Author Topic: Staining cherry in lime water  (Read 6860 times)

Offline smallpatch

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Staining cherry in lime water
« on: July 28, 2014, 05:42:17 PM »
On the contemporary maker site, Steve Radosavich, has a great cherry stocked gun, and says it was stained with lime water??????
Anyone have a clue?  Came out quite nice!
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Dane

galamb

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Re: Staining cherry in lime water
« Reply #1 on: July 28, 2014, 05:48:05 PM »
Not a clue, but can suspect since lime (and lemon) juice is a weak acid that you would get kinda sorta the same results as using Aqua Fortis.

The acid would bring out the figure in the wood - and it would smell nice too  ;D

Offline Daniel

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Re: Staining cherry in lime water
« Reply #2 on: July 28, 2014, 05:54:48 PM »
Could it be lye(lime) water in a weak form? turns the color of cherry reddish . Depending on strength.
Daniel     Ecc.4:12

oakridge

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Re: Staining cherry in lime water
« Reply #3 on: July 28, 2014, 06:20:39 PM »
I don't think he was referring to lime, the fruit. Using lime, the mineral, would probably produce a weaker alkali, than using lye. Certainly safer and no awful smell.

Offline Kermit

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Re: Staining cherry in lime water
« Reply #4 on: July 28, 2014, 06:39:22 PM »
Exactly my take when I read it. A weak lye/base solution darkens cherry.
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Offline smallpatch

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Re: Staining cherry in lime water
« Reply #5 on: July 28, 2014, 07:07:54 PM »
The reason I was asking, ..... I'm just getting ready to final shape an English style Fowler, with some nicely figured cherry for the stock.
Would definitely like to try this method. 
Any input appreciated.
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Dane

Offline D. Taylor Sapergia

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Re: Staining cherry in lime water
« Reply #6 on: July 28, 2014, 07:38:55 PM »
My success with lye (oven cleaner) on cherry is zero.  I stained a Fusil de Chasse stocked in cherry with very little colour change to the wood.  Left me empty.  I have seen results like the one on the blog, and am amazed, and puzzled.
D. Taylor Sapergia
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Offline T*O*F

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Re: Staining cherry in lime water
« Reply #7 on: July 28, 2014, 08:03:21 PM »
If you want to experiment, you can buy pickling lime at most stores that sell canning supplies.  It only costs a couple of bucks and there are about 16 oz in the container.  I know how to use it to make pickles but not how to stain a stock.  It should make the wood crispy though.   ;D
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BPRICHARD

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Re: Staining cherry in lime water
« Reply #8 on: July 28, 2014, 08:29:08 PM »
Hydrated lime can be purchased at a garden center or county co-op (agri. center).  I would mix about 2 cups in a 1/2 gal. water, let it dissolve, then try on a scrap of wood and then experiment with soaking time, rinsing, and so forth.  Then you can report back and let us all know what the results were.   Good Luck!   
Richard

Offline Dennis Glazener

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Re: Staining cherry in lime water
« Reply #9 on: July 28, 2014, 08:31:42 PM »
Quote
Exactly my take when I read it. A weak lye/base solution darkens cherry.
I once tried a weak lye water by pouring water through hickory ashes. It was so weak it barely colored the cherry. I then kept adding small amounts of Red Devil lye to the water until I finally got the darker color that I was looking for. You can actually cause the cherry to have a 200 year old "weathered" look if you make the lye water strong enough, be careful it doesn't take a lot in a quart of water.
Dennis
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BPRICHARD

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Re: Staining cherry in lime water
« Reply #10 on: July 28, 2014, 08:38:32 PM »
Hydrated lime is the opposite of an ACID. It is a BASE.  however you have to treat it carefully, like you would an acid,  Wear gloves and goggles.  If you are sweating and get the powder on your bare skin wash of quickly cause it will sure burn you .  When you are finished with it you can spread on your garden soil. As the old farmers would say "it will sweeten the soil"

