Replies

1. 
   RW | Oct 01, 2002 01:10am | #1

   Have used dyes on lots of things, and aniline dyes, well, at least the true ones, are things of the past, but the modern formulations work fine. Since I don't know exactly what you're looking for, general observations: most dyes are soluable in a couple of things. The Trans-Tint I use always with alcohol. Water soluable dyes are more prone to raise the grain and make you mad. When you dye a piece, the typical desire is to even out the color, since dye particles are much smaller than the pigment particles in your basic oil based stain. Dyes are great for a number of things. Staining wood that is hard to even out, or woods that like to blotch (cherry & pine). They are also something that takes some experimentation and I wouldn't go throwing it on a finished piece before testing out my idea on scrap cuts from the project. If you dye, say, a table top, common advice is to keep the whole top wet rather than dye one area, then another, then the rest. This makes good sense in practice as you can get an uneven color and a line that you almost can't get rid of. I tend to prefer to dye things with a shellac binder. My rationale is I can spray it, I can build dozens of very thin coats in a day, and I can adjust the color just a little at a time until I get where I want to be. The way I do it is mix up some super blonde de waxed shellac, and I use about a 2/3 dixie cups worth of 3lb cut into a touchup gun or 2 cups into a quart sprayer and add denatured alcohol and the dyes. (mix the alcohol & dyes in a clear plastic container first to see your density of color, and what looks dark in the bucket is actually quite light going on.)  If you first shoot on a base coat of just shellac and everything goes to hell in a handbasket for you, most of what you sprayed later can come off again with alcohol. I'm not really trying to build a finish so much as make the dyes stick on the surfaceand not run & bleed after ten light coats. If you want to excentuate your grain, grab a scrap and try everything you think might work on it. Tape off 3" sections and label each one. Sometimes dyes make your grain jump, other times (depending on wood and figure) it just obliterates what you're trying to see. I've found several times that if dye doesn't make things jump the way I want, boiled linseed does. Can't explain that real well beyond having done it.

1. 
   woodshark | Oct 01, 2002 03:01am | #2

   Thanks for all the info.  In a typical fit of impatience I ran out and bought some water based dye today (Transfast) I saw the Transtint, but opted for the Transfast because there was a better selection of colors.  Now I'm wondering if I got the right thing.  I started experimenting with the dye on some scraps (can you really call figured offcuts "scraps"?) but since I didn't pre-raise the grain, I only really have a feel for color and evenness, both look great.  The current project is simply a new doorbell cover for a cheapo doorbell I bought at my local Home Despot.

   Anyhow, I'm hoping that by pre-raising the grain and sanding I will get a decent result.  The stain doesn't look blotchy, and that was my main concern. If I get even a modest pop I'll be happy.

   I'll let you know how things turn out.

   -WS

   P.S. I have almost zero experience with Shellac.  I don't own my own sprayer (I borrow a friend's), but that sounds like an interesting approach for a worthy project.

1. 
   woodshark | Oct 20, 2002 06:13pm | #3

   Well, I've finished the doorbell cover, and I am quite pleased with the result.  I had to raise the grain several times on each piece before I was confident that the dye wouldn't raise the grain any further.  Two light coats of the dye were almost a perfect match for the kitchen cabinets.  Since I was already using water based sealers etc., I decided to try a clear polycrylic from Minwax.  The finish looks great.

   Here is a picture of the finished project.

   Thanks-

   WS

   Edited 10/20/2002 11:20:04 AM ET by woodshark

   
1. 
   woodshark | Oct 20, 2002 06:21pm | #4

   Oops deleted attachment

   
1. 
   RW | Oct 20, 2002 07:24pm | #5

   cool enough! Glad it worked.