Best ebony dye?

I have a smallish piece of birdseye maple and tamarind that I need to ebonize.

I have some Minwax ebony stain already. Is there anything out there that just beats it hands-down? I'd like to leave the grain showing through but seriously darken the wood (per customer request). The wood has already gotten a coating of tung oil about 24 hrs ago. I plan to wipe it with alcohol before staining to try to get the oil out of the way.

Am I even barking up the right tree?

Bill

Reply to
W Canaday
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I've had good results with black aniline dye stain. I usually put 2 or 3 coats on dry wood, allowing it to dry between coats. The grain will raise and fuzz between coats, so sand with 400-grit when dry. I've heard others talk of using India ink with success. A friend of mine uses a vinegar and steel wool solution on Walnut. Leave the steel wool in pure cider vinegar for a couple of weeks and strain out the steel wool particles. The liquid, when brushed on, causes a chemical reaction in woods with high tannin content like walnut and oak. My friend swears by it. You know, you could just use Ebony. I guarantee it won't look fake.

Barry

Reply to
Barry N. Turner

Well, the alcohol won't do much for the oil, that's for sure. Don't mix, you know. But water or alcohol carrying a dye will move in fairly well even with the oil. I'd do my best mineral spirits wipe to clear anything that hasn't cured yet before dying.

Don't expect the world as far as color goes. The eyes are pretty tight-grained and won't take any. The swirls around them are going to absorb differently from the gaps as well. You may end up wanting a bit of glaze to deepen and unify after the fact, especially as the oil is already in the way. May not have to do a full Abram, but consider a stain in finish as a last resort.

Reply to
George

W Canaday wrote: : I have a smallish piece of birdseye maple and tamarind that I need to : ebonize.

: I have some Minwax ebony stain already. Is there anything out there that : just beats it hands-down? I'd like to leave the grain showing through but : seriously darken the wood (per customer request). The wood has already : gotten a coating of tung oil about 24 hrs ago. I plan to wipe it with : alcohol before staining to try to get the oil out of the way.

The poil will likely interfere with most dyes. Here's a couple to try:

a) Dark shellac. Garnet shellac is a very deep reddish brown color, and the nice thing about shellac is it goes on over anything, and can be stripped off with alcohol.

b) Tinted shellac. You could experiment with alcohol-based aniline dyes, which would dissolve in shellac. Thin the shellac itself for even coats.

-- Andy Barss

Reply to
Andrew Barss

I've used a couple of methods for ebonizing, and Minwax isn't the best way you could go, though it will work. I'm not sure how it would react with the tung oil, but I've used India ink (the stuff people use with the old quill style pens, availible in little glass bottles near the art supplies in any given dept. store) and it works great. The only thing you have to keep in mind is that you're not going to want to cover it with shellac- the alcohol dissolves the ink. I used a good water-based poly to finish the (ash) table legs I ebonized using this method, and they turned out very nicely, with the grain still clearly visible as a change in luster, rather than a variation in color.

Hope this helps!

Reply to
Prometheus

On Mon, 13 Mar 2006 20:03:21 -0600, Barry N. Turner wrote: You know,

I'm gonna hafta. I 'just couldn't wait' so I applied the Minwax with a cotton swab. Not nearly enough penetration. So I wiped the most of that off (tamarind has pores similar to oak) and used a black felt-tip marker. Darker --- but blotchy.

So ... on to the sanding. I'm going to sand this until it either looks okay or it gets too thin to keep. If the color disappears soon enough, I'll try to find another buyer for it. In the meantime, I plan to let the customer know that he can't have the dye job but that I am beginning a brand new cane with ebony in the place of the tamarind & maple.

Sigh.

It really looked sharp until I tired to honor his request for a change.

OTOH, I think I've shown myself how to make a really strong cane at a reasonable weight. That was worth something. Pulling it over my knee, I can barely deflect it. It weighs perhaps 3/4 pound.

Bill

Reply to
W Canaday

Reply to
Tom Nie

I've had the same result with the minwax ebony stain- I'd really, strongly advocate the india ink before you throw in the towel. It

*might* not work, but what have you got to lose?

OTOH, the ebony cane will be awfully slick, if expensive!

Reply to
Prometheus

One other thing you might try is leather dye. It cuts with alcohol, dries fast, and absorbs without hiding the grain. If the color is not dark enough, use some more. If too dark, wash with alcohol. Feibings is a good brand and the color range is extensive.

Reply to
Darrell Feltmate

Not to mention the fact that it will almost certainly crack like crazy, unless you glue it together in segments and turn it.

Reply to
Chuck

Although its very hard and brittle, ebony really turns quite well. It takes a high polish and takes a friction finish well, too. It is expensive though at about $70 per board foot.

Barry

Reply to
Barry N. Turner

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Another vote here for the Feibings leather dye. I started using it on USMC boots almost 50 years ago, and decided to try it on wood in the 80's. SInce you've already done the tung oil, it may prevent any dyes from penetrating the wood fiber as it should, but it's worth a try. An alternative is black lacquer. If you want to retain the grain appearance, mix the black with clear, about 1 part black to 4-5 parts clear. Spray coats until you get the effect you want.

Ken Moon Webberville, TX.

Reply to
Ken Moon

Me, too.

Reply to
Dan Bollinger

One trick with leather dye (at least on leather), is to dye it green ,then brown, and then black

Reply to
Dan

Not yet. But I will.

It's back to -almost- where I started except that the tamarind pores remain highlighted by the dye even after a good general sanding. The highlighting actually looks kind good. Not the look I was after, but definitely saleable.

The BE maple shed almost 100% of the color.

Bill

Reply to
W Canaday

Slick? Crack? English bobbies used to carry ebony nightsticks. I have two of my dad's he brought back from Norwich after WWII. They aren't slick and I don't think they'd use them if they cracked. Dan

Reply to
Dan Bollinger

Dual coloring to obtain a deep black is common in the printing industry, too. They lay down blue, then black. I think leather dyes are aniline, btw. Dan

Reply to
Dan Bollinger

May have been a bit of slang that was a little too obscure- I didn't mean actually slick (ie. slippery), just that it'd be cool.

Reply to
Prometheus

G'day , Hank here from Australia, I' am craftsman woodturner specialising now in Lace Bobbins. If your piece have open pores try this old Aussie trick! After sanding apply Black Wax with finger on cloth, thickly. The sand again this will mix dust with the wax which penetrates the open grain then burnish with cloth and finish with soft cloth.

Reply to
Hank

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