Trouble with aqua fortis

[bioprof]

I thought I'd learned my lesson with the last rifle I stained with aqua fortis. I didn't dilute it and it turned out very dark, almost black in some places.

I decided to use it again on my Bedford rifle, and diluted it 1:4 with water. I tried it out first on a flat piece of wood from the same stock, and it looked good.

When I put it on the stock, it turned out a lot darker in some places, especially around the carving. I used 0000 steel wool with boiled linseed oil to rub it down, and some parts lightened a bit but most didn't. Should I keep using the linseed oil and steel wool, or just take what I have and put the finish on it. Once you let it dry, does the stain "set" preventing it from changing if you rub it down again?

BTW, I love the color, it is just darker than I would have liked. There are a couple of silver linings to the way it turned out though, the dark reddish brown acentuates the German silver inlays nicely. Also the dark finish covers up some of my attempts at repairing inletting problems.

 

[Roy]

try using water instead of linseed oil. :thumbsup:

 

[LSU TIGER]

What did you neutralize the acid with? A mild lye solution will lighten the color a bit. Since you've put oil on it, it may be too late.

 

[bioprof]

What did you neutralize the acid with? A mild lye solution will lighten the color a bit. Since you've put oil on it, it may be too late.

I did use lye solution to neutralize the acid. I tried Roy's suggestion to use steel wool and water, but I don't think it was a good idea. It did rub some of the finish off, but it started turning green. I reheated it with a heat gun and the green disappeared. I guess I'm going to have to live with what I've got. I'll post a picture when I get a few coats of finish on it.

 

[Roy]

If it started to turn green it had to be still working.

 

[bioprof]

Here's a couple of pictures of what I ended up with. I like the color but was hoping for a little lighter. It does kind of have a rustic look that I like. I think it will grow on me.

Another question... I have been rubbing it with boiled linseed oil, and the darker areas just seem to be sucking up the oil and aren't getting shinier. Should I use a sealer, or just keep rubbing in the oil?

 

[flashpanner]

If it were me, I'd keep with the linseed oil. The wood will eventually stop drinking it up. I had a stock that did the same thing. It finally settled down and behaved itself. I did do an oil "wet-sand" with 400 grit(used) after 8 coats of oil finish. Seemed to help alot.

 

[rich pierce]

Boiled linseed oil without resins or dryers will almost never harden or actually seal the wood. There was a lot of BS written in the 60's and 70's by a few gunwriters about the virtues of a linseed oil finish. Jack O'Connor was one of them and he lived in Arizona and probably just believed what the custom gunsmiths told him about the finish they used.

Linseed oil will also darken a lot if there is residual acid in the wood. You might think about pulling some of that oil out with turpentine then using a sealer under a finish.

 

Rich is right. My first rifle I used aqua fortis and many coats of linseed oil ('cause that is how I was taught in 1978) and it turned black over the years--and it was a Grade 4 wood! recently I took most of the oil finish off with 0000 steel wool and took it down to where the pretty striping showed up well. But shortly after that I had it on display in 100 degree heat, in direct sun at an outdoor event and linseed oil still bubbled out of it! I have had some success with artists linseed oil which they use to stretch oil paints and it dries on their canvases....but i supect it would still blacken with the acid finish...

 

[rrgr40]

:v Here's what I think and what I've seen. The dark areas around the carvings appeared because those areas between the flat of the wood and the carving was not sanded as well as the other areas. The courser the wood, the more oil it will soak up and the darker it will appear. Try a small test spot and you'll see what I mean. Personally I like the darker stocks, lends itself to more character. Good Luck :v