I’m working on a built-in that will fill in a (roughly) 4′ x 4′ opening next to a fireplace. The fireplace is surrounded by dark grey slate tile. I’d like to approximately match the grey tone of the slate on the face frame of built in, but I’ve never actually seen a grey wood dye on real wood.
Anybody ever tried to color match stone this way before? Any recommendations, cautions? (besides the usual “try it on scrap first” — I’ve learned that one!)
Thanks,
-M.
Replies
If you are using English oak, European oak, American white oak, American maple, or European sycamore or plane, you can stain all of these woods grey with green copperas (Ferrouse Sulphate) a well known technique creating what's known as harewood or greywood in sycamore or maple. Slainte.
I've tried Minwax "Ebony" oil stain on Maple before and achieved a grayish coloration. I believe the Ebony stain is largely oil-soluable dye. A thin black dye in water or alcohol ought to result in something similiar. The difficulty with this approach is that the color of the wood is supplying the whitish tones necessary to achieve grey color. There is no white dye that I'm aware of. So, getting a satisfactory grey using dyes might be difficult or perhaps even impossible for this reason. The only way to find out is to try.
That said... Sqian's suggest sounds like it might yield a better look for your needs.
Regards,
Kevin
"Rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud" - Sophocles.
Mark,
You might want to try a mordant of household vinegar and rusty metal. The coloration is determined by the chemistry of the species to which you apply it; e.g., light grey on maple, and dark grey (almost black) on oak.
Paul
Be very cautious using dyes on open pored woods. I did an office using figured ash veneer that I wanted grey. After finally figuring out just the right combination of off-the-shelf analine dyes (water mixed) we had to mist (and I mean lightly) the dye on. Any excess amount would flow into the open grain and result in blackish streaks that I did not want. Repairs to this finish are difficult, to say the least.
I am intriqued by Sgian's method and will do some experimenting on my own.
sophie, ferrous sulphate comes as a greenish powder that you mix with water. Start with about a heaped teaspoon of the stuff in half a litre (~a pint) of water and adjust the strength from there.
As the stain is water based, raise the grain of the piece you plan to stain with warm water and sand back to knock off the fuzz. But remember, most importantly, don't take the word of any man fond of pretty sheep that also have alluringly long eyelashes, ha, ha--- ha, ha, ha. The result on maple (the panels) should be something like below.
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And on a white oak with a fairly strong mix, like this, but here the grain's been filled with a contrasting colour.
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In both cases, note the different take up of the colour due to variations in the base woods properties from plank to plank-- not something that bothers me, but if you want an even colour, this route may not be the way to go. Slainte.Website
A diluted aniline dye will give you any shade of gray you want; you just have to work out how much to dilute the dye. Ferrous sulfate is a chemical alternative to the dye and will produce the same results. You can buy ferrous sulfate crystals/powder and mix it with water or you can make your own with vinegar and steel wool.
The main consideration I would be concerned with is the type of wood you're using. Some woods dye evenly and some don't. Your tests on scrap (the larger the better) will let you know.
Paul
Wood ashes and water, slightly alkaline (lye) but may be a wipe on wipe off fixit for ya. Seal with clear shellac.
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