Dark stain

[Eric S Campbell]

I need  very dark brown stain for my gun. I want it so brown that it is alt black. How can I do this?

[Mitch]

get a quart of Benjamin Moore stain #234 66, have the paint store add 0 x 4 of Black tint (#23311) and shake well....this will give you a good dark almost black stain, it's a penetrating stain, so lay it on, let it sit and wipe...repeat until you get the color you desire...hope this helps,Mitch

[Wyoming Mike]

Potassium Permanganate with do the job.  When disolved in water the solution is purple but gives a dark brown, almost black, stain on the wood.  Wear gloves when you put it on because it will do the same thing to your fingers.

[Captchee]

myself , im not much into oil stains . i find that alcohol based work much better.
Fliebings  makes a  black and a dark chocolate brown .
 Mixed together  you would have a very dark  black brown .
 But remember eric that as you oil the stock , she is going to darken even more . Especially with linseed oil
 Now if your looking for an original  stain , ill look it up tonight . Im sure I have a black / very dark brown in my notes

[Stryker]

I used this tobacco stain with success. Depending on how dark you want to may want a second coat, but I stained my first 2 rifles with it. And Captchee right, oiling the stock will darken the wood more. But the recipe is

1 pouch loose leaf tobacco into a quart jar.
2 cups boiling water and let sit a couple of days. then add 2 cups ammonia and let sit another week.

Got this from Grandpa, it's what he used to stain furniture.

[Eric S Campbell]

Thans ys for yur help. Alot of good Ideas. I was also considering mixing the two leather stains. Capt. that would be great if you could look up an original stain! Thanks guys!

[Mike R]

The old fashioned way is to use aqua fortis and heat--if you do not neutralize after application, but instead apply artist quality linseed oil [a dab at a time] it will turn a pretty black. The initial darkness is controlled by the amount of heat applied--I used a blow torch and feathered the stock after acid application.

[Mike R]

the photo shows in foreground a rifle I built with nitric acid stain [aqua fortis]--it was darker but I recently lightened it with 0000 steel wool.

[Longhunter]

Sufferin suckatash !...  you got some purrdy guns there Mike

[Mike R]

Thanks.  The foreground rifle is a .45 I made years ago with a Green River barrel, old Cochran lock and a pretty nice piece of maple.  I kept it 'cause it is my most accurate rifle, even though caplocks are sorta out of style these days. The rear rifle is a .54 made by Larry Curnow modeled after a ca.1770 Peter Resor--44" Rice barrel and Chambers lock--nice wood too but note the difference in color with the modern stain vs my old aqua fortas...

[Hank in WV]

Gotta agree with Longhunter. Some fine lookin pieces there Mike.

[Captchee]

nice job Mike .

 the thing with AQF is that what it does depends so much on the wood itself .
 i also think that today  to many folks  have come to the opinion that it was the only thing used . When in fact it was not .
 A book that I would highly recommend  and IMO is a must for any builder, gunsmith or  person interested in research , would be
Gunstock: Finish and care  By A. Donald Newell
 I believ this was first printed around 1900 . But my copy states a copy write of 1949
 It covers everything from  woods to oils  finishes , you name it .
 It also covers stains , dye’s , fillers , oils and the characteristics of each . Some 470 pages of info

 Under  water stains----aniline and coal tar dyes  he writes the following formulas
YELLOW
 Tartrazine Conc
Mentanil Yellow Conc
ORANGE
Orange II Conc
Chrysoidine GN
ORANGE BROWN
Resorcin brown 5G conc 200%
BROWN
Resorcin brown 3R 100%
RED
Scarlet NS conc
Potacyl Carmine 2G con. 150%
Potacyl rubine exstra conc.125%
BLUE
Pontacyl Fast Violet 10B conc. 175%
 Anthraquinone Blue swf conc.150%
Pontamine fast Turquoise conc.150 5
 Green
Naphthol Green B exstra Conc. 125%
BLACK
Pontacyl Blue Black SX
Nigrosine wsb conc,Powder
Pontamine black E double

 There are over 100 pages on stains and dyes alone .
 Here is what he says for a black stock stain under the section titled
EARLY GUNSTOCK FINISHES  .
  For black he lists
Logwood =  ½ pound
 Water = 3 pints
Cream of tarter =½ ounce

Steep the logwood in water(boiling) untell the water is a dark red color . then add cream of tarter. Apply the hot solution to the wood and let dry. Repeat . Then set the stock aside to dry. Now boil 1 pound of logwood in a gallon of water and add a pint of vinegar. Apply hot to the already stained wood with a brush. When dry , rub off all the loose mater

BROWN STAIN #7
Potassium permanganate===2 grams
Water == 2 pints
 Heat water until the permanganate is dissolved . While hot brush the solution over the stock and allow to dry. If the color is not yet deep enough apply another coat . this stain will suited for coloring maple brown

BROWN STAIN #8

 Nitric acid 9S.G.I.42) ===1 ½ oz
Iron Filings ===1 ½ oz
 Heat the acid until the filings are dissolved.
 Rub this solution on the wood with a rag (Take care that you do not  get any on you hands) .Allow to dry. If not deep enough, repeat.

 Anyway , very valuable book , chalked full of old  gun finish formulas and knowledge

[BEAVERMAN]

One thing to consider about using fiebings leather dye with wood, Ive experienced that it likes to bleach out and lighten dramatically in the sun, the UV rays paly havoc on them, seen this on figured knife handles that were finished with linseed oil

[Captchee]

One thing to consider about using fiebings leather dye with wood, Ive experienced that it likes to bleach out and lighten dramatically in the sun, the UV rays paly havoc on them, seen this on figured knife handles that were finished with linseed oil

 this is becouse linseed oil is  not a sealer jim .
linseed only seals about 10% .  so it lets,  not only UV but also mouisture into the wood .
 toung oil seals at about 90% . if you use toung over the linseed , im betting you will not see any fading once dried .
Infact i have used Fiebings for years  with  toung oil finishes and have not seen any  faiding at all . in fact  really if anything , it gets darker  from use

Fiebings is an alcohol dye . . As such the alcohol dries out rather fast .  You have to keep it wet .
It doesn’t penetrate as deep as a water or oil . But I find that if put on before the linseed oil , the linseed will carry  it little deeper

[BEAVERMAN]

Thanks for the tip Cap!