Gordon Posted January 12 Report Posted January 12 I did this bowl from a piece of maple. The wood grain is very slight, so I thought about playing around with some colored dyes on the outside then finish with lacquer. I’ve never used any dyes before so I have a few questions and advise from those who have experience. I’m looking at the Mixol pigment , my thought is I could mix it with denatured alcohol to blend the colors or (plan b) go with a solid color and mix it with shellac. any thoughts or advise? Grandpadave52, Fred W. Hargis Jr, DuckSoup and 1 other 4 Quote
lew Posted January 12 Report Posted January 12 I follow a turner/artist (Rebecca DeGroot) who uses dyes on a lot of her work. She told me she uses Transtint dyes. Which are alcohol based. Her advice, for getting the most intense color is to use them straight from the bottle, undiluted. I've tried some water bases colors, however, I found they raised the grain of the wood. If I had more experience, I should have realized that and raised the grain first, sanded, then applied the color. @Gerald, @HandyDan and @teesquare use dyes. Hopefully they will chime in! DuckSoup, Grandpadave52 and Fred W. Hargis Jr 3 Quote
Popular Post HandyDan Posted January 12 Popular Post Report Posted January 12 (edited) I use acrylic ink to color the ornaments I make. It acts like a dye where it sinks into the wood and will bleed. I use burn limes to keep it under control. The colors are very vibrant. Here are some eggs I did for reference. I did candle ornaments this year and dyed the bases before gluing in the candle. I should mention I brush it on and never leave a brush mark. I use wipe on poly to give them a shine. Edited January 12 by HandyDan Gordon, DuckSoup, Headhunter and 3 others 5 1 Quote
Popular Post Gerald Posted January 13 Popular Post Report Posted January 13 I use Chestnut stains mostly. They are not really deep colors so I also use Chroma Craft for a deeper color choice. I have worked a little with the inks as Dan pointed you to but have not as yet come to a opinion on them. Chestnut does not hide the grain even with more than one application and that is usually what I am looking for. Gordon, DuckSoup, lew and 2 others 3 1 1 Quote
Popular Post Danl Posted January 13 Popular Post Report Posted January 13 10 hours ago, lew said: she uses Transtint dyes. Which are alcohol based. I've tried some water bases colors, however, I found they raised the grain of the wood. If I had more experience, I should have realized that and raised the grain first, sanded, then applied the color. Transtint dyes can be used with Denatured alcohol instead of water. My experience it lifts the grain slightly. Danl DuckSoup, Gerald, Fred W. Hargis Jr and 2 others 5 Quote
Popular Post Gordon Posted January 13 Author Popular Post Report Posted January 13 Thank you everyone. @HandyDan those are great looking. @Gerald Your red and green bowl is kind of what I was picturing for my bowl. I think I just need to order some dyes and start playing around with them. DuckSoup, Grandpadave52, Fred W. Hargis Jr and 3 others 6 Quote
Popular Post kmealy Posted January 13 Popular Post Report Posted January 13 When dyes (or pigments) are mixed with a finish like shellac or lacquer, it becomes what is called a toner, or sometimes a shader. I have used them extensively in aerosol form doing touch-up repair work. Dyes are liquids that mix with the carrier and pigments are fine solids that are suspended in it. In my experience, two things: they really need to be sprayed, and in light coats. Polyshades (a polyurethane varnish toner) generally has terrible results because it's brushed. it can go from almost there to too much very quickly (see point 1) especially with the pigmented version Gerald, Gordon, Fred W. Hargis Jr and 4 others 6 1 Quote
Popular Post Gerald Posted January 13 Popular Post Report Posted January 13 One note on dyes or stains is that all woods have their own color. For instance applying a light blue to some woods , I think it was cherry will yield a green color. So always test your colors if it is important to achieve a particular shade or color spectrum. Headhunter, lew, Gordon and 2 others 4 1 Quote
Popular Post kmealy Posted January 13 Popular Post Report Posted January 13 Color theory 101 The primary colors are red blue yellow The secondary colors are combinations of two of the primary colors purple = red + blue orange = red+ yellow green = yellow + blue When you want to neutralize one of the primary colors, you add the secondary color of the other two, and vice versa red - green (aka Christmas) yellow - purple (aka Easter) orange - blue (you're on your own to remember this one, but I'm a Univ. of Illinois grad) The typical green pigment is raw umber that has a subtle dark green. I did a project a few years ago, and the stain must have turned too red in storage. I did a raw umber glaze and it worked out better. When I was in refinishing class, one of the other students was doing a dining table that was really orange. The instructor mixed up some blue glaze, put it on and it did wonders. DuckSoup, John Morris, Grandpadave52 and 2 others 5 Quote
Gordon Posted January 13 Author Report Posted January 13 @kmealy I spent a good portion of my career working in the photo industry so I understand color very well, that was an excellent explanation. Headhunter, Grandpadave52 and DuckSoup 3 Quote
Popular Post Smallpatch Posted January 28 Popular Post Report Posted January 28 any time I am adding color to wood I thin my color or stain with thinner and use an air brush and sneak up to the darkness I am wanting .No matter what wood I am working with I never get and blotches, Pine use to be the worse to change or add colors to but not since I started using my air brush some 30 years ago. I might have 10 or more samples for one small project but I found years ago if I went past the right shade that caused way more labor which I didn't want to waste. The fifties and sixties were lots of strange grain colors with the rest of the wood was a stain or a dye. It didn't enter the ladies minds her wanting me to match something exact was no big deal so I finally started telling them my charge depended on how long it might take me to end up with exactually what she wanted... Funny also that it was okay with them....yea Gene Howe, DuckSoup, Headhunter and 2 others 5 Quote
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