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Mike
As I said in my post we all come at this from different directions.We do what works for us for different reasons.One thing I said I think is very important and that is to enjoy the journey.I look upon my mistakes as a learning experience and a challange to rise up to.Don't let past mistakes keep you from trying to master an aspect of gunbuilding.There are no right or wrong answers here just personal perspectives about where we are headed as gunbuilders.


Mitch
 
If it won't spot "reacting" then it still needs to be killed before you refinish. You can't just strip it and forget it.

Are you using a baking soda in water mix or just straight baking soda?

You could try amonia...outside. Soak it down and rinse thoroughly with a hose.

Good luck, J.D.
 
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Baking soda in water. I will try the ammonia thing, thanks. This gun is 4 years old, and the brass turns black after polishing-a very disturbing thing. I wonder if the red maple just absorbed a lot more of the stain than I realized.
 
Fred.... that color is similar to ones I put orange on then Danglers Dark Brown. Mine with the Reddish Brown are allot more red than your rifle is. Course I know wood varies on how it takes stain. I usually stain mine till they are almost black & then start working them back.

My stain of choice is Dangler stains. Easy to apply, easy to touch up & blend back in. The only thing I use Aquafortis on is a hawk handle now & then, just for the heck of it. The reason I don't like it is every rifle I have done with it was dark dark dark & very limited control of the color. Maybe it was just me. :idunno:

Keith Lisle
 
I usually start w/ Dangler's orange, then the dark brown followed by the reddish brown....thought I'd do something different. Didn't put that much reddish brown on and after an alcohol wipe, thought I'd just leave it.

I've got many bottles of aqua fortis just sitting on the shelf and because the results weren't predictable, am hesitant to use it. Did try some ferric nitrate w/ somewhat better color results, but the curl didn't "come out" at all. So.... Dangler stains are it. By the way...Jim Klein is the maker of Dangler stains......Fred
 
Birddog6 said:
...Aquafortis... The reason I don't like it is every rifle I have done with it was dark dark dark & very limited control of the color. Maybe it was just me.
Dilute it with distilled water and use several light coats rather than 1-2 full-strength coats. Might do the trick.
 
Mike Brines said:
Mitch
I had a very bad experience with aqua fortis, I am color blind to the changes that happen with each coat. I built a rifle along the lines of George Schreyer, it was red maple(probably the reason for the bad experience), I am pretty color blind, and could not see that the result, according to my wife was "green", and I panicked and flooded it with more stain. Now it won't stop reacting, even after many coats of baking soda, turns the brass black, and is ugly. I have decided to try and refinish it, it's a dream to shoot and would be a shame to put in the closet and forget.
That's my reasoning that I use Feibing's.
Mike - when it's green it means you have not heated it high enough to get it to blush. Instead of a torch or even a heat gun which has limited area coverage and can cause burns, try using a 1500W space heater on high and hold it close to the screen and move it along - you get more area heated and less chance of burns. IMO try re-blushing your stock to cook off any residual acid and then neutralize with the ammonia as noted by jd.

Keith - when it comes out too dark the mix is a bit too strong and/or too much exposure to UV. So dilute as Blackhand noted and use thin coats - in between blush well and neutralize with ammonia. Wahkon Bay, especially the newer stuff, tends to run "hot" so you can also add more iron as well as water to dilute. If you use the ferric nitrate crystals (BTW - the scientific name for aqua fortis and available from the Sciencecompany.com http://www.sciencecompany.com/Search.aspx?k=ferric+nitrate) it's even easier to control and netralize. Some folks have had better luck at mixing it with alcohol rather than water.
 
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Thanks, LaBonte, right now I have to heal, but when the doc says it's okay, I'll get back on my feet.
I hope we can meet someday.
 
I swear by the laurel mountain forge stains with the Chambers oil finish. For my next build ( a Jim Klein kit) I think I'm gonna try one of the Dangler stains.
 
I like the Jim Klein stains. If I want reddish tones, I skip the dark brown and do 2 coats of orange toner, and then a single coat of the red brown. If I want traditional brown I add a coat of the brown pigment after reddish brown.

One problem that I think that I've had with aqua fortis is that the acid seems to denature the surface of the wood. That is, it seems to make a fragile crust of stained wood that chips away with even light use. This leaves underlying unstained and unoiled wood exposed. This chipping seems to occur mostly around the pin holes and the lock mortise. The Dangler's Klein stains don't seem to predispose to the chipping. I have done the lye wash. After the first time that I used the stuff, I thought the stock got measles, but with finishing and rubbing the spots disappeared. Never could explain the spotting.

Lisle George

Lisle George
 
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