Coloring Wood

[Darrin Davis]

I've seen colorply wood blanks around and was wondering how they get the wood that color. I know you can use dyes on the surface of the wood but when you turn the wood you lose the dyed color. How do they get the woods to be green, blue, red, orange, yellow, etc. all the way through? Or is it a man made material?

[george wilson]

Are you talking about stacked layers of colored veneer? You can get dyes to penetrate veneer clear through. Then,glue them up.

[Jon van der Linden]

Like George indicated, dyed then glued. You can follow the same kind of procedure if you're working with veneers that are going to be stained/dyed. Dye them in a bath first, so the colour penetrates all the way through.

This way the colour will not change as radically from wear, sanding, or other preparation. This also makes the colouring more even and prevents odd splotches from glue resistance. It always looks ugly and cheap when wear patterns show that the wood has been dyed on the surface only.