Dyed Maple Hollow Form

[Steve Schlumpf]

Here is another of my ongoing color experiments! This piece of maple was naturally split right down the middle with light colored wood on one side and dark colored wood on the other. The process this time - the entire piece was dyed with RIT ‘Teal’ and lightly sanded it back with 320 grit once it had dried. Next the form was dyed with RIT ‘Kelly Green’ and again lightly sanded once it was dry.

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Maple hollow form, 8 ¼” diameter x 3 ¼” high x 1/8” thick. Sanded to 400 grit and has 7 thin coats of Minwax Wipe-On Gloss Poly. Will let it dry for a week and then buff it out. I buff these pieces to smooth the surface of the form – not try and add to the gloss. There is a big difference when touching a turning that has been buffed and one that has not. I like the additional smoothness!

As always, comments, critiques and opinions are welcome!

Thanks for looking!

[Ron Lynch]

Very nice. Color and form seem to fit one another. Do you immerse or wipe/brush the dye?

[charlie knighton]

very nice, that does not look like experiment

[Rob Cunningham]

Really nice Steve. It kind of looks like a polished gem stone.

[David Christopher]

Steve, that is cool....it nice to see something different

[alex carey]

finish looks great and i like the teal but the shape doesnt work for me. Not what id change though.

[Bernie Weishapl]

That is a beauty Steve. Really like the color and form.

[Ryan Baker]

Good stuff, Steve. I really like the color combination on this one.

[ROY DICK]

Steve,
Once again you turn outside the hollow form. I am always impressed and inspired. Thanks for sharing all you ideas.

Roy

[Mark Hix]

I like it alot, especially the differences in color from one side to the other.

[Richard Madison]

Maybe time to start mixing colors (like Joe on WoW)?

[Cody Colston]

I like this one a lot, Steve. The form is great and that green color looks perfect with it.

I agree about buffing your pieces. Last year at my first art show, I had a lady from Dallas call me aside to tell me, quite confidentially, that my finishes weren't smooth enough. The piece she was holding had a gloss finish and looked great but when running one's hand over it, it did not feel as smooth as it looked.

She didn't buy the bowl she was admiring but she gave me some great advice.

[Ken Glass]

Steve,
I really like it a lot. Great color combo and the finish is superb. As always, your form is on the money. Its funny, I made a vase this week and considered both those Dye colors. (I could say great minds think alike.) I doubt my finish will turn out as good as yours. Well done, my friend.

[Ernie Kuhn]

Steve,
RIT, is that the fabric dye?
Ernie

[Steve Schlumpf]

Thanks for all the kind words everyone - I do appreciate it!

Ron - I use the cheapest 1" foam brushes that I can find to apply the dye as well as the first 2 coats of poly. With the poly - I saturate the piece, wipe off the excess and let dry for 24 hours. Second coat goes on the same. After that I use a paper towel folded up and apply very light coats until I get to the level of gloss that works for the piece.

Richard - Joe does some fabulous work with colors and it would be really cool to be able to achieve the same effects. Really admire his style of forms also!

Ernie - Yup, I use the RIT fabric dye mixed with denatured alcohol. The alcohol dissolves a lot of the dye - but not all - and dries really fast. It does raise the grain somewhat but not as much as a water based product.

[Mark Burge]

Steve, I really like the color combination on this one. You've got the tones flowing well around the piece and it really complements the form.

[Jack Mincey]

Steve,
Very beautiful HF. I really like what you do with the DYE on your bowls. It sets them apart from other turners. The finish looks like it has already been buffed. I am going to have to try some of the Wipe On Poly and see if I can come close to your finish with it.
Jack

[ROY DICK]

Steve,
Any certain ratio or just package directions?

Thanks,

Roy

[Norm Zax]

Great product. Well done. I keep thinking of juicy sour apples when viewing your work but Ken's phrase about "your form is on the money" got me thinking: what if it isnt apple green but dollar green? Hmmmm, nice twist, huh?
Norm

[Jeff Nicol]

Steve, Being that green is the color of money, it looks like this one in destined for a monetary transaction! I love the color green also an am drawn to it always! The thing I like about dying wood is that it brings out the flash between the end grain and the flat grain sort of like a saphire! Thanks for showing it to us and inspiring us all!

Jeff

[robert hainstock]

Another keeper Steve. A great way to dress up plain maple. :):):)
Bob

[Steve Schlumpf]

Roy, nothing special.

I use a 1" foam brush, one of those small plastic margarine containers, dump in about 1/2 teaspoon of the powdered dye and mix with DNA. What I've found is that the DNA does not dissolve all of the powder - so adding an amount greater than 1/2 teaspoon doesn't accomplish anything. Also, using DNA as the liquid means you have to work pretty fast as it evaporates quickly. When that happens, I just add a little more DNA to the container and it dissolves most of the remaining granules.

[Terry Murphy]

You keep raising the bar!
At this rate, I will never catch up. Great piece of art.
Terry

[Curt Fuller]

Wow, the combination of the dyes gave it an emerald look. That's really pretty! Then your meticulous patience for finish really tops it off. Another beauty Steve.

[Tom Giacomo]

That's a beautiful piece Steve, the color you achieved is stunning. Nice work.

[Eric Gourieux]

Steve,
Beautiful work!
Do you wait intil the piece is dry before you dye it?

[Steve Schlumpf]

Wow... you had to dig to find this post! Ha Ha! I only dye the wood at the very last stages of finishing a piece. So, in this case the wood was roughed out green, soaked in denatured alcohol (DNA) and then, once dry, it was finish turned, sanded and then dyed.

[David DeCristoforo]

Well I'm glad he dug it up! I have been thinking about some green dyed pieces seeing that most of my "violet" attempts have come out green. I figure someone is trying to tell me something! So it's nice to see this one right about now...