Vinegar Stain?

[JoeC]

Ghost .
I would like to try to make some of this vinegar stain , and i have no intention of trying to complicate it, or analyze it . Just a simple question .
Can you give me an example of approximately how much iron you would add to how much vinegar ? If you were starting with , say , a pint of vinegar how much iron would you add? Something like a couple of say, 8 or 10 penny nails . or more like a handfull of them? I know this is not an exact science,but i would just like to start out
close to where i should be .
Thanks Joe.

 

Joe, I would start with a 16 penny nail per pint of vinegar. At the most it's about a buck a quart, and thats what I used. I wouldn't use new nails though, try and find some old used ones, the older the better. I'm using two pieces of old barbed wire, about 6" long. Just put them in and let them cook. NOTE dont seal the container- you'll be making gas as a by-product. If it eats your nails completely add another, as there is still acid in the mix Bill :redthumb:

 

I never actually measured the amount or weight of the metal or the amount of actual rust.

One of the best batches I made was a couple of hands ful of rusty nails in about a quart of venigar.

The last batch I made I was in a hurry so I fired up a couple of pads of 000 steel wool with a propane torch, let them burn off all the oil (instant rust) and dumped them into a pint jar of vinegar.

Let it sit in the shop for a few days and it did fine.

:results:

 

[Trina]

Ghost,
I am almost finished with a rifle (my first) I have been working on the better part of 6 months...I have been reading everything possible about staining... your vinegar stain has me intrigued and scared to death all at once lol now please dont yell at me if I missed this somewhere... the wood I used on my rifle is plain maple I dont know what kind of maple it is, I bought the Issac haines precarve from TOW, would this stain work ok on this wood, or is it to mainly bring out curl? and secondly how bout if I added some vinegar to a rusty cast iron pot and maybe threw in a bit of steel wool? am I trying for a very black concoction? :hmm: :: DH is looking at me like Ive lost my mind :haha: thanks for your thoughts on the subject.

 

[bioprof]

I finally got down to the point where I stained my rifle today. I tested some vinegar stain that I have had brewing for the last 3 weeks and ferric nitrate solution that I made up on some hidden areas of the stock, but wasn't satisfied with the results, so I went to Menard's and found a nice 6-foot piece of curly maple 1 x 2 for $4.19. I cut it in some 5" strips and tested both stains. I liked the results of the vinegar stain better than the ferric nitrate solution, so decided to go with the vinegar stain. I ended up diluting the vinegar stain 50:50 with water, and filtering it through a coffee filter. It had the appearance of very weak coffee.

I read earlier in this thread that you don't need to heat or flame after applying the vinegar, but the maple pieces that I had turned a bluish grey after applying the vinegar stain, so I heated it with a heat gun. It did develop some yellowish undertones when I heated it and the bluish color disappeared somewhat. However, the greyish color still concerned me somewhat, so this is what I ended up doing:

1) applied a thin coat of the vinegar stain with a brush, and let it dry. It turned a bluish grey color and the figure in the wood disappeared when the stain dried.
2) I heated the stock for about 10 minutes with a heat gun until some of the bluish color disappeared and a warmer tone developed.
3) I diluted some Laurel Mountain Forge maple stain about 1 part stain to 5 parts denatured alcohol, and put two coats of it over the vinegar stain after it had been heated.
4) I then rubbed the stock down with Tru-oil finish. It turned out a dark brown with reddish undertones, almost a aged mahogany appearance, but the figure of the maple is very apparent. It is fairly dark, but still has the "tiger-eye" appearance.

I'll try to post some pictures tomorrow after I get a couple more coats of oil finish, as it might lighten up some more, but overall I'm very happy with the results. I think it might not have turned out as dark if I had diluted the vinegar stain some more. I guess the moral of this story is to test it out on some pieces of the same type of wood and repeat the same process on the sample that you like the best.

 

[bioprof]

Here's a picture of the finished result. What the picture doesn't show is the iridescence which changes when the light hits the stock from different angles. The color changes when you move the stock. How many of you have sat there for what seems like hours admiring the beauty of the wood???? To me, it is mesmerizing. :shocking:

 

[mowolf]

Just refinished a Traditions Kentucky Pistol kit this past week with a vinegar stain. Actually, I painted it on in stripes ala Leman Faux tiger stripe. Then cover id again with diluted vinegar stain, heated with the hand help propane torch. Finished with hand rubbed tung oil and Johnson's paste wax. Will try and post a picture this weekend. It turned out pretty good for a test.

Waya :imo:

 

[JOLIET]

What does it mean to whisker the stock?

 

[jdhiii]

What does it mean to whisker the stock?

raising the grain by wetting the wood with water. after it dries, wood feels like it needs a shave. scrapers or sandpaper or even razor blades... single edge type... will take down the "wiskers." repeated 'wiskering' gets the wood ready for finishing.

:results: :imo:

 

[JOLIET]

thank you eace:

 

[JOLIET]

WELL i start my own Vinegar Stain tonite will to how it come out in 4 week :hmm:

 

[bob1961]

i've had 8 jars of stain brewing since the april 20th and some have taken off and some have just sat with no reaction....so far the best has been some old metal banding i found on the rr tracks....i used 30 grains of metal in all jars to see if it makes any difference....all metal was rusted good and some nails i found were even flaking good....i used cider vinager at 5% acid level and 4 ozs of it in each jar....that way i can copy it again if i like what each one does....i'm not nuts fer doing it this way ( am i )....i just want to keep track of what is what....i'll try to git some pictures in a few days..................bob