HUH?

I thought it would get a darkish tint.

It's a chemical reaction, with the tannins in the wood (or artificially added to the wood).

It doesn't stain or dye the wood with a darker color, so don't let the color of the mixture fool you. As bobismyuncle said, it causes a chemical reaction in the wood making it appear aged. The more tannins in the wood, the greater the reaction and the darker the color will be.

I've used different additives, in addition to the steel wool and vinegar. Strong brewed tea and some dyes are common. If you are interested, search the web for lots of ideas.

also an article on this http://www.popularwoodworking.com/techniques/ebonizing_wood and as with any new material or technique, try it out on some scrap before committing front and center to your project.

thanks for all the info. I tested it yesterday, and was pleased with the results.

Interesting. How dark does it get. By "aged" do you mean like a dark weathered gray like if you left the wood out in the rain for a few yrs?

The solution will turn amber if you have a lot of steel wool in it.

If you treat wood with it, the wood turns as dark as the tannin content and iron acetate allows. High-tannin woods can go almost black with strong acetate solutions, grey with weaker solutiuons. I mix a saturated solution so I can reproduce an effect I like.

TEST on scraps.

it's normal;) but 3 years ago I asked the same question. Does it looks pretty good now?