Advice on iron / vinegar stain

[markturner]

Hi, I am trying to make this, have used fine steel wool and distilled white ( or clear) malt vinegar, and it has been sitting there for 5 days now and is still clear, no hint of a dark colour.

I have obviously done something wrong ( type of vinegar perhaps? - i could not see "white vinegar" in the shop) but not sure what. Can someone enlighten me?

cheers, Mark

 

[MIGNAL]

Have you tried the solution on a piece of wood?
It's the reaction of the iron acetate solution with the tannin content of the wood, it's not a coloured dye or stain. Oak and Black Walnut are just two woods that should react well.

 

[markturner]

I have tried it on the beech infill of an old plane I am restoring, but it does not seem to have made much difference yet....

 

[MIGNAL]

Not sure about beech. Depends on it's tannin content. If it doesn't work on Oak or Walnut there is something amiss. Retry with real Vinegar (white or brown) and any rusty iron.

 

[coille]

it should work best with 0000 steel wool and vinegar, but it definitely needs the 3rd ingredient, tannin, to work, which is in only certain woods, most notably oak, so it only goes dark shortly after applying the liquid mix to the wood. Cherry, chestnut, walnut, mahogany and oak are high in tannin, white woods like beech are low so you wont get much happening. If you are determined to get the result on beech with this stain you could apply tannic acid to the beech first. You could also try putting a lump of oak into the mix and then your pot of stain should go black, and the longer you leave it the darker. Not sure what the results would then be applying it to beech but no harm in experimenting. nb also the strongest tannin is in green (unseasoned) oak rather than dried.

 

[markturner]

ok thanks for the advice, I have used a stain someone else mixed for me, but, the advice was very useful.. so much to learn,. cheers,mark