Considering fuming as a furniture finish? Using red oak? Try something else. My test piece did exactly what others are reporting – red oak (American, at least) turns greenish when fumed with ammonia:
Fumed and Unfumed Red Oak
Both the fumed piece, left, and the control piece have one coat of tung oil. Disappointing, too, as the fuming went perfectly. Ammonia from the big box store, a small plastic box, 3 nails and tape to hold up the scrap, the bottom of a water bottle to hold the ammonia, and 24 hours in the closed box outside in the sun gave the oak its expected post-fume gray sheen. Until the oil went down.
