Dying (as in "applying dye to wood")

Haven't turned anything in a couple of months - been mentoring a newbie make a solid wood (poplar) floor to ceiling linen cabinet. That got me playing with stains and dyes to get an aged cherry or mahogany look to the poplar. When this linen cabinet gets finished I'm going to experiment with dying poplar turnings The fun part will be sealing end grain to keep it from coming out much darker than side grain.

While bleed through from one face to another isn't a problem when the piece of wood is 3/4" thick, dying a piece with 1/8" or thinner walls seems like it could present some "challenges". Anyone have experience with dyes - like TransTint and Behlen's? Any tips on avoiding "spotchies" and bleed through?

charlie b

Reply to
charlieb
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Reply to
Bill Noble

Charlie - I use water based dyes and found that I get a more even color when I airbrush the dye on. Might take 2 or 3 passes, but it dries quickly and you can go back and touch up easily. If you don't have an airbrush and you are using water based dye, spritz a little water on the end grain before applying the dye. Good Luck! - Hought

Reply to
hwahl

Part of my business is finishing and refinishing. I don't like Transtint. But I do love Behlen's and have used it extensively with great results. It is easy to use, the product is consistent, and gives consistent results in application.

Great application method. I have a tiny little spray gun with a tiny little cup (maybe 4 ounces) that has a 1mm needle on it. I mix up Behlen's thinned with anhydrous alcohol which is available at any good paint store. I usually thin 3 parts alcohol to 1 part Behlen's, and apply multiple coats to achieve the correct color, and to fill any voids. Wait about 10 minutes between coats.

Finish with a rattle can of Deft lacquer or one of its equivalents. You can apply the top coat in just 20 minutes after the last coat of dye.

Since the dye is so transparent, you can literally make your wood look like some other species altogether applying the color and top coat in this fashion.

Good tip!

Robert

Reply to
nailshooter41

I've used a lot of dye on furniture pieces, but not on turnings. But I usually put on a couple of coats of clear dewaxed shellac and then add dye to the next coat. Technically, I'm toning instead of dyeing. I see no reason the same shouldn't work on turnings.

After the toning, finish off with another coat or two of the shellac and then whatever you want for a final coating.

Reply to
Larry Blanchard

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