Can anyone offer suggestions for a painless-as-could-be-expected way
of staining birch plywood a deep, intense red color? Something almost
cartoony red or maroon, as opposed to the reddish-brown colors one
would expect from wood. Sample color: http://rurl.org/28hx

I've checked out samples of the Minwax products. The water-based ones
seemed more "colorful", but none of the reds seemed deep enough - and
all were orangey reds, rather than blueish reds, which I'd prefer.
The closest thing I saw was the Polyshades Bombay Mahogany... But
I've seen mixed reviews of that product, and it seemed like it would
completely hide the grain when used dark enough.

I'm an amateur, so grinding my own dyes with a mortar and pestle or
similarly complex solutions may be beyond the scope of the current
project.

As an aside - I'm living in New York City, and have pretty limited
access to retailers of stuff like this. Any general suggestions for
good woodworking supply shops in the NYC area would be most welcome.
I went to Home Depot today, and almost had a brain aneurysm, their
selection was so bad.

On Sat, 26 Dec 2009 19:40:37 -0800 (PST), the infamous meeotch
scrawled the following:

Can anyone offer suggestions for a painless-as-could-be-expected way
of staining birch plywood a deep, intense red color? Something almost
cartoony red or maroon, as opposed to the reddish-brown colors one
would expect from wood. Sample color: http://rurl.org/28hx

Good luck on getting WOOD that color.


I've checked out samples of the Minwax products. The water-based ones
seemed more "colorful", but none of the reds seemed deep enough - and
all were orangey reds, rather than blueish reds, which I'd prefer.
The closest thing I saw was the Polyshades Bombay Mahogany... But
I've seen mixed reviews of that product, and it seemed like it would
completely hide the grain when used dark enough.

Urp!


I'm an amateur, so grinding my own dyes with a mortar and pestle or
similarly complex solutions may be beyond the scope of the current
project.

You couldn't do it finely enough.


As an aside - I'm living in New York City, and have pretty limited
access to retailers of stuff like this.

Boy, are _you_ going to be surprised. Read on. g


Any general suggestions for
good woodworking supply shops in the NYC area would be most welcome.
I went to Home Depot today, and almost had a brain aneurysm, their
selection was so bad.

Don't stain, dye...if you must. sigh Lockwood is in your neck of
the woods, NYC. Get some. http://www.wdlockwood.com/

They do water, alcohol, and oil, but the Ruby/OxBlood looks close to
what you want in their waterborne dyes.

--
"I believe that sex is one of the most beautiful, natural, wholesome things
that money can buy." --Tom Clancy

"meeotch" wrote in message
...
Can anyone offer suggestions for a painless-as-could-be-expected way
of staining birch plywood a deep, intense red color? Something almost
cartoony red or maroon, as opposed to the reddish-brown colors one
would expect from wood. Sample color: http://rurl.org/28hx

I've checked out samples of the Minwax products. The water-based ones
seemed more "colorful", but none of the reds seemed deep enough - and
all were orangey reds, rather than blueish reds, which I'd prefer.
The closest thing I saw was the Polyshades Bombay Mahogany... But
I've seen mixed reviews of that product, and it seemed like it would
completely hide the grain when used dark enough.

I'm an amateur, so grinding my own dyes with a mortar and pestle or
similarly complex solutions may be beyond the scope of the current
project.

As an aside - I'm living in New York City, and have pretty limited
access to retailers of stuff like this. Any general suggestions for
good woodworking supply shops in the NYC area would be most welcome.
I went to Home Depot today, and almost had a brain aneurysm, their
selection was so bad.

Try a store like Woodcraft.

http://tinyurl.com/ye77r99

Or, google "aniline dye". I don't know what stores are in NYC but you ought
to be able to find something. That is a pretty standard color for guitar
bodies. The body is dyed that color and then top coated with a clear
lacquer or polyurethane.

Ed

"meeotch" wrote in message
...
Can anyone offer suggestions for a painless-as-could-be-expected way
of staining birch plywood a deep, intense red color? Something almost
cartoony red or maroon, as opposed to the reddish-brown colors one
would expect from wood. Sample color: http://rurl.org/28hx


You might consider a milk paint, General Finishes offers a vairiety of
country colors. Follow up with a varnish if needed.

On Dec 26, 9:40*pm, meeotch wrote:
Can anyone offer suggestions for a painless-as-could-be-expected way
of staining birch plywood a deep, intense red color? *

Cherry KoolAid; several packets in a cup of water. This will raise
the grain since it's water based. I've used this (drink mix) for
several projects, esp. for toys that will be chewed on by toddlers.
Diluted and used as a stain, it doesn't have any taste, but is
absolutely safe and non-toxic. Do test strips to determine mixing
strengths and coverage.