Haven't turned anything in a couple of months - been mentoring a newbie
make a solid wood (poplar) floor to ceiling linen cabinet. That got me
playing with stains and dyes to get an aged cherry or mahogany look to
the poplar. When this linen cabinet gets finished I'm going to
experiment with dying poplar turnings The fun part will be sealing end
grain to keep it from coming out much darker than side grain.

While bleed through from one face to another isn't a problem when the
piece of wood is 3/4" thick, dying a piece with 1/8" or thinner walls
seems like it could present some "challenges". Anyone have experience
with dyes - like TransTint and Behlen's? Any tips on avoiding
"spotchies" and bleed through?

charlie b

when I dye my turnings, I use Ritz fabric dye, and I submerge the turning
for a while (several minutes), then let it dry and sand lightly
"charlieb" wrote in message
...
Haven't turned anything in a couple of months - been mentoring a newbie
make a solid wood (poplar) floor to ceiling linen cabinet. That got me
playing with stains and dyes to get an aged cherry or mahogany look to
the poplar. When this linen cabinet gets finished I'm going to
experiment with dying poplar turnings The fun part will be sealing end
grain to keep it from coming out much darker than side grain.

While bleed through from one face to another isn't a problem when the
piece of wood is 3/4" thick, dying a piece with 1/8" or thinner walls
seems like it could present some "challenges". Anyone have experience
with dyes - like TransTint and Behlen's? Any tips on avoiding
"spotchies" and bleed through?

charlie b

On Oct 30, 7:21*pm, charlieb wrote:

While bleed through from one face to another isn't a problem when the
piece of wood is 3/4" thick, *dying a piece with 1/8" or thinner walls
seems like it could present some "challenges". *Anyone have experience
with dyes - like TransTint and Behlen's? *Any tips on avoiding
"spotchies" and bleed through?


Charlie - I use water based dyes and found that I get a more even
color when I airbrush the dye on. Might take 2 or 3 passes, but it
dries quickly and you can go back and touch up easily. If you don't
have an airbrush and you are using water based dye, spritz a little
water on the end grain before applying the dye.
Good Luck! - Hought

On Oct 31, 4:04*am, hwahl wrote:

Anyone have experience
with dyes - like TransTint and Behlen's? *Any tips on avoiding
"spotchies" and bleed through?

Part of my business is finishing and refinishing. I don't like
Transtint. But I do love Behlen's and have used it extensively with
great results. It is easy to use, the product is consistent, and
gives consistent results in application.

Charlie - I use water based dyes and found that I get a more even
color when I airbrush the dye on. *Might take 2 or 3 passes, but it
dries quickly and you can go back and touch up easily. *

Great application method. I have a tiny little spray gun with a tiny
little cup (maybe 4 ounces) that has a 1mm needle on it. I mix up
Behlen's thinned with anhydrous alcohol which is available at any good
paint store. I usually thin 3 parts alcohol to 1 part Behlen's, and
apply multiple coats to achieve the correct color, and to fill any
voids. Wait about 10 minutes between coats.

Finish with a rattle can of Deft lacquer or one of its equivalents.
You can apply the top coat in just 20 minutes after the last coat of
dye.

Since the dye is so transparent, you can literally make your wood look
like some other species altogether applying the color and top coat in
this fashion.

If you don't
have an airbrush and you are using water based dye, spritz a little
water on the end grain before applying the dye.

Good tip!

Robert

On Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:21:25 -0700, charlieb wrote:

While bleed through from one face to another isn't a problem when the
piece of wood is 3/4" thick, dying a piece with 1/8" or thinner walls
seems like it could present some "challenges". Anyone have experience
with dyes - like TransTint and Behlen's? Any tips on avoiding
"spotchies" and bleed through?

I've used a lot of dye on furniture pieces, but not on turnings. But I
usually put on a couple of coats of clear dewaxed shellac and then add dye
to the next coat. Technically, I'm toning instead of dyeing. I see no
reason the same shouldn't work on turnings.

After the toning, finish off with another coat or two of the shellac and
then whatever you want for a final coating.