I've got water based dye stains from several suppliers. Lee Valley (not
too many choices of color), Woodworker's Supply (LOTS of colors). I
prefer the Wizard Tints, but they are $17 a bottle, so I have only one -
Amber. Everywhere you read, the alcohol based dyes are the least light
fast. The others are better; how much better? I've not seen a
definitive answer, but I'm guessing if you keep the piece out of
near-constant direct sunlight you'll be fine with the non-alcohol based
dyes. Others here have years of experience so hopefully someone will
chime in. You don't need a ton of colors--you can't mix the dyes to get
the exact color you want. I keep primary colors such as yellow, red and
green to modify the wood toned dyes I've purchased. 2 ounces of dye
goes a LOONG way, so if you aren't sure what colors you need, stick with
the small packages. I get Rx bottles from the pharmacy to transfer
the dyes that are sold in bags. Lee Valley sells theirs that way.
Other suppliers use bottles (yeah).

Dyes are easy to mix (use warm, clean water). If you need to dye a
large project, mix up enough to dye the whole thing! When the dye dries
it looks NOTHING like it will look with finish, so be sure to apply to a
sample board and topcoat to see the final effect. Dark dyes don't get
into open grained wood pores like oak, so you might be unhappy with the
coverage and will need to tone the top coats are go over the dye with
some glaze to cover the unfilled pores.

A dry coat is just a light coat. I usually use .026 tips--that's pretty
small.

Repeating? If you mean after a batch of prepared dye is used up? Keep
a record of how you mixed up the original batch if you think it may be
need for future reference.

I dyed 10 pieces recently, top coated them and installed them. after a
week or so, when the light was just so, one piece was lighter than the
rest and stood out. I added some dye to the finish and sprayed on
another couple light coats. Voila: a perfect match.

There are also solvent based dyes. I've never used them since I don't
like solvent based finishing products (but YES, I DO use solvent based
stains too).

Another thing; moisten the wood after final sanding, and then gently
knock down the nibs raised ("raising the grain") once the wood has
dried. Don't sand too much, or you'll raise the grain again when you
apply the dye. 320+ grit with a light touch. OR, believe it or not,
you can knock down the raised grain AFTER dyeing, because the dye goes
into the wood and won't sand out as easily as you'd expect. But again,
go LIGHTLY.


Dave



Josh wrote:


David wrote:

Poly takes too long to dry, plus it stinks. Besides which, using it as
a sealer is inappropriate and unnecessary.

Here is what you SHOULD have done: Get yourself an HVLP and using a
smallish tip/needle combo, apply "dry" coats of water borne dye (or
alcohol based if you don't mind the lesser light fastness) to get a
blotch free result on your maple. Follow up with what ever floats your
boat for topcoats.

Dave



I'd definitely like an HVLP sprayer, but they're fairly expensive.
That'll be a down-the-road investment.

What do you mean by "dry" coats? Just really light coats? And what
dyes would you use? I've seen that Lee Valley, Workerworkers Supply,
etc. sell countless colors of analine dyes. I have to admit, I'm
somewhat intimidated by the thought of mixing my own stain colors from
primary colors of dye. Is it straightforward to do? And is it easy to
repeat?

Oh yeah, and what's "light fastness"?

Thanks.