Replies

1. 
   Dave_Arbuckle | Jan 10, 2002 08:48am | #1

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   Jerry, just call it "dye", or dye stain. I don't know if any dyes made today have aniline in them, most don't. Just being picky, sorry.

   When people say the end grain doesn't get darker, they mean darker than the dyed face grain. With pigment stains, the end grain often colors much darker than the face.

   Test with scrap pieces, of course. Dyes do react oddly with some woods, I don't know if Fir is one of them. Furniture grade Fir is rare around here.

   Dave

1. 
   Sgian_Dubh | Jan 10, 2002 09:04am | #2

   *Dyes in my experience stain end grain darker than the long grain Dave. Mostly this doesn't bother me, but if I must aim for a closely matched depth or intensity of colour, I've been known to mix up a glue wash of hide glue and apply this to the end grain. This stuff chokes the pores somewhat so that subsequent dyes are not so readily absorbed. With an oil based dye you might try applying mineral spirits to the end grain right before you stain. Like the glue wash, mineral spirits seems to choke the grain temporarily thus reducing uptake of dye or tain

1. 
   Dave_Arbuckle | Jan 10, 2002 08:44pm | #3

   *Sgian, I'll buy that, great advice. There is where the test piece is so important.Since everyone applies stains (dye or pigment) differently, to stock that's prepared differently, and different stocks to boot, and so on.... the chances of two people getting just the same result from text descriptions is just about impossible.I haven't used hide glue as a size for dye. Are you using it with water-based, or alcohol-based? In particular I wonder if water-based dye would make a mess with it.Dave

1. 
   Don_Stephan | Jan 11, 2002 01:29am | #4

   *Pre-wetting end grain with water will reduce the amount of water-dissolved dye taken up by end grain. It is felt that this approach would allow adding more color to the end grain if needed. Glue size and a thin blond shellac are widely used to reduce dye uptake but might not allow tweaking the color darker if needed. Anyone have experience with this?

1. 
   DonBass | Jan 16, 2002 01:09am | #5

   *Jerry, Sand the end grain to a higher grit than the long grain. An example, if you sand the long grain of the board to 220-240 grit, then sand the end grain to 320-400.grit. This burnishes the end grain. It should absorb the dye in a comparable manner as the rest of the long grain. Also, wetting the end grain with a damp sponge before applying the dye also helps. Use water for water-based dyes, and alcohol for alcohol-based dyes. I've used both tricks on cherry with good results.