BS: Making Tobacco Stain

Subject: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Melissa
Date: 29 Jun 10 - 01:41 AM

When I made tobacco stain before, I think I used one plug and about a half-bottle of rubbing alcohol.
This time, I'm using whisky and fine cut chew.

Do you think one can of chew is enough for about 1.5cup of whisky? I want it to get a pretty dark shade fairly fast.

Thanks,
M

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Smokey.
Date: 29 Jun 10 - 01:56 AM

I find there's nothing quite like a good shag.

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Melissa
Date: 29 Jun 10 - 02:09 AM

I bet I would get all kinds of input if I had called the thread "Shag and 'Shine" and asked for proportion suggestions!

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: open mike
Date: 29 Jun 10 - 02:41 AM

why are you doing this? what are you staining?
when i google tobacco stain i only get "removal" links..

i did find this,though--staining wood with Walnut Husks...black walnut hulls ...leave a dark stain on the hands, so wear gloves when handling them.
(i once gathered several bushels of black walnuts in boxes in my wood shed. when i went to get them, the squirrels had taken them all away!)

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Melissa
Date: 29 Jun 10 - 02:45 AM

I'm stripping a guitar and staining it with tobacco.
When I did it before, I used it on pistol stock..and I really liked how it turned out.

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Micca
Date: 29 Jun 10 - 03:31 AM

Melissa, I suggest you use the minimum amount of alcohol and leave it to stand for a few days in a tightly lided jar (maybe a small Kilner) and then dilute the result if neccessary, otherwise if it is still too dilute heat some water in a pan, remove heat and stand your jar in the pan and evaporate some of the alcohol, AWAY FROM FLAMES AND NAKED LIGHTS!!!!
Also remember that the alchol will extract Nicotine from the tobacco which is Toxic and can be absorbed by the skin easily so USE GLOVES, Rubber kitchen gloves will do, but check for holes, Eye protection also while applying is a good idea. Dispose of All waste and residues carefully,including the gloves.
There is a wonderful piece of kit used by chemists called a SOXHLET extractor, (but I dont think you can get your hands on one) which solves this problem very neatly, but I digress,
Please take care, and remember Nicotine in the pure form is a major toxin, good luck
Micca

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Gurney
Date: 29 Jun 10 - 03:58 AM

AHAA! Now I realise! You are making a fake Martin, one of those little Cedar ones!

I have a pal with one. Would you like a photo of the label?


Proprietary spirit-based stain works well, and is readily available. English Walnut is about the darkest brown.

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Melissa
Date: 29 Jun 10 - 04:01 AM

I put it in a vodka bottle..figured it was best to use a bottle made to use alcohol so I wouldn't have to worry about it exploding.
The tobacco has grown to be about halfway up the liquid so I think one can is probably enough.

Gloves are definitely in order for application. Even without the nicotine, I wouldn't want to stain my fingers.

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Melissa
Date: 29 Jun 10 - 04:05 AM

I forgot all about the label, Gurney.
That will be a fun thing to design!

I suspect this little project will end up sounding better than my mother's small Martin.

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: frogprince
Date: 29 Jun 10 - 10:42 AM

Chew my tabacco, spit my juice;
would raise cane, but it ain't no use;
Oh, lordy me, didn't I shake sugaree;
Ev'ry thing I had is done in pawn.

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: open mike
Date: 29 Jun 10 - 09:15 PM

maybe just provide a spitoon in a place where chew is used....and gather the contents...then the solution would be pre-digested....yuck,,,

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Melissa
Date: 29 Jun 10 - 09:18 PM

or, maybe I ought to take up chewing and spit on the guitar to avoid the middlemen!

that's what I would need to do if I was doing a good old-style scrimshaw..

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Melissa
Date: 29 Jun 10 - 09:22 PM

I tried the stain on a couple places today. Nice color!
It's mighty pale. I was expecting to apply several coats, but now I'm thinking about adding that other can to the mix now so it can be soaking.

I even had a nostalgic moment when I caught a whiff of the whisky-tobacco. It reminded me of someone when I was little but I can't think who it was..apparently somebody I liked.

