath) or a solution to stop the acid from working? or dose it just quit working at some point and that's it?

 

[Micah Clark]

Heat gun works best .. .hair dryer is possible . . .old school is a hot iron, but if you slip and touch the wood you can burn it. . and heat is not as even with it, though many likely still use that method.

That's my two cents, having only watched it done in person once, and online a few times.

 

[Swamp Rat]

https://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/1025/1/AQUAFORT-2

and they have the directions there also.

 

[Commodore Swab]

How about just the acid instead of the little bottle track offers?

 

[MSW]

I like the effect that aqua fortis gets you, but the last build I did had exotic inlays in it, and if you put aqua fortis on pretty much anything except maple, you may get 'bleeding,' which will ruin your project...


so, if you're doing anything other than maple, I would urge you to try a test piece before you commit an expensive stock (into which you've plowed a boatload of your time).

you should definitely neutralize the AF ... if you don't, your stock will eventually turn black ...

aaaargh!!



I'm a fan of LMF ... it's an alcohol based stain, so you can cut it back and use several coats, thus making the stain more even and affording the user much more control.

for final finish, I'd go with Permalyn or Tru-Oil. Permalyn has a sealer, then a final coat (or coats) and if you don't like the gloss, you can rub some OOOO steel wool on it and cut back the sheen. TruOil is nice, but takes many many coats - same with the sheen.

A high gloss finish will allow for more of the nuances of the grain to be visible, but many folks can't stand the shine - it can look like plastic to some. If you take the shine back, you may lose some of the definition of the figure in the wood... Zonie explained this to me as follows: think of a brook. you want to see the rocks at the bottom, so if the water is smooth, you'll see everything, but if there are ripples, you won't get as much detail.

as an aside, I have tried BLO (boiled linseed oil) finishes, and they didn't work at all well.


good luck with your project!

 

[Swamp Rat]

The pins in those knives are Purple heart, they turn black color but I did not have any bleed over.

 

[Pete G]

AF is nitric acid with iron filings dissolved in it and is readily available from Track of the Wolf and other online suppliers. You can also mix your own using ferric nitrate available online from The Science Company. Both will give an authentic original style finish. The dissolved iron gives the reddish undertones. Since they both have nitric acid as a component use household ammonia to neutralize.

 

[Swamp Rat]

Commador, you mean you want something like this? http://www.lowes.com/pd/Jasco-Muri..._clickID=d8d7b157-e7f4-429c-9bb8-87896339b467

I a little on the wild side but I dont know if I would trust a $200 stock to something by the gallon that may eat more than stain when I can get plenty from in a little bottle from track of the wolf.

 

[mike garner]

how and at what stage do you neutralize the AF?

 

[Swamp Rat]

It would be after you heat it, The stuff from track I have not neutralized but I've only been playing with it for about a year. Now if you use easy off oven cleaner I have neutralized that with Vinegar since it is a Base instead of an acid.
The Aquafortis when you heat the color pops quick when you need to stop, You get a rust color, stop the heat then or you will cause it to go a little to far and end up loosing the red tint that is real nice and loose some of the depth that you can see through when you apply the finish.

 

[Commodore Swab]

Swamp I believe we were talking nitric not muriatic acids

 

[Zonie]

I didn't have very good luck with Aqua Fortis so the rifles I built are all stained with alcohol or water based wood stains.

One of my favorites for curly maple is Birchwood Casey Walnut.
Once upon a time, Birchwood Casey also made a stain called Colonial Brown which had a bit more red in it than their walnut stain.
Unfortunately, they quit making it 10 or so years ago.

I've also found that using a wash of lye water brings out the contrast between the stripes in curly maple.
Anyone interested in this can click on this link
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/31269/post/31407/fromsearch/1/#31407

 

[Swamp Rat]

my bad, here ya go. Most Nitric acid are only shipped to schools and institutions. Carolina also sells nitric acid. http://www.elementalscientific.net/store/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=2402