Blue Print Shop Ammonia
- Thread starter barkcinnamon
- Start date
It hasn't been a secret since the mid 14th century. With the right concentration of ammonia you can even fume the wood through a shellac finish.
In the early part of the 20th century, a newly redecorated bank building in France was finished in oak and looked great except for the fact that the color was wrong. It was too light and the grand reopening was set for three days later. Fortunately an apprentice wood finisher figured a way to do the job by himself in less than 2 days. He sealed off every opening, every window and every crack he could find then placed a bunch of shallow pans of strong ammonia throughout the building, went out the front door and came back in the morning. The trick worked and the owners were happy. The story can be found in the book "Adventures in wood finishing ,......" by George Frank.
Fuming has been around for centuries but it works only on woods with high tannic acid content and has been replaced with tinted finishes and formica.
Ammonia fumes also discolor brass while immersion in ammonia cleans the same metal.
That's the old recipie for Kentucky rifle stocks. Soak rusty cut nails, the type they used before wire nails, in apple vinegar for between a week and a month then brush brush the solution onto the tiger maple until you get the color you want. Let it dry for days then oil the stock.
Enough time must be allowed for the wood to stabilize and the rifle will have to be rebedded into the wood.
I've tried it and decided that there are stains available that look better with a lot less work and no water.
Potassium permanganate will also color a lot of woods including maple but the color is not very deep and subject to fading after time and UV exposure.
Enough time must be allowed for the wood to stabilize and the rifle will have to be rebedded into the wood.
I've tried it and decided that there are stains available that look better with a lot less work and no water.
Potassium permanganate will also color a lot of woods including maple but the color is not very deep and subject to fading after time and UV exposure.
Aqua fortis comes pre made....lots of ways to do it in any case.
