enhancing the wood grain on the butt of a cue

SKUNKBOY said:
Some of the3 classic gun makers...those guys that make those beautiful Flint Lock Muzzle Loaders...us a chamical called Aquapherous (sp). It is a form of watered down acid that reacts slightly differently to the grains of the curly and birdseye maple. In the curly maple, the curl comes from the different desities in the grain. The acid (or stains for that matter) absorb more in the more opened grain. I believe they apply a little heat to make a better contrast between the two grains too. After they have reached the appearance they desire, they need to neutralize the acid with something else...maybe baking soda.

Some of those guns looks great and this might be a great process for cues as well I think. Just a thought.

L8R...Ken
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I've done this to. It involves soaking a batch of rusted cut nails, Stamped iron made from the early 1800's to about 1875, in cider vinegar. After a few weeks you would brush this ferrous (Iron) solution onto the wood. It would soak more into the end grain, the dark stripes, and increase the contrast between the stripes. The wood was dried including using flames,then smoothed and an oil finish was applied. It is dramatic, distinctive and unsuited to cues as way too much water is involved and it is hard to control.

A similar look can be achieved with the right alcohol based stains where you soak the wood, burn off the alcohol, sand the surface and repeat a few times, then as a final color coat, use a different colored stain and finish with clear coat. This is something I really, really, don't recommend trying and one where you absolutely cannot ever sand through the finish to the stain. A somewhat similar look can be achieved using dye stains without the flames apply the oil finish then clear coat everything.

There is no surefire, easy, quick, cheap way to do this and if a spot of the dye bleeds into someplace where it shouldn't, you're screwed.
 
Yeah Paul...I never said it was easy. The aquaferrous is a product you can purchase but I'm sure it's the same product that you've described. And yes, it is a water based liquid ('aqua' refers to water and 'ferrous refers to metal).

Thanks for the warning though. I have never tried it myself, I have a few custom Flint Lock rifles that have been built by others and they are no doubt finished this way. Beautiful finish.

L8R...Ken
 
Watco is the same brand my woodworking guru has used for ages. He's heard people brag about their own stain recipe and laughed because it was the same stuff in Watco.
 
I ve used this method before but only with water bourne finished but it sure makes maple and non non oily woods pop it was from Bob Flynn Prepare your cue:
Sand down to 400 grit. If you want to POP the grain use my secret oil mixture. 1/3 boiled linseed oil, 1/3 tung oil and 1/3 spar varnish. Wipe it on
and rub it in like French polish until you are satisfied. If necessary smooth out with 000 or 0000 steel wool, with the grain. You can skip the secret sauce oil if the cue does not need POPPING, like ebony.
I have also used orange dye from woodcrafters on BEM put on lightly and sand it off
 
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