After ferric nitrate stain??? (First coat of finish pics added)

[newknapper]

Stained my stock toadY and it came out ok but I am worried I put too much of the ferric nitrate on the stock and the curl in the wood doesn't show that's well. It turned the stock a nice brown color. I was wondering if I should rub the color back some. If I did rub it back what should I use to do that with? Thanks, I can post pictures of stock if that would help.

[conquerordie]

The oils you apply next will help bring out the curl. The first stock I did with ferric nitrate was just like this. But several coats of oil or finish will really help bring it out. Some places on your stock will still just remain dark. Its just the wood, probably nothing you did.

[Jerry V Lape]

You can rub it back and adjust the colors that way.  I use fine scotchbrite type material for that.  Stay away from the edges and your carving.  Best to experiment with a sample of each stock blank you plan on staining.  Also applying a couple weak coats may be better than a strong one.  I stained one stock sample that came out black.  Rubbed it back with the scotchbrite and achieved a gold background with black stripes - really dramatic.  Rubbing back is lots of work on a full rifle.  I have also applied alcohol based stains over the ferric nitrate to get color mix I wanted. 

[Mark Elliott]

It doesn't hurt to rub with a light gray or white Scotchbrite pad.   This has a similar effect to burnishing.  Don't scrub too hard or you will lighten your stain.   Then start applying your oil in very thin coats.   You might cut the first coat half and half; oil and turpentine.    

[bob in the woods]

Did you heat it?

[newknapper]

Yeah I made sure to heat it very well to make sure I covered it all real good.

[Bill Ladd]

Yeah I made sure to heat it very well to make sure I covered it all real good.

Did you see it change color as you heated it?

[newknapper]

Yeah it's a wonderful dark brown. Main thing I was worried about was not really being able to see the curl like I did before I heated it. I will post some pics on the stock I a little while.

[Eric Krewson]

Never used ferric nitrate but with aquafortis after the heat I can't see curl, putting on the finish make the curl pop.

[Pete G.]

You can wipe it with a little water and get an idea of what it will look like. Not exact, but close enough to tell if you need more work on the stain.

[FDR]

If you don't want to put water on your stock try a little denatured alcohol for the wipe. Alcohol  does not raise the grain.

Fred

[Mark Elliott]

I should note that scraping as opposed to sanding will bring out the figure better.   Sanding can sometimes muddy the final finish, particularly on more porous woods.

[newknapper]

It's not a great picture I know but you can get an update idea about how the stock looks.

[Hungry Horse]

 I say it needs another dose, and more heat. I usually don't stop the process until I get at least some black coloration. If you don't apply enough ferric nitrate, or don't heat it enough, you wind up with a muddy medium brown, with poor figure definition. I prefer to take it to a darker shade than I want, and then scrub it back with a Scotchbrite pad.

   Hungry Horse

[Mark Elliott]

Be aware that the final color will be darker.   Wet the stock to get an idea of what it will look like finished.   If you want a lighter brown finish,  you might want to stop where you are.  If you apply another coat of stain, you could end up with a very dark stock.   Of course, you could scrub it back some with a scotchbrite pad.   

[smallpatch]

Also remember..... Ferric Nitrate will ONLY bring  out the figure that's already there, it won't create more.
Rub it back with some skotchbrite pads to see what you've got, add another coat if necessary.

[newknapper]

Thanks, again. What color scotch brite should I use? I have some red color but I think that may be a little coarse. I ordered some chambers finish Wednesday so it should be here Monday or so. Thank you guys.

[FDR]

It doesn't hurt to rub with a light gray or white Scotchbrite pad.   This has a similar effect to burnishing.  Don't scrub too hard or you will lighten your stain.   Then start applying your oil in very thin coats.   You might cut the first coat half and half; oil and turpentine.    

See Mark's post above! He uses light gray or white.

SCOTCHBRITE GRIT CHART
3M Scotch Brite Nylon Pads:
7445 - White pad, called Light Duty Cleansing - (1000) 1200-1500 grit
7448 - Light Grey, called Ultra Fine Hand - (600-800) 800 grit.
6448 - Green (?), called Light Duty Hand Pad - (600) 600 grit
7447 - Maroon pad, called General Purpose Hand - (320-400) 320 grit
6444 - Brown pad, called Extra Duty Hand - (280-320) 240 grit
7446 - Dark Grey pad, called Blending Pad (180-220) 150 grit
7440 - Tan pad, called Heavy Duty Hand Pad - (120-150) 60(?)
Blue Scotch-Brite is considered to be about 1000 grit.
(The value inside the parentheses is directly from 3M.)
3M Chart
Less Aggressive --------> More Aggressive
7445 7448 6448 7447 6444 7446 7440
Finer Finish --------> Coarser Finish

[Mark Elliott]

I would use the light gray Scotchbrite if you want to lighten your stain some.   I believe it is equivalent to 0000 steel wool.   The green would be a little more aggressive.   The red that I have is very fine for use on glass. 

[smallpatch]

Gray or green would be fine. Maroon will work, but a bit more aggressive .

[elkhorne]

Who is a good supplier to get the various grades of Scotchbrite from? Seems the places around here only carry the green. Thanks
Elkhorne

[Mark Elliott]

I buy all my Scotchbrite pads at Lowes. 

[Dennis Glazener]

I buy all my Scotchbrite pads at Lowes. 

Evidently not all Lowe's carry all the grades. Last time I tried to buy them there Maroon was the finest they had on the shelf. I ended up getting the finer ones at NAPA Warehouse near us.
Dennis

[ScottH]

I saw a bunch of the Scotch brite products at my local Sherwin Williams paint store. So you might check at your local paint store?

[newknapper]

I checked my local lowes today and they all they had was the green pads. I will check sherwin Williams or the NAPA store.