On 22 Jul 2006 06:03:05 -0700, wrote:

NItric acid reacts with celluose to make an explosive (guncotton).

It also reacts with oak tannins to make a very noticeable black stain.
You'd see this a long way off.

I don't use nitric acid on oak, because it's pointless. I can stain oak
with much simpler chemistry. However I do use nitric acid stain on maple
and a few other timbers, sometimes heating it too.

Besides which, nitrocellulose won't last through a winter outdoors.