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aqua fortis stain-how much?

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flaming canvas

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Ok. I made the stain by diluting 12 molar acid with water in ratio 2 parts acid to 5 parts water, not intentionally, it just worked out that way. I let one steel wool pad dissolve and then finished it off with iron filings.

Do you just rub this on like normal stain or does it really need a lot.

I tried some on a scrap piece, just sort of colored the wood and let it set for 4 hours, then heated it with a propane torch. It came out brown like I used to see in my kids diapers.

Any suggestions?
 
Put more filings in the mix until it won't eat anymore. I think it is too weak of a solution. I always use a hot air gun on the stain as soon as I swab it on the wood. I don't let it dry as some do. The heat kills the acid as it turns to reddish brown. I don't do the soda water to neutralize the acid either. The heat does it for you. If you let it dry then hit the heat to it, you may need to use the soda water to neutralize it.
 
Ditto.

I pour the AF in a dish and then using rubber gloves, swab it on the stock fairly heavily. On the last maple stock, it turned some shade of green. As soon as the whole stock was swabbed with the AF, I then took the stock and heated it over a tall propane flame. As the stock was heated, it turned reddish then I heated it to a light char. Keep that stock moving so it doesnt burn. As soon as the whole stock was heated, I began slopping hot linseed oil/beeswax on it and scrubbed it with wads of old gunny sacks (burlap tater sack) until no more oil/wax would absorb, and no more black would come off.

I say light char, like just a little beyond singed, just enough that you could get some black on your fingers by rubbing it. Hard to describe without pictures. That made a real dark stock when it was finished.

B
 
Success!!!!!!

I tried a different scrap, turns out the first piece I tried was end grain. I put on a heavier coat of stain and put the heat on it immediately.
Came out with a nice red tone.

Thanks for the help.
 
I made the mistake of using conc. nitric acid and didn't dilute it the first time I used it. I neutralized it with lye water, and it looked good at first, but after it was finished it turned out very dark. The second stock I finished with it, I diluted the AF 1:5 with water, and it looked good on a test piece, but the stock still came out almost black in places. I would recommend diluting it a lot at first, and then use a stronger solution only if needed. Remember, it will look a lot darker after you add many coats of finish.
 
I think this will be ok.

Working at a high school does have some advantages. I mixed this up in the hood in one of the labs, so managing the fumes was taken care of. Too bad they don't have high quality potassium nitrate.
 
One problem with the steel wool is that it has oil in it. You might try degreasing it before using it in your solution.

It should go on a bit damp but not wet; be allowed to dry for several minutes and then blushed with heat until the green goes and the warm color is visible in the cells.

I need to get some components or order some of the stain from Mike Lea soon as I have a few projects and I have used all of my reagent up.

CS
 
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