What dye did you use for that exterior door?
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What dye did you use for that exterior door?
Richard, toner is any brew made up with colour and a binder whether it is top coat, shellac or whatever. It lays colour on top of the substrate at whatever stage of polishing. What you used to repair the door in your example was toner. What you are using as stain is also a toner. It's a perfectly legitimate method of colouring. It just behaves differently to dye. It's why it gets used. As you said it allows you to see the final colour for longer. It's is also simpler to use, meaning results can be achieved quicker and at lower cost.
I will use a toner if it is required to match or duplicate and existing finish. For new work I only use it sparingly for final selective adjustment of colour. Using it at the timber level leaves you with a 2 dimensional finish. Good polishing enhances the timber and this is best achieved when at least 95% of the colour is down in the timber, not just on the surface. Doing it this way gets you a full 3 dimensional finish and finishes do have actual physical depth. I have not come across the book you refer to other than references in this forum from time to time. Its probably a good starting point. Cheers