June 10, 201114 yr My daughter's favorite color is green. I have plenty of acrylic in shades of green but she wanted a wooden pen. This is a piece of figured maple I got from Bob Kloes. I turned it to size and colored it with green food color mixed with white vinegar. The color is very vivid now. Time will tell if it resists fading. I am pretty sure she will lose it before I get to check though. It is on a Titanium gold fancy slim with a turned center band.
June 10, 201114 yr Greg, very cool! I didn't know you could mix up finish like that! Does anyone know if this is a viable alternative to wood stains or dyes? John MorrisThe Patriot Woodworker
June 10, 201114 yr Author John,  I don't think food color would work for anything large scale. Trans tint and the aniline dyes are the go to colors for finishing. Food color is also water based and tends to raise the grain. Food color has been used in turning for a minute but the consensus is it is not very colorfast. I diluted this with white vinegar to help with fading. Hey, it works with Easter eggs. The real advantage to food color is it's availability and price. Every grocery on every corner carries it. I flinched this from the kitchen cabinet. It is also cheap compared to the dedicated wood dyes. I suspect I will continue to use it for pens if needed. However, when I begin to stabilize I will switch to the others.
June 10, 201114 yr Nice pen Greg, she won't loose it...you can always make a new one  I have fussed some with food color. Above is white oak dyed with food coloring in denatured alcohol. I tested using both water and alcohol as the transfer agent. Alcohol does intensify the color better than water, but looking at Greg's pen, white vinegar does appear to do a great job too  Greg you may be surprised about the color retention. Those white oak pieces were a repair to an outdoor bench. The color has faded, but its outdoors, and still looks great and has retained most of its color, but maybe the outdoor coating I used had good UV protection?  -Ace-  A few years ago I was playing using Frenches Mustard as a wood dye under stain, to my surprise it worked...don't know if I would use it on a project though  Light fastness would be my concern with the food coloring on large(ish) furniture pieces and I would probably stick with the commercial dyes, that is just me.
June 10, 201114 yr Fading is a big thing . W D Lockwood is a great place for dyes. They are coming out with metalized dyes that will not fade. You can buy as small a size as 1 oz. Dyes are pretty much all I use, work wonderful for figured wood.Fabric dyes will fade. Fun to play with though. Great pen as always Greg. You do a great job.Bob Kloeswww.bobkloes.com
June 10, 201114 yr Great looking pen Greg. A true treasure for your daughter. I bet she hangs on to it pretty tight. I have seen a few discussions on dyes on a few other boards. Food coloring has been used, but like you are saying, I have not had anyone to report back after a span of time to show how well it held up. I have also seen where they have used Rite Dyes and claim to have good success with them, but again no long term reports. At any rate, you have a great pen that looks really good. I love the turned ban, a very nice extra touch.  John MoodyJohn Moody Woodworks
August 15, 201114 yr Beautiful pen!  I never realized you could get such vivid colors with food coloring nor did I realize you mixed it with vinegar. How many coats of color did it take?  Am going to have to get the food color out and experiment with it.  Thanks for info. SQ It it can't be fixed with glue and sawdust - it's not worth fixing.
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