Tannic/ Iron Nitrate Stain

[Hivernant1962]

Good evening all, I am finishing up sanding my Northwest gun. This will be be my first time using the tannic/iron nitrate combination to stain. On my third whiskering now and maybe tomorrow I will put the color to it. Any suggestions? I have a 2 temperature setting heat gun. Should I use the highest setting? I have used aqua fortis before heating with the coils of a stove. Kinda new to the heat gun thing. Thanks all.

[ScottH]

In reading Jim Kibler's blog about using these two in conjunction, I don't read where he used any heat at all. It looks like he applied the tannic acid let it dry then applied the ferric nitrate let it dry, and then rubbed it back with abrasives and some stock finish for lubricant until the desired color was achieved.

[Jim Kibler]

Hi there--this is Katherine replying on Jim's behalf since he is away teaching right now.  You DO need to heat the stock after the mixture is applied.  I would try the low heat first and go to high heat if it doesn't work for you.  Keep the gun moving to prevent scorching and practice on scrap if you can.

Below is the text from the instructions I include with tannic acid.

"Tannic acid is used in conjunction with ferric or iron nitrate in the staining process to accentuate maple gure. A solution of tannic acid (1 Tbs dissolved in 1 pint of water) is prepared and applied to the bare stock.

After this dries, the iron nitrate is applied. A reaction between the iron nitrate and tannic acid occurs forming an iron tannate compound which is very dark in color. Once it air dries, the surface should be heated with a heat gun. After this step, the entire stock is quite dark.

Next comes abrading the stock to work the stain off the long grain wood to bring out the gure. This process relies in the varying grain direction of gured wood. The stain can be fairly easily removed from the long grain regions, but is quite permanent in the end grain areas since the stain is absorbed pretty deeply.

A combination of ne sand paper and woven abrasive Scotch-Brite pads work well. It is also helpful to use oil or nish during this process, to keep the abrasives from becoming plugged and to evaluate the progress.

After the stock is worked back sufciently, apply nish. This shows burl maple, but this method will also work well on other highly gured maple."

[Hivernant1962]

Thanks Katherine, I actually bought the powder and iron nitrate from you and Jim. Must have misplaced the instructions. Thanks for the thorough reply, just what I needed to know.

[Mauser06]

I used Jim's products and followed the instructions that Katherine provided above. 


I can't recall if I used low or high on the heat gun.  I believe low.  Like Katherine said keep the heat gun moving. You will see the color change.


For reference, here are a few pics of mine.



After both products were applied and prior to heat....I did a coat of tannic and a coat of iron nitrate. Looking back I could probably been heavier on them..




After heat....Notice the cherry color...






I then used Chamber's oil and scotchbrite to rub it back. I believe I used green but possibly the blue "non-scratch" stuff. I do believe it was the normal green stuff though...




I wasn't going for any kind of "look". I accidentally rubbed a little too hard on the cheek piece and about cried.   After thinking it out, I rubbed out the cheek piece, grip area and forearm area to give it a worn look. I didn't touch the lock area and edge of the buttplate etc so I didn't run those area back as much..Left a nice dark look to those areas...




For my first attempt I found it very easy to work with and I like what I achieved.

I'm no pro....That's my first attempt.

[davebozell]

Looks great!  Nice job!  (And nice harvest as well.) Thanks for posting the progression pictures.  It always helps me to see what the process looks like along the way.

[Hivernant1962]

Thanks for the pictures. The gun I'm building looked pretty plain to start with. Then as I kept working more and more faint curl to strong curl started showing up. I'm using this combo to bring out whats there. I'll post up some pictures when I get it finished.