Can I color Spar Varnish?

[Dell Moore]

Can I add color to Spar Varnish? If so, would the best way be via a powder? I think the only liquid color additives I have are water based.

Thanks!

Dell

[Mitchell Andrus]

Be careful with dyes. I know of an expensive carpet that was ruined when a table was set on it. The dye in the leg's finish leached into the fibers changing their color. Some finishes will out gas for months. I'll assume soluble dyes can be carried in the fumes. Placing a cloth runner onto a dyed table top may cause a similar problem. Also, some dyes are far from fade resistant.
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[john bateman]

I have tinted regular oil based varnishes with small amounts of Minwax Stains and it did not seem to affect the curing of the varnish. The percentage of stain was quite small though...less than 10%

[Bill White]

Transtint dyes.
Bill

[Prashun Patel]

What exactly are you trying to do?

You can tint anything. It's not always the smartest option though.

Dye is designed to penetrate. Varnish is designed to seal. The best, most even application of dye is when you solubilize it in a highly mobile, penetrating solvent, like mineral spirits (for oil dyes), alcohol, or water. Then you varnish on top to lock it in.

Putting dye into the varnish - especially a powder - risks making the finish uneven or spotty.

[Howard Acheson]

Sure you can color varnish or poly varnish. The Minwax Polyshades is a poly varnish with oil based stain added to it.

You can color your own by buy any oil based stain (Miwax, Zar, Cabot, etc) and adding small amounts to a clear oil based varnish or poly varnish.

But, the question was asked about what you really want to accomplish. Coloring oil based clear finish can make for some nasty results when it is applied to the wood. The intensity of the color is dependent on the thickness of the film. Any variation in the film thickness will produce uneven coloring.