So here I am at work and thinking about a bowl I have on the lathe
back home. Last night I finished the outside, did a spot of sanding
and then slathered on the Danish Wood oil. I use the clear/natural
one and wondered, what ingredient in the others gives them color? If
I recall I've seen walnut and cherry. Certainly there are other
colors but still, what gives em the color?

On Mon, 18 Oct 2010 12:27:42 -0500, Kevin wrote
(in message
):

So here I am at work and thinking about a bowl I have on the lathe
back home. Last night I finished the outside, did a spot of sanding
and then slathered on the Danish Wood oil. I use the clear/natural
one and wondered, what ingredient in the others gives them color? If
I recall I've seen walnut and cherry. Certainly there are other
colors but still, what gives em the color?

Assorted dyes and stains of one kind or another, will darken what might
otherwise be a clear finish.

In the case of shellac, which is made from lac bug squeezins (actually an
exudation from the bug, used for making bug tunnels and such) the color comes
from the color of the bug resin used in making the finish. The solvent is
alcohol.

Some finishes may used various oils which can have a characteristic color.
Straight tung oil can be an amber color. Some natural varnishes used various
kinds of resin which had a characteristic color, and the vehicle was usually
an oil like linseed oil and a volatile solvent like turpentine. These
ingredients all lent their own natural colors to the final finish.

Modern synthetic finishes can be easily dyed with aniline dyes or other kinds
of synthetic coloring agents, whether a liquid or a fine soluble powder.

Various water-soluble finishes can be easily colored with acrylic pigments,
in nearly any shade you desire.

Depending on the shade or color of your final finish compared with the shade
or color of the underlying wood, the results can be disappointing if care is
not taken to get an even application. Results can be streaky or showing
curtained effect. (don't ask how I know)

Interesting metallic effects can be had with finely powdered metals, mixed
with a suitable varnish or other hard drying finish. Again, depending on how
the stuff is mixed, results can be less than what you had in mind.

tom koehler

--
I will find a way or make one.