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Rapparee
Date: 29 Jun 10 - 10:09 PM

I use 1/8th teaspoon potassium permanganate to 1 pint of distilled water to make a solution for "old timey" staining of wood. Works GREAT on walnut and other dark woods and it will turn pine a golden color.

Once you have the wood the way to want it, apply the stain with 0000 steel wool and let 'er dry. If it's not dark enough repeat until it is. Then you MUST apply a coating of boiled linseed oil to seal it.

WARNING!!!

This stuff, which makes up to a purple stain, will stain dark brown ANYTHING organic: you, your clothing, various other people, etc. AND it is quite poisonous, if ingested for some reason drink LOTS of milk and call a poison control center (or just 911). It's also caustic and mixed with certain substances (nothing I've mentioned!) can produce a really neat flare.

Be careful. I have several ounces, myself.

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Melissa
Date: 29 Jun 10 - 10:16 PM

That sounds like a great mix, Rap.
I'm sticking with this concoction this time around..but where would a girl get some of that permanganate when other staining needs arise?

(It also sounds stinky. Is it?)

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: IvanB
Date: 29 Jun 10 - 10:47 PM

When I was a kid I had a rip-roaring case of athlete's foot - both feet ha blisters between all the toes and even some on the bottoms. I remember having to soak my feet in a potassium permanganate solution several hours a day and then my mother had to wrap my feet in cheesecloth soaked with the stuff for overnight. Don't remember how many days it took, but I do remember I had orange-brown feet and ankles for about a month afterward and I ended up with a bunch of orange-brown socks as well.

That was almost 60 years ago. Hopefully there's a better cure now.

I imagine you could get it at a pharmacy or a chemical supply. Don't think there's any particular restriction on it.

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: open mike
Date: 29 Jun 10 - 11:39 PM

i have heard that Absorbine Jr.linament is good for athletes foot.
Older jars used to say so on the label. they no longer make that claim.
perhaps due to some malpractice suit??

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Gurney
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 01:50 AM

A step back to guitar labels.
A guitar that I modified ended up with a label which said 'Lutomer Reisling, Produce of Yugoslavia.'

A surprising number of people commented that they didn't know the Dallies made guitars.

Dallies. NZ slang for Dalmatians. Not the dog, the people. Not normally regarded as insulting.

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Melissa
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 01:56 AM

my label might say something rude in lovely script

Ivan, your orange-brown feet sound like what we call NewMoc Foot (commercial tanned leather makes really ugly feet in wet weather)

I heard Absorbine Jr was good for sore fingertips from playing and that quilters sometimes used it for their fingers. It seemed to do just fine until I rubbed my eye! Not a good idea!

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Micca
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 07:11 AM

With reference to the use of Permanganate above, it is adding stain sure but it is also an oxidising agent and is acting on the fibre bundles in the grain and making them more visible, you can also use a dilute solution of Potassium Dichromate or Chromate which has a similar but less darkening effect. They (chromates)are especially effective on wood that has no,or very little grain figuring, it will selectively darken the bundles and make the grain more prominent, itdoes howeverr raise the grain becaaause it is waterbased so may need light rubbing down after it has dried.( I have used it to add some grain figuring effects to ash, which can be very featureless otherwise)
The method I used was to make a solution of Di or Chromate (1 g in 100 cm3 water) and apply lightly with a paper towel in the direction of the grain, leave for a few moments then mop off to dryness, reapply until the desired effect is achieved. rub down with 400grit emery just to restore grain, As the stain only penetrates a short distance into the wood, easy with the sanding.

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Rapparee
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 10:46 AM

No odor, Melissa. You might be able to get it at a compounding pharmacy or a definitely you could order it. A few ounces will last a lifetime.

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Melissa
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 11:14 AM

Rap,
If it's used for water purification (stinky well-water) do you think I might be able to get some at a small hometown lumberyard?
I'll be in town this afternoon but it will be late enough that I will probably only have time to stop at one place before things close. The other option is a small pharmacy (where the guy running it isn't local and likes to act like customers are dumb)

My tobacco stain doesn't offend me at all when I put it on..but when the alcohol is completely evaporated, it smells like a dirty old man and I'm not sure I'm overly fond of that.
I wouldn't mind having a Plan B on hand.

