Staining suggestions

[A.Merrill]

    Used the trusty Aquafortis from TOTW on a stock and it turned out brown with honey gold under tones, I don't like it. I want red under tones, not bright red just that red and yellow under tone you normally see.
   So any suggestions and will it work over Aquafortis ?    Al

[Bob McBride]

Laurel Mountain Forge Lancaster Maple is my fave over the top of AF. Lots of guys with more building experience than me will pipe in.

[TommyG]

I like using Jim Kleins stains sold by MBS.  For what you are after I would try the red/brown.  I usually thin with denatured alcohol 1:1 mix.  Try on some scrap first if you can.  Most of the time the stain will really darken things up and you will need to rub things back a bit with 4/0 steel wool or a scotchbrite to get the desired color/tone.

[smart dog]

Hi,
I agree with Tommy G.  I recently discovered Jim Klein's "Homer Dangler" stains and they are superb as tints after ferric nitrate stain (aqua fortis and iron).  Moreover, they can penetrate finishes to a certain degree and make great touch up stains.

dave

[rich pierce]

Try hitting it with hydrogen peroxide right out of the bottle. Might give it more orange tones.

[mikeyfirelock]

Here is a gun I recently finished. It is stained with Laurel Mountain Lancaster Maple and finished with their Permalyn finish. This may give you an idea of how it might look.

[Stophel]

Use real aqua fortis, not the stuff with HCl in it.

I find red maple tends to be more brown, while sugar maple tends to be more orange-red, when colored with aqua fortis.  Apply and reapply the stain and heat numerous times. Neutralize with lye, which will shift the color even further orange-red.  Finish with real boiled linseed oil, which will darken it and make it more red.  No aniline dye junk required.   




No guarantees, though.  Each piece of wood is different, and with AF, you may be able to "massage" the color one way or another to a minor degree, but pretty much, you get the color you get.  Just like they did 250 years ago.   

[bob in the woods]

Beautiful finish on that stock, Stophel  .

[P.Bigham]

Agree with Stopel  even after mixing your own nitric acid stain and making your own oil finish it can vary from stock to stock. I’d recommend William A Knight and William R Mende book staining and finishing for muzzleloading guns builders. Methods and materials from 1750-1850   I found it very helpful

[AZshot]

Use real aqua fortis, not the stuff with HCl in it.

I find red maple tends to be more brown, while sugar maple tends to be more orange-red, when colored with aqua fortis.  Apply and reapply the stain and heat numerous times. Neutralize with lye, which will shift the color even further orange-red.  Finish with real boiled linseed oil, which will darken it and make it more red.  No aniline dye junk required.   




No guarantees, though.  Each piece of wood is different, and with AF, you may be able to "massage" the color one way or another to a minor degree, but pretty much, you get the color you get.  Just like they did 250 years ago.   

I like the way that one looks.  Nice and dark, hard to get with maple. 

[Mike Lyons]

Jim Kiblers Iron Nitrate gives a different shade than TOTW’s product.  I get darker reddish tones with Jim’s stuff and honey color with TOTW.  It may or may not be the wood.  Tried and true oil varnish has darkened everything I’ve put it on but gives a beautiful finish.  It takes forever to dry.  The Chambers finish seems to keep the same shade but brighten up everything.  I’ve only stained 5 guns and several other maple projects but I’ve consistently gotten the same results using those products.  I’ve come to like 2 coats of Jim’s Iron Nitrate with 30 minutes between applying and hitting with heat and finishing with with Chambers finish. 

[Scota4570]

I use ferric nitrate crystal in distilled water.  You can make it so strong that rust precipitate forms on the wood. If I want it blacker I user Jim's Tannic acid powder. I bought the selection of LMF stains.  One is quite red.  Normally I make it darker than I want and rub it back.

The LMF selection is great to adjust the final color.  I dilute it with lacquer thinner and apply multiple coats. 

If I want it darker I rub in black iron oxide powder with dilute finish as Jim does with bone black. 

Basically I play with it until I am happy.  There is not recipe. 

[Daryl]

Much depends on the wood. If you are looking for a specific colour and contrast, you have to work at it, like Stophel does.
These two stocks, both of curly maple, were used with the identical stain (ferric nitric) and the same mix of stain, being blushed identically as well.
Notice the different colours.

[A.Merrill]

    Thanks guys for all the suggestions.  I'm going to figure something out soon.  Al

[B.Barker]

The pistols I just finished up came out two different colors and they were the same piece of wood and the same stain and finish. Some folks disagree but how the iron nitrate stain is made does make a difference. When using aqua fortis there is a learning curve to using it. Changing the way you apply it and heat it and time between applying it then putting heat to it will change the color and darkness of it.