Another thought the inside could be either painted or gold , copper leaf.

I think I can show how thin of a stain of dye can be put on the wood and I don't ever have to use anything else to prep the wood as some suggest.

  The air brush has lacquer thinner or acetone to be used with a small amount of stain or dye or what ever one wants to call it.

I have never prepped the wood with shellac or any type of oil and don't have any idea why I would want to.

  The changing of color tones or darkness depends on the amount of stain or the many times I shoot the thinned down mixture on to the wood.

 Gerald the different tone I want the wood to be depends on how thin the mixture is in the air brush.

My changing of the wood  color takes different routes to accomplish my desire.. these clocks wood grains were

 

used with kids water colors and the actual wood is the original color.

 This clock was air brushed using a light blue stain then when that dried I used 220 sand paper to take the blue off the high grounds with the original color of the wood to show through. I was wanting this clock to look like it had been cleaned many times and in the process the original finish has disappeared on the much rubbed areas.

  Next picture, this cabinet had a light wood color stain applied everywhere then to protect that from changing color I  shot some clear gloss lacquer and let it dry. If this is not done the next step will darken the wood too much. Next day I mixed up some darker wood filler, oil base is all I will ever use and this time I did use a rag or a brush to put a coat on everything then rubbed most all of the filler off....Then with my bare hands I started rubbing the filler in to the ash open grains. I keep on rubbing with my hands and in a while I will get the open grain full of dark wood filler.. This is the only way to use a wood filler. When finished pushing the filler in and wiping my hands of excess filler I will have filled the open grain up where no deep open grain is showing.. Soon I will  have the rest of the wood still the same shade but the grain will be much darker than original.

   Since I used the oil base wood filler I can not start spraying  a clear Rustoelum 2X or Lacquer for a few days to give the wood filler a chance to dry.

This cabinet is a perfect example of filling the grain and leaving the wood the exact color the customer wanted.

I use no varnish, or shellac or any of the stuff that was used 100 years ago.. Science has moved woodworking up to now

so why keep using what granddad use to use.

 The last picture is how I use some of the dyes or stains in very small amounts just to change tones but still lets the wood grain still show.

 I use maple and ash wood most of the time. 

Gordon I believe you saturated the wood with what ever and the excess had to go somewhere.

 

Edited February 17, 20251 yr by Smallpatch

20 hours ago, Michael Thuman said:

Minwax colors are actually a dye and stain.  Dye the background stain foreground.

 

The terminology gets a bit confusing.   I tend to think of a "stain" as something applied to color raw wood.  Then a "stain" can be made of a pigment or a dye.  A pigment is a fine powder that is suspended in a liquid, while a dye is dissolved in a liquid.   

 

Further, there are toners, sometimes called shaders.  These are finishes that have a coloring added.  The color can be a dye or a pigment.  These are often used by manufacturers as it's a "spray and go" and when done properly can reduce variances in the underlying wood.  This product is obvious when there is a chip in the finish and there is no color  left on the wood.

 

There are also glazes.  These are product heavy in pigments and are added between coats of finish.  These can be used to alter the color or to highlight grain or details, giving an "antique" look.  I've also used glazes over top of opaque finishes (paint) to add a highlight.

 

So, I think of all finishing products to have a mix of zero or more of each of different products 

• Resin
• Thinner
• Solvent
• Dye
• Pigment

For example, a varnish has resin and thinner.  Shellac and lacquer have a resin and a solvent.  A pigment based stain has a little resin, a lot  of thinner, and a fair amount of pigment.  A glaze has a lot of pigment and a little thinner and a little resin.

 

All that said, Minwax "Wood Finishes" (that are stains, not finishes), can contain pigment, dye, or both.  It all depends on the color name.  Flexner talks about how to determine what you have by dipping a stir stick into a can.  If there is sludge on the bottom of the stick, it contains a pigment.  And you need to stir well before using.  If there is no sludge, but color all the way up the stick, it's a dye.  And if both, it's both a pigment and a dye combo.

Edited February 17, 20251 yr by kmealy

kmealy, show us some of your work .I like what someone said sometime ago, if there are no pictures, it didn't happen.

3 hours ago, Smallpatch said:

kmealy, show us some of your work .I like what someone said sometime ago, if there are no pictures, it didn't happen.

Unfortunately, my computer crashed a year ago and I lost many of my photos.

 

strip and refinish job

 

 

 

strip and refinish job for an historical center

 

 

repair job, one of about five for this customer

 

 

strip and refinish job

 

 

Box I made featured in a finishing book

 

 

strip and refinish job, 1930's cabinet for daughter

 

Jewelry boxes made for granddaughters, walnut reclaimed from church door

Box made from one piece of cherry

 

Hall closet for daughter

 

Bunk beds for granddaughters, later converted to loft for one of them.

 

 

Bookshelf made as a 4H project by a daughter when she was about 13.  Boxes on the shelves by me.

 

Tow Mater Adirondack chair made for grandson who was a fan

 

strip and refinish job

Edited February 18, 20251 yr by kmealy

Thats great. Now explain step by step. People will be able to understand pictures.

 

When you post all these words and charts most of us don't quite understand how things are done in the finishing and refinishing world.

smallpatch

They are all a little different.  A variety of sprayed on water-borne finishes, shellac, lacquer, varnish, stain, glazes, and toners.   Some sprayed, some brushed, some wiped on.  One finish does not suit all applications.

 

I can highly recommend Bob Flexner's "Understanding Wood Finishes".   It was an eye-opener for me that had previously found one finish that worked and I used it on everything without really understanding how it worked.  Another was Sue Nobel's book who did a number of different projects and frequently used glazes.  Sue was a local refinisher that I got to know.