dying dos and donts

[Chris Haas]

i dont know if i didnt thin the dye enough, or if i put it on a little to heavy, but instead of wood "tinted" red, i have what looks to be like red milk paint on a bowl. it is rit liquid dye about 50/50 with dna.

first attempt, will now have to sand down the high spots and see what happens next.

any help dos and donts anyone can think of would be greatly appriciated, as i think i will continue to experiment with dying pieces. thanks, guys, Chirs

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Chris,

Steve Schlumpf can probably give you an answer based on his experience.

I would suspect it could be either:

1. dye mixture too strong...
2. dye allowed to stay on too long....
3. type of wood being dyed....

[David E Keller]

I've only done dye on a small scale(pens), but I'd give it a little sanding and see what happens. Some before and after photos would be nice.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Chris - I agree with David - a couple of photos would really help.

When I dye anything - I put the color on as heavy as I can. After it dries - then I sand it all back down to 'almost' bare wood. The endgrain will absorb the color and hang onto it - the facegrain will allow you to sand the color off. Takes a little sanding but you can create some great effects!

Looking forward to seeing the photos!

[Wayne Spence]

I did the same thing, applied it straight out of the bottle with no dilution. Looks good, not quite like paint, poly oil over it, light buff with diamond. Just a hint or more of the grain showing .Normally I will buy the powder and then dilute with water to the desired strength-I prefer this method but somehow I ended up with some in a liquid.