Add red to stock finish

[rich pierce]

Seems like it’s that piece of wood.  I have gotten everything from flat brown to black to warm reddish brown with AQF. I think red maple is less predictable and trends toward brown/black more than sugar maple but could just be small sample size.

[ron w]

any specific species of wood can vary in chemical make up. I quite sure the different tones are from the fact that this piece of maple has a slightly different chemical make up than another piece from a different tree and location. I would assume it's because of the ground and weather conditions the tree grew in. if you vary the  specific components of any chemical reaction, you get a slightly different reaction with slightly different results.

[Nordnecker]

I could paint it John Deere green and sell it to a farmer.

[T*O*F]

Shellac is alcohol based.  Why not mix it with one of the red alcohol based stains and apply it over the stock as you show it in the picture.  Then you can apply an oil based finished over the top of it once you have achieved the tint you desire.

[Mauser06]

Looks much greener in that picture....



What exactly did you stain the stock with???   


Almost has that chromium trioxide color?   

[Dphariss]

What heat source are you using and are you making SURE the wood is heated  as deep as the stain may have penetrated? I have not read everything here but I suspect that this may be the issue. Flash blushing will not fully react the stain.  It needs to be a radiant heat that will drive deeper into the wood.

Dan

[Davemuzz]

When I used AF on my rifle, the first time it came out with a greenish tint to it. Somewhat like yours. I applied heat (heat gun) after the AF dried and no matter what, I could not get rid of the green. So, like the pic shows here:



I removed via sandpaper that "first" AF application. Not what you wanna do as I already did the set-up work once. So, I did a second application, again the heat gun, and the second time it worked!!



Now, I don't know if it was my inexperience with applying AF or just how it was. But it came out right the second go-around.

For the finish, after the AF came out great I then applied Chambers wood stain to obtain the reddish hue to it, and finally several coats of Chambers Stock Finish.

[Dphariss]

Honestly I don't get it. What is the point of going to the trouble using a traditional stain then adding a synthetic? Why not just use the synthetic stain to begin with?   The only problem I have had with Nitrate of Iron was when using a store bought stain that was adulterated with hydrochloric acid instead of using straight Nitric. This will brown and blacken the stock increasingly over time. The ones I have done with REAL Nitrate of Iron invariably turn reddish, though I have one stock that a large area on the cheek side of the buttstock that simply "didn't take" after drying overnight and before blushing and I simply reapplied and it was good.  Nor does it matter what the source of iron is, modern steel, old wagon tire, finishing nails, no matter will test the same on the same test strip. Nitrate of Iron Crystals as well in testing by a Guild member. Also there is no need have a stain that is significantly acidic. It can be completely depleted and works fine. AND if it DOES seem to be a little too gold colored in my experience putting on a real boiled, driers added, acid neutralized LS oil finish will darken and redden the color over a week or two. But if plastic finishes are used this probably won't work. To me green is either some anomaly in the wood, poorly made iron stain or its something done in preparation or application/blushing.

Dan

[Joe S]

Nordnecker

I have seen that greenish color with aqua fortis on maple fairly frequently. As Kettenburg and Pharis have mentioned, the most likely cause is that you did not get your stock hot enough.

There is a simple experiment that you can do to find out if insufficient heat is the problem. Put one of your stained scraps in a 250 degree oven of 10 or 15 minutes. If the green changes to brown, you known that you did not get your stock hot enough. If it stays greenish, then the problem is due to something else, such as a contaminate in your stain.

Iron nitrate is loosely bound with up to 7 or 8 water molecules when it is applied to your stock. That combination can be greenish. As you heat the stock, you drive off the water, and the stock changes from greenish to flat brown then to reddish brown.  When you apply the oil finish, it should get even redder.

[Eric Kettenburg]

This is a piece of plain maple that was first stained with weak aquafortis to somewhat of a golden-light brown color, just for a base that was not white wood.  It was sealed with seedlac, then given a single coat of a moderately reddish varnish.  The varnish was lead boiled linseed oil with some colophony rosin which when done boiling is somewhat thick.  I thinned this down a bit with some turpentine and poured a bit out onto a piece of glass.  Using a glass muller about the size of a half dollar, I added transparent red iron oxide by eye as I mulled it into the oil till I got something of the reddish-orange color I wanted.  Two coats of this would be a very deep red, a real Lehigh red, but I didn't want quite that look on an eastern Berks / Angstadt type piece.  I should add that despite referring to it as a varnish since it has resin added while boiling, it's not brushed on but once the colorant is added and it's pretty homogenized, it's rubbed on quickly like any other oil finish.  You kind of have to work fast.  I did give this one more rub of a 'spit coat' of really thinned plain oil varnish just to add some all over wear protection to the colored layer and everything.  I think working up a traditional colored finish in this way will go a long way toward helping your situation!

[Mike Lyons]

Here’s one I’m working on with Tried and True and Jim’s ferric nitrate.   It’s more red than the madder lake one I did.  There’s a pic without the finish and just the aquafortis too. 

[Mike Brooks]

Dang, you're doing some good work!