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: MarkS
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 03:40 PM

And just what is wrong with smelling like a dirty old man?

Mark

Who offically becomes old next month. Dirty? Depends on who you ask!

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Melissa
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 08:01 PM

If this first guitar in my Dirty Old Man series turns out decent, I'll call it a "Mark" in honor of your upcoming..

I've done a few layers and like the way it looks so far.

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: frogprince
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 08:25 PM

After all this, we better get pictures of how it turns out!

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Melissa
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 08:29 PM

I think pictures would be a good idea!
When I was staining, I wished I had taken a couple 'before' shots for comparison..

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: frogprince
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 08:37 PM

Can you get images from the site or catalog you ordered from that are clear enough to serve as a credible "before"?

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Melissa
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 08:48 PM

my niece has a twin to the one I stripped..so I can take a picture of that one. Too bad I didn't think to get one while it was naked.

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: frogprince
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 09:07 PM

Wish I could think of which one of our good "regional" female performers it was who brought one dirt cheap old guitar, I think with a "Sears" label, and played it some, a few months back. The thing made a cigar box guitar look like a Grit Laskin instrument.
But it sounded...as cheap as it looked. I also sorta wish I could remember what songs she picked that she made work with it.

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: MarkS
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 10:28 PM

Melissa

You got a deal! Cannot think of a better way to celebrate
my upcoming 65th. Just post a photo of you with it on the Cat
so we can all celebrate!
Mark

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Melissa
Date: 30 Jun 10 - 11:04 PM

One of my old fiddlers had a ratty, cheap old guitar that he decided to play for a while instead of his good one. It's fun to bring those things out from under the bed upon occasion.

I intend to be done staining within a couple days and get a layer or two of oil on to seal it by the end of the weekend. Guess I better start thinking about finding a camera before long!

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Rapparee
Date: 01 Jul 10 - 10:27 AM

I took up guitar but my teacher lied to me. He said, "It's easy, don't fret" but I found out I had to fret so I quit. Didn't like being fibbed to, especially when I found that there were strings attached.

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Melissa
Date: 01 Jul 10 - 09:30 PM

That's a terrible story, Rap.
With an experience like that, it's a wonder you didn't grow up weird!


I've used the liquid that was deep enough to sit above the tobacco in the bottle. The stuff I'm using now seems sort of thick..almost a thin syrup.
The yellow color seems to have been part of the top liquid.
Now I'm staining a lovely shade of brown and the nut is almost the color of a nice tobacco tooth. The saddle is spending the night wrapped in my stain-smearer so it can catch up.

This browner shade doesn't seem to be as sticky while it's drying.

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: GUEST,Jim Dixon
Date: 02 Jul 10 - 12:52 PM

I remember the Furniture Guys did a demonstration on their TV show of how to make and use a stain made from chewing tobacco. However, I can't find anything on their web site about it.

As I recall, they used water, not alcohol. Basically, put the tobacco in water and boil it. I can't remember any more details than that.

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Melissa
Date: 02 Jul 10 - 02:29 PM

I bet I'll use tobacco stain again sometime..it's easy to make and apply. Maybe I'll try boiling it to see if it does anything different to the color!

I wondered about using water this time but was kind of timid about trying anything that might raise grain and leave me with a bunch of splinters to sand back down.

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: frogprince
Date: 02 Jul 10 - 03:06 PM

The guitar has been drinking,The guitar has been drinking,The guitar has been drinking,... not me....

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Melissa
Date: 02 Jul 10 - 03:30 PM

yeah..the guitar, not me..dang it!

Too bad I don't know that one well enough to add it to the string of songs I'm planning to celebrate The Restringing.

