Suggested Cherry stain for a brass Model T firewall?

[NealW]

I am restoring a 1914 T that will be getting a new firewall. When I restored our 1911 Touring, I used Laurel Mountain Forge antique cherry stain, based on recommendations on the forum site. It really is a good match for the original stain Ford used, when comparing it to the portions of the firewall that had been hidden for over 100 years.

This weekend I looked to buy another bottle of LMF cherry stain, but the few online places that carried the stain show that it is out of stock. I have sent a message to LMF to see if or when it is still available, but in case it is not, does anyone have another stain recommendation? As can be seen in the picture pasted below, the stain is quite red, as the firewall is in the areas that had been hidden from view.

Thanks,

Neal

[love2T's]

Well naturally their website is down for maintenance.
But, did you try calling them? Not sure how the same number works for both phone/fax but here it is anyway if you don't have it.
I'd call em!

phone/fax: (219) 548-2950

[Rich P. Bingham]

. . . I have sent a message to LMF to see if or when it is still available, but in case it is not, does anyone have another stain recommendation? . . .

A restoration tip from the HCCA in the 1950s recommended making your own stain using artist’s oil paint. Alizarin Crimson tube paint diluted to a working consistency with a 50/50 mixture of spar varnish and boiled linseed oil. I used this mixture to “refresh” the failing dash on my ‘13 when I first got it, and the color on cherry wood is very acceptable.

One caveat, if you go this route, be sure you buy a professional grade of paint, full bodied pigment in linseed oil. Student grade colors are extended with fillers, and beware of “oil” paint that “cleans up with water”. Walnut oil or safflower oil yields weak paint films.

[NealW]

Well naturally their website is down for maintenance.
But, did you try calling them? Not sure how the same number works for both phone/fax but here it is anyway if you don't have it.
I'd call em!

phone/fax: (219) 548-2950

I tried calling them and no one answered the phone, and no way to leave a message...

[ThreePedalTapDancer]

I read on another rifle stock refinishing forum that the website and business Laurel Mountain Forge has been shuttered since April, because the owners wife passed away. The son was rumored to have an interest of taking over, but it doesn’t seem likely at this point. The various custom stains were prized by the rifle community, and all sources have dried up and no inventory appears to be returning to the retailers either.

[love2T's]

Well naturally their website is down for maintenance.
But, did you try calling them? Not sure how the same number works for both phone/fax but here it is anyway if you don't have it.
I'd call em!

phone/fax: (219) 548-2950

I tried calling them and no one answered the phone, and no way to leave a message...

Well that sucks! Sorry to hear that, keep trying? Maybe they closed up for vacation while their website is being re-worked?
It's a great product and the closest to original you can get, so I'm very supportive of their product. Good luck!

[love2T's]

I read on another rifle stock refinishing forum that the website and business Laurel Mountain Forge has been shuttered since April, because the owners wife passed away. The son was rumored to have an interest of taking over, but it doesn’t seem likely at this point. The various custom stains were prized by the rifle community, and all sources have dried up and no inventory appears to be returning to the retailers either.

Oh crap, I should've read THIS before posting my reply to a PM to the OP. Wow, how many times does this happen in a family business eh? Such a shame. What I wouldn't have given back when I was younger to have a business dropped in my lap. These young'uns just got no sense, ambition, or both. Again, what a shame.

[Daisy Mae]

. . . I have sent a message to LMF to see if or when it is still available, but in case it is not, does anyone have another stain recommendation? . . .

A restoration tip from the HCCA in the 1950s recommended making your own stain using artist’s oil paint. Alizarin Crimson tube paint diluted to a working consistency with a 50/50 mixture of spar varnish and boiled linseed oil. I used this mixture to “refresh” the failing dash on my ‘13 when I first got it, and the color on cherry wood is very acceptable.

One caveat, if you go this route, be sure you buy a professional grade of paint, full bodied pigment in linseed oil. Student grade colors are extended with fillers, and beware of “oil” paint that “cleans up with water”. Walnut oil or safflower oil yields weak paint films.

