Colored epoxy bleedthrough question

[Alan L Carter]

How's that for a stimulating subject? I'm doing some vessels that have a narrow black ring near the opening as a detail. To make it I cut into the surface, about 1/16" wide and 1/16" deep with a parting tool. I filled the ring with epoxy mixed with india ink and when I turned the ring smooth with the wood surface, I noticed the black epoxy bled into the surrounding wood, soft maple in this case. It also happened with some cherry. No amount of sanding would clean it up.

My question is what should I use instead of india ink (I assume it was the culprit) to get a nice smooth detail ring with no bleedthrough. I tried spraying the slot with shellac to see if it would seal the wood, but it didn't do much of anything.

I like the idea of this nice thin contrasting ring detail but am stymied on how to do it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Mark Hubl]

Hello Alan,

Welcome to the creek. Is this on a horizontal or vertical surface? Could try just burning a ring, but this can be pretty inconsistent. What about mixing the ink with really fine saw dust first, should slow the capillary action a bit. Or use some dry pigments. If you have got an old laser cartridge laying around it will yield some nice dry black dust. Messy though. Another technique is string. I have seen this technique used. Dye the string, insert, fill with epoxy or ca. I think there was a FWW article on using string as a fill. Might have been on a spice cabinet. Good Luck.

[Peter Luch]

Before you fill with epoxy seal the wood in the cut out area with thin CA glue and let it dry.

Aloha, Pete

[Jon McElwain]

Before you fill with epoxy seal the wood in the cut out area with thin CA glue and let it dry.

I had the same thought only sealing with a thin layer of epoxy with no dye first. If you do multiple layers of epoxy, be sure to sand in between with 220 or so, or wash with alcohol to remove the epoxy blush before applying the second coat.

Do you have a photo or two of what you are working on?

[Dan Forman]

India ink contains shellac, so shellac isn't suitable to contain it. I would try applying the first coat of finish directly after cutting the grooves, then apply the colored epoxy, then turn back to bare wood, and go from there. Try it on a scrap first, but it should work fine.

Dan

[Steve Vaughan]

Dan made me think. I say this never having working with india ink, but if it contains shellac, maybe the bleeding is because the india ink is not able to thoroughly compatible with the epoxy? Seems too there was another thread not long ago about coloring shellac and someone there suggested to mix the coloring agent with Part A first, and then add the Part B (Hardener)?

[John Keeton]

While I think some India ink mixtures contain some shellac as a binder, most of the blends are largely carbon black and water from my experience.

Alan, I have used System Three epoxy quite a bit for collars, and I use their black tint. It is a soft butter consistency, and it takes very little for a deep black. One can also use universal paint pigment from a paint store.

I use shellac to seal the wood, but I put it on with a piece of paper shop towel, and really soak it in the recess - two or three coats. The first time I used the System Three was on a piece of maple and I did not seal the recess. The black bled. Since using the shellac, I have not experienced any bleeding.

You do some unbelievable work, BTW!! It is a little too modern for my tastes, but that takes nothing away from your skill, talent and high level of artistic expression - top end!!!

[Jim Adkins]

I would suggest using Artist Oils as your "dye" A lot of turners are using this now to color
their epoxy. Would also "second" what John K says about sealing the wood first with Shellac. Good luck.

[Cathy Schaewe]

I've used black liquitex (a brand of acrylic paint, bought at local craft store) mixed with epoxy, after sealing the area with shellac. Had no bleed-through -

[Bernie Weishapl]

I use shellac to seal the area first and have no bleed thru like the others have commented.

[Alan L Carter]

Thanks to all for your suggestions. I'll try them out and let you know, with pics, the results.

[Chip Sutherland]

I'm with Cathy on this topic. I've actually never thought of using India ink with epoxy. Acrylic paint, tints, etc....have worked fine for me.

[Dick Wilson]

Alan, How you been? I suspect what happened was the India ink had a chance to leech into the surrounding wood before the epoxy set up. What I would do is go to an artist store like T-Square. They have hundreds of pastel sticks. I have a small coffee bean grinder that I use to turn the sticks into powder. The powder easily mixes with the epoxy. No bleeding. :-)))

[Bernie Weishapl]

Thanks Dick for the suggestion. I had never thought of that and do have a pile of pastel left overs that would be just fine for that.