Stain Question- LMF Cherry Maple

[cunninmp]

Hi everyone.
Well I'm getting ready to stain my .45 Flintlock Kit ( Pistol ) from Jim Chambers.
First I'll use Aquafortis which I've had good luck with.
I've also settled on LMF Maple for the stain, but would like a little
more reddish hue to the stock to match my Allentown rifle. So I just got some
LMF Cherry from TOTW.
I talked to a builder in NY who said he applies one coat of Cherry and then two to three
coats of Maple to come up with the reddish hues after the Aquafortis,
Another builder I know in Oregon say's he just mixes the LMF Cherry and Maple together
but didn't give me a ratio.
So I was wondering what you have done in this situation. I searched the site, but did not come
up with any specific hits. I did try The Cherry Stain alone on a slab of curly maple, but way to red.
Thanks in advance,
Mike C.
Groveland, CA

[galamb]

I have built up my colours with successive coats.

I did two rifles that I wanted a dark finish with a reddish tone.

I started with an ebony (black) water based stain - applied two coats, allowing to dry between each, then rubbed them back well with 0000 synthetic steel wool (plastic wool). That left the (softer) parts of the maple black and pretty much rubbed all the stain from the harder wood.

(I plan on using AF as my first coat(s) on an upcoming build in place of the ebony for a different effect - but will still go over with, probably, two different coloured stains).

I then went over that with a single coat of oil based mahogany. Allowed to dry and just kinda (buffed) with the 0000 again.

Then my 3 or 4 coats of oil based dark walnut over that, followed by Tru-Oil as the finish coats.

I believe you could mix your Cherry and Maple stains together and with some fiddling/testing you could develop the recipe that you are happy with. I just personally prefer doing it layer by layer if I'm working with multiple colours - just feel it allows me more control if I'm looking for very subtle differences (eg. I want it just a hair darker or lighter, but not more red - can go with more or less coats of the final, or whatever.

[Acer Saccharum]

Don't go for the final color in one go, as Glamb suggests.

If you keep the wood open, you can keep working on the color. With LMF, I believe that you will be able to pull some color OUT with alcohol.

You can also color the oil or varnish, which will give the appearance of a violin finish.

The gun in the image was first stained light brown with Aqua Fortis. But most of the color was in the finish below. It is basically a shellac finish with Dragon's blood dissolved in. This is easily repaired and applied, but not super durable. I looked up 'French Polish' on YouTube for the how-to.

[Ky-Flinter]

Cunninmp,

You are right about LMF Cherry, it is RED.  Get some small glass bottles from your local pharmacy so you can experiment with various mixes.  I like LMF Nut Brown, but I cut it back with denatured alcohol, 3 parts alcohol to 1 part stain, then a little of the cherry, like a drop at a time.  It's potent.

I use home-made Aqua-Fortis to pop the grain, followed by my Nut Brown/Cherry mix.  Tom is right, if it is too dark, you can pull some of the color back with denatured alcohol on a rag.  Or add more coats if not dark enough.

Actually, I try to get the stock a little darker than I want it, then use the alcohol rag to rub it back to lighten, but also blend the color so you don't have lighter or darker areas.



-Ron

[kaintuck]

Ron.....super nice colors to my eye....is this rifle a Lancaster?
Marc

[Ky-Flinter]

Thanks Marc,

Yes, it's built from an Isaac Haines kit from Dunlap.  Here's a link to a post on the old board with more pictures.  http://americanlongrifles.org/old_board/index.php?topic=11431.0

-Ron

[cunninmp]

Thanks everyone for the great ideas.
First I'll go to Sonora today and get some denatured alcohol.
Will try the layered method and also mixing the stains together.
Besides the LMF Cherry, I've also got Nut Brown, Lancaster Maple,
and Maple.
I'll also get some small glass bottles and an eye dropper and start messing
around. I've got a very accurate digital scale that will measure down to 1/1000
of a gram so I should be able to replicate the magic color when I find it.
Thanks Ky-Flinter for the rag with denatured alcohol. We're never to old to learn
new things.
Tom, thanks again for the ramrod scraper. The Rim Fire came to 1/10 of a mile from my
house, but we and our houses were saved.
Thanks from Yosemite,
Mike C.