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Ed T
Date: 02 Jul 10 - 03:41 PM

When I think of tobacco stains,(though a wonder from the thread topic), I think of Sir Walter Raleigh (who introduced tobacco to the western world). Below is a site with an interesting account of his lfe and death, for those interested in this type of historic account:


http://sniggle.net/Experiment/index.php?entry=raleigh

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Melissa
Date: 02 Jul 10 - 07:39 PM

"We are apt to think there is a kind of virtue which need not be heroic and brave — but in fact virtue is the deed of the bravest; and only the hardy souls venture upon it, for it deals in what we have no experience, and alone does the rude pioneer work of the world."
(from EdT's link)

I have been listening to a thing about Elizabeth I in the car lately..good timing, Ed. Thanks!

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 02 Jul 10 - 08:29 PM

Making tobacco stain?

Why would you want to stain your tobacco?

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: frogprince
Date: 08 Jul 10 - 10:33 AM

One day I looked up and she's pushin' thirty;
she's got brown tobacco stains on her guitar...

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Melissa
Date: 08 Jul 10 - 04:06 PM

UncleDave,
..long story. It basically boils down to 'keeping up with the joneses'..they always buy expensive, dark tobacco. All I can afford is the pale varieties. Naturally, I'd do anything to keep from drawing attention to myself for not being jonesed-up enough..and tobacco is the first thing people look at when judging others (or something like that)

fp,
The tobacco verse of Shake Sugaree was the first thing I sang/played when I got restrung. Now you've got me wanting to sing all kinds of tobacco-y things!

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 08 Jul 10 - 05:19 PM

Coffee and Tea can also be used for staining wood.

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: frogprince
Date: 08 Jul 10 - 07:17 PM

It would take pretty stout tea to darken wood much, though; I used tea to "antique" the paper for a couple of copies of this awhile back.

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Melissa
Date: 08 Jul 10 - 07:48 PM

I used tea to make the tuners look slightly filthy and to dull the whiteness around the edge of my truss-cover thing. It did a good job on the screws and tuner plates too.

I blotted some of the tea around inside to make it not look so much like new wood and am pleased with that.

Tea can stain the hell out of white plastic glasses..and coffee puts a pretty good ugly mark inside cups. Both work well as tooth stains!

Quilters and some re-enactors use tea on white fabric to 'age' it.
My next guitar will have a tea stain.

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 08 Jul 10 - 08:34 PM

For fear of staining her brilliant white teeth, my Beautiful Wife refuses to drink either coffee or tea except through a straw!

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: frogprince
Date: 08 Jul 10 - 08:44 PM

Now that I think of it; when we got married, my wife's gown was ivory rather than clear white. We got ivory-or-something dress shirts for the men of the wedding party. Couldn't find anything to match for our nephew the ring bearer, so we tea-dyed a white shirt for him that came out about right.

Subject: RE: BS: Making Tobacco Stain
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 09 Jul 10 - 12:52 PM

On the subject of home chemistry ...

My dad, for several years, made a habit of making his own hair tonic by adding a small can of cayenne pepper to about a quart of vodka. After steeping for a week or two the decanted liquid had a color quite similar to that of cheap whiskey.

As the most convenient container for keeping it in the bathroom cabinet was a pint whiskey bottle, his visiting friends occasionally made the near-lethal error of "sneaking a nip" when they mistook the bottle for the more ordinary sort of "stash." It didn't happen too many times, as nobody ever did it twice and he didn't have all that many friends that mom allowed in the house; but the results were quite spectacular when it did.

There was some evidence that his "tonic" did have some slight effect on his hair, although I'd judge the results to be inconclusive. It did have the beneficial side effect of curing his little dog's compulsive habit of licking his (dad's) ears.

Any positive effect from his "hair tonic" was probably due to his work in metal trades, where the air is fairly constantly filled with lots of aerosols of oils, greases, and such. His occasional "shampoo" was straight kerosene, which did have a visible and confirmable effect on hair retention - if not on growth, probably just by getting the mineral oils out.

I have no idea what kind of wood stain cayenne pepper might make, but it might not be a good idea on a guitar since, in the opinion of the dog, "it ain't suitable for any kind of licks;" but if you want really hot licks ... maybe ...

John