Dying bamboo with Vinegar & Steel Wool

[Msturm]

Has anyone experimented with Vinegar and Steel Wool dye for bamboo backings?  

If so how did it go?  I have a bunch of scrap Bamboo and a BBHickory almost ready.  

I tried some of the dye on a Hickory axe handle and it looks great.


If no one has it I will start with the experimenting in the next couple days after my dye is done "cooking"

Thanks.

Sturm

[Pat B]

You will have to remove the rind to get good coverage. Do some tests on scraps first.

[halfseminole]

As I understand, it reacts with tannins in the wood, and bamboo has no tannins.  I'd love to be proven wrong-I love the vinegar/steel wool look.

[LittleBen]

You can use strong tea to add tannins before applying iron acetate (vinegr and steel wool)

[Troy D. Breeding]

Yep, add in a strong tea and it should work. I've used the vinegar and steel wool on furniture and it's outstanding.

[Eric Krewson]

I have used agufortis on curly maple, you have to blush it with heat to get the total effect. Vinegar and steel wool is the same in a milder form.

You are supposed to degrease the steel wool to keep any oils out of your mix.

[WESTBROOK]

Aquafortis should be neutralized with baking soda before before putting the finish over it or in time it will turn the maple black...same with the vinegar?

[Sam Harper]

I've never heard of it.  I sure would like to see some pictures, though.

[Eric Krewson]

OK, not bow wood but you can get the idea. Aqufortis makes the grain really "pop".

The wood on the left has been coated with aqufortis and has turned green. The wood on the right has been blushed with a heat gun after having aqufortis applied and let dry. Looks like mud but wait........

     

Apply a little finish and "BAM", the curl pops out at you.

     

You do have to neutralize the aqufortis after blushing, I use a dilute lye solution.

One more thing; Aqufortis reacts differently on different woods and may turn your wood from tan to black and anything in between, a test strip is a necessity. I did a test on osage and it turned the wood black. If your wood comes out too dark you can rub it back with steel wool to a desired color.

   

[Sam Harper]

Pretty cool.

[KenH]

As mentioned above, I do not think staining will work on bamboo -- the rind needs to stay, and is pretty impervious to most liquids (one reason for using bamboo).

[George Tsoukalas]

Aquafortis is nitric acid. Pretty dangerous stuff.
Jawge

[Eric Krewson]

Aqufortis is dilute nitric acid with iron dissolved in it until it won't dissolve any more at which point the acid looses most of its acidity.

The fumes that are given off during this reaction are very bad stuff. This stuff must be made outdoors.

You can buy ready made aqufortis from most M/L builders supply companies.

You can also buy ferric nitrate crystals, mix them with water and get exactly the same reaction on wood without any acid being involved.

[LittleBen]

Tempting to try making some using red wine vinegar and steel wool, and see if it keeps any of that redness. Pretty sure red wine also has high tannin content, so maybe that would help the reaction for low tannin woods.

[M60gunner]

I stumbled on this thread thinking about coloring bamboo. I am confused, do you remove the enamel (rind) before applying finish? If not, why not? The enamel (rind) is not perfect and could moisture in.
I have used regular wood stain on bamboo fly rods. Of course I removed the enamel during the planing process.

[Msturm]

I ended up trying the steel wool and vinegar mixture on a couple pieces of scrap bamboo. It makes no color change. Adding a heavy tea letting it dry and then adding the steel wool and vinegar added a little grey.

I decided to abandon the idea. I used rubbing alcohol and rit cloth dye. It worked amazing. buffed the area between the nodes with 0000 steel wool to lighten it up. Coated it after drying Using Matte Daft. leather grip is a GoodWill purse 2$!!

Here is the finished project:
   

   
   
   

This was a Rudder Bow U-finish long bow 55# at 28in. All rind was removed.

[Roy from Pa]

Very nice, I use alcohol aniline dye, works great.

 http://woodworker.com/alcohol-soluble-brt-yellow-golden-oak-aniline-dye-mssu-845-541.asp?search=aniline  dye&searchmode=2

[Eric Krewson]

Medium brown leather dye works well.

 

[bigbob2]

Like the look of them all.

[Troy D. Breeding]

Me likes,,, Me likes,,, All of dem!!!!