Offline Robert Wolfe

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Re: Staining cherry in lime water
« Reply #11 on: July 28, 2014, 08:45:15 PM »
I used lye based oven cleaner on a cherry fowling gun and had great luck. Got a rich reddish brown. Very happy with it.
Robert Wolfe
Northern Indiana

Offline EC121

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Re: Staining cherry in lime water
« Reply #12 on: July 28, 2014, 09:25:39 PM »
Success in this procedure probably depends on the minerals in the wood from the soil.  Get the right combination of minerals and it turns colors.
Brice Stultz

Offline Keb

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Re: Staining cherry in lime water
« Reply #13 on: July 28, 2014, 09:28:41 PM »
I've used oven cleaner on maybe 10 cherry stocks. Some came out good. Some didn't. I found the heavy duty Easy Off is too harsh & turns the wood very dark. I got some cheap Dollar Store oven cleaner and it works great. Makes the wood a nice orange-ish color.

Offline E.vonAschwege

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Re: Staining cherry in lime water
« Reply #14 on: July 29, 2014, 03:31:20 PM »
Spray-on oven cleaner (heavy duty or otherwise) works very well to darken cherry.  The amount of color change is dependent on how long you let the lye sit on the stock.  I sprayed a test sample, then wiped it off at 30 second intervals down the board to see the color differences.  If left on too long the stock can become dark brown and almost unrecognizable as cherry (except 200 year old stuff).  Rinse off with water, then neutralize with vinegar.  If using an oil finish, you want to be sure that you've removed the lye entirely, otherwise you'll end up making soap on/in the stock.  Every cherry gun I've finished had the lye treatment - as with aquafortis, every result will be slightly different.  IMO it looks a lot more authentic than diluted LMF cherry washed over the wood. 
Best,
-Eric
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Offline Dr. Tim-Boone

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Re: Staining cherry in lime water
« Reply #15 on: July 29, 2014, 04:28:14 PM »

You can get the pure Lye (KOH) at http://shop.chemicalstore.com/navigation/categorylist.asp?MySessionID=&CatID=34

This allows you more control than oven cleaner. It works very well. you can get a brown, a very red to a very dark old antique cherry color by varying the solution of lye in distilled water and varying the time you leave it on the wood before neutralizing.
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Offline smallpatch

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Re: Staining cherry in lime water
« Reply #16 on: July 29, 2014, 05:23:21 PM »
Dr Tim,
Do you have a ballpark on a starting concentration?  What do you neutralize with?
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Dane

Offline Dr. Tim-Boone

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Re: Staining cherry in lime water
« Reply #17 on: August 01, 2014, 12:01:20 AM »
Dane,

I tried 2:1 water crystals by volume, 3:1 and 4:1 for testing on samples.  each provided a little different color when left on overnight. I just neutralized with vinegar and water.   BTW you can add a little LMF Cherry stain if you want to redden it up after the lye works.  Play around with small amounts of mixtures til you find what you like on your piece of wood.  Seal it with De-waxed garnet shellac 1# cut and then sand/scrape back to bare wood and then burnish. the heat from the burnishing with cause the shellac to capture and hold down any whiskers, so you get a real smooth surface to then apply varnish to.  Chamber's Oil varnish.
« Last Edit: August 01, 2014, 12:02:44 AM by Dr. Tim-Boone »
De Oppresso Liber
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Offline James Rogers

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Re: Staining cherry in lime water
« Reply #18 on: August 01, 2014, 05:03:28 AM »
Steve Radosovich says he is having trouble getting on AL and sent me this on his lime treatment if anyone is interested. .....
"Just plain old masonry lime is what i used.  Make a solution like whole milk and use it like a whiskering agent for a few coats. leave the last coat on for a while till good and dry and then i wiped off the chalky surface with a very barely damp rag. I don't know if that's the professional method but it seemed to work nicely."