What does ammonia do to wood?

What does ammonia do to wood?

The ammonia reacts with the tannins in the wood, and darkens the wood. White oak is the wood of choice for ammonia fuming because this wood has a particularly high tannin content. Quartersawn white oak in particular works nice because ammonia fuming brings out the figure and “ray flecks”.

How long does it take to fume oak?

Typical schedules go from 12 hours (a very light fuming) to 72 hours (rather dark). Test scraps first. “The temperature in the chamber not only affects speed of fuming, but also color. The hotter the chamber, the more reds it brings out.

Is the ammonia?

Ammonia, also known as NH3, is a colorless gas with a distinct odor composed of nitrogen and hydrogen atoms. It is produced naturally in the human body and in nature—in water, soil and air, even in tiny bacteria molecules. In human health, ammonia and the ammonium ion are vital components of metabolic processes.

What should you not use ammonia on?

Never mix ammonia with bleach or any product containing chlorine. The combination produces toxic fumes that can be deadly. Work in a well-ventilated space and avoid inhailing the vapours. Wear rubber gloves and avoid getting ammonia on your skin or in your eyes.

Can I use ammonia to clean wood?

Don’t use ammonia cleaners or oil soaps on a wood floor — they’ll dull the finish and affect your ability to recoat later.. Don’t wet mop or use excessive water to clean your floor (wood naturally expands when it’s wet and can cause your floor to crack or splinter).

Can ammonia be used on wood?

Can I make oak furniture darker?

To darken the wood without altering it drastically, choose a darker version of the existing color; for example, add depth to light walnut with polyurethane tinted with dark walnut. Dip a tapered paintbrush in the polyurethane and apply a thin coat on the furniture until the brush runs dry.

Can you fume Beech?

Ammonia fuming is a practical alternative to staining – provided you are working with oak, beech, cherry or butternut. In this process, the fumes given off by aqueous ammonia do all the work for you; they react with the naturally occurring tannic acid in the wood to darken it.

Can smelling ammonia hurt you?

At higher concentrations ammonia can be harmful. The most common health effect is irritation to the eyes, nose or throat. Inhalation of ammonia can also cause nose and throat irritation. People can smell the pungent odor of ammonia in air at about 5 parts of ammonia in a million parts of air (ppm).

What kind of wood has ammonia in it?

Ammonia fumes react with tannin, so only woods that contain tannin, like oak, walnut, cherry and mahogany, will darken when fumed. You create ammonia fumes by exposing strong ammonium hydroxide to the air.

What happens when you stain wood with ammonia?

The fuming process is a chemical stain: we apply a chemical that reacts with something already in wood to create a dye right in the wood itself. Ammonia fumes react with tannin, so only woods that contain tannin, like oak, walnut, cherry and mahogany, will darken when fumed. You create ammonia fumes by exposing strong ammonium hydroxide to the air.

What kind of wood is best for fuming?

Fuming turns heartwood, which contains a lot of tannin, dark brown — but sapwood, low in tannin, stays light. To color the sapwood, brush it, before fuming, with a tannic acid solution or strong, brewed tea, which contains tannin.

Can you use ammonium hydroxide to clean wood?

Household cleaning ammonia is too weak to be of much use; it is only a 5% solution. Instead, use 28% ammonium hydroxide, once commonly used in blueprint machines and still available from chemical supply companies. Sand the wood before fuming. The color does not go that deep, so sanding afterwards can result in uneven coloration.