Just another add on to this.
As stated above, when using this recipe it is critical to use a high dollar professional grade tube of paint. Your cheaper artist grade tubes are not only laden with extra crap like fillers and dryers, but the pigments themselves may be cheaper grade. This affects light sensitivity, where colors can quickly degrade with exposure to sunlight. A professional grade will not only have better quality and concentration of pigment, but will also have much greater light rating (eg resistance to fading).
An example being Michael Harding brand, at $100+/tube being a MUCH better investment than a $20 Hobby Lobby artist grade tube. Don't cheap out on the paint to make this stain.

[Dodge]

I am looking at General Finishes brand stains, they have a couple that look promising. I also have an early dash to stain.

[NealW]

For those that have never seen what the original Ford stain looked like, here is a closeup of the area behind the coil box on the 1914 firewall that I am replacing. Also shown is the red cherry stain from the replica 1959 Les Paul guitar with the flaming cherry paint that I built two years ago. It is a transparent stain that actually matches surprisingly well!

It's a lot easier painting a Model T than doing that paint job...

[Art Ebeling]

This is a stain made by using one part Windsor & Newton artist oil color and 20 parts mineral spirits. I am just finishing my 1914 firewall and used it on my 1911 seven years ago and it still looks great. It took three coats of stain to get the color I wanted followed by three coats of spar varnish. It takes several days for each coat of the stain to dry or else the next coat thins the previous coat. Art

[babychadwick]

Is the wood cherry?

I'm currently building a cherry stocked 17th century flintlock, to get the figure in cherry lye is used. A simple diluted solution is found in oven cleaner. Initially the wood is near white and darkens rapidly showing the grain and making figure pop better than any stain.

[jiminbartow]

Here is a helpful thread from 2018 about wood finishing: Www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/822076/86 ... 1527252732

[Rich P. Bingham]

. . . to get the figure in cherry lye is used . . .

Interesting ! Not knowing this, I made a soap mold from cherry. When the soap was poured in, the mold bled brilliant red - looked like we had butchered a hog !

[NealW]

Last September I asked for some suggestions for cherry stain for the firewall, since Laurel Mountain Forge stain was not available at that time, and when it would be available again also unknown. Last week I checked another muzzle loading supply house and the situation has not changed, so it was time to go with my plan B.

Rich Bingham mentioned an old HCCA article that provided the stain "recipe" that included using Alizarin Crimson artist paint, combined with linseed oil and turpentine. I got some artist grade Alizarin Crimson from Michaels, but was not going to go the linseed route. Here are the steps that I used, and a picture of the result.

1) I used the old firewall as a drill template for the holes needed for the side lamps, windshield brackets, and attach points to the body. The firewall does come drilled for the chassis brackets. This way any splintering would not happen in the finished firewall.

I also added the slot cut in the hole for the steering column. I noticed that this was done on the firewall that I removed, and after some research found out that Ford did this on the 1913 and 1914 firewalls. It is nice to have that because I did used the slot when removing the column and did not drill out the rivets for the little arm for the timer rod.

2) I mixed 1/2 a tube of the paint with 4 ounces of mineral spirits and used it as a "stain". It soaked into the new firewall from Snyders reasonably well, but not as well as the Laurel Mountain Forge stain that I used on our 1911 firewall. I repeated the process until the mixture was out.

3) I mixed the last 1/2 of the tube of paint with 4 ounces of Minwax "tung oil". This product is a mixture of tung oil and varnish that appears to be thinned some. I followed the Minwax instructions of brushing it on, waiting 5 minutes, and wiping the excess off. After drying for about 24 hours between coats, I repeated this process until the mixture was out and then did one last application of Minwax without paint. The successive coats of this "wiping finish" approach results in a very nice finish that does not have runs, bits of debris, brush strokes or excessive gloss. It has the gloss and finish like a piece of furniture, which is what I like.

Here is a picture of the finished firewall. Overall I am happy with how it turned out, and it does match pretty well how red the 1914 and earlier Model T firewalls were.

[Tbird]

Looks great Neal!

[NealW]

Looks great Neal!

Thanks Mike. Now you know what you will need to do if you spill that last available LMF cherry stain that you got!

[NorthSouth]

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Original Smith has some of that precious firewall stain on the shelf in his garage.
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