Acidity of vinegaroon vs AQUAFORTIS

I don't know much about vinegaroon other than it's vinegar and steel wool solution used for dyeing leather and stain wood. But AQUAFORTIS is basically nitric acid with iron added to help stain figured wood. So I would think it stronger than any solution with Vinegar.

What is it that you are trying to do?
 
What is it that you are trying to do?
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Wood. Color, stain, bring out the grain and figure of hickory and curly maple wood

I'll add : vinegaroon looses most of the acidity.

Does a good reaction with the wood, like curly maple, need the solution to be fairly acidic to best display all figure ?
 
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Then definitely use Aquafortis, it will bring out the figure better than any product out there IMHO. It is a bit harder to use but the results are worth it, also it is a bit more dangerous than any vinegar solution so make sure you use safety precautions.
 
Dopic1 is right. I originally made a batch of vinegaroon to bring out chatoyance in woods, and found that it did work, but always discolored the wood no matter what I did. I borrowed some Aquafortis from a friend (it was from track of the wolf) and tried it. It turns maple a little orange, but it was better than the vinegaroon and brought out good shine. The Aquafortis is nitric acid and some powerful stuff compared to vinegaroon. That's in my experience at least, hope that helps answer your question.

On a side note, now I use vinegaroon instead of black leather dye, it turns leather solid black instantly and doesnt rub off since its a chemical reaction, you just have to make sure you neutralize it or the acid will corrode the leather and it will stink.
 
I use vinegaroon to die leather black for the same reason as lessismore. Solid black, doesn't rub off, easy to use, no mess....just dip the leather in. Neutralizing is easy too...dip the vinegarooned leather into a bath of baking soda and water. Leave it there for about a minute. Let it dry...its done.

I've noticed that the vinegaroon turns the plywood bench top blackish when it gets on it, but I never thought of using it to bring out the grain and contrast.
 
I think I'll get some of that Aquafortis like track the wolf sells

I've never used the vinegaroon on any projects just scrap wood to see what it does. Ive seen pictures of other people that used it.

Mostly wanted to blacken the grain, which ive used bone black for on rifle stocks. You use bone black mixed with a oil finish and then after it drys you sand it back so only black in grain is left.

Ive used Laurel Mtn Forge's stains and like them on wood, Cherry, maple, and honey maple, I might get their ebony stain to blacken grain because bone black powder is messy
 
Just be aware that aqua-fortis is a professional chemical and can do seroius damage to whatever it touches ... especially skin and eyes.
 
I love using aqua fortis. It's basically nitric acid. I've done a couple rifle sticks with it and several knives. Be aware- it will continue to darken over time if you don't neutralize it!
 
It will stain bare skin yellow/brown and it can't be reversed. It is a reaction between the amino acids in your skin and the nitric acid. The result is a permanent yellow pigment in your skin. It will wear away in a few weeks as the epidermal cells replace themselves, and the old skin sloughs off .... but can't be washed away.
 
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