Replies

1. 
   SteveSchoene | Sep 14, 2006 02:38pm | #1

   Not quite sure what you have in mind.  I am not aware of any dye that comes packaged in cans.  Cans are usually the container for stains.  The difference bewteen the two is basically that the stain contains ground up pigment particles and a binder (often a very thin varnish ) that holds those pigments to the wood.  On oak, stains tend to emphasize the grain patterns because the pigment tends to collect in the pores and more porous parts of the wood. 

   A dye on the otherhand is a dissolved solution of colorants whose "particles" are very small--at the molecular level.  These colors are so small they can penetrate both the hard parts and the porous parts and tend to provide a more even coloring that deemphasizes the grain pattern.  Dyes are typically marketed as powder to be mixed in water (or another solvent in some cases) or as a concentrated liquid (TransTint for example.)

   Golden oak is a popular stain color for oak, giving a color many people associate with oak furniture or trim, but I'm not sure that is the "yellow" you have in mind.  If you can give us some more details such as the kind (brand) of the yellow you have in mind and the look you are trying to achieve it would help.

1. 
   dukeone | Sep 14, 2006 04:25pm | #2

   Steve: I believe it was Liberon brand, in about a half pint can. I don't want the grain structure heavily emphasized or the usual "oak look". From what you say a dye might create the look I'm looking for, keeping the grain pattern subtle and emphasizing the "rays"a bit or at least not hiding them.  At the cost of the stuff I was looking at (at McBeath) I won't be able to experiment by buying several cans and haven't seen a sample board of white oak with the different colors.

   Thanks, KDM"... if people did not die so untidily, most men, and all women, would commit at least one murder in their lives." R. Kipling