Dieing to dye this bowl

[Allen Howell]

I’m posting this on several forums, so please, if you have some advice don’t ignore my plea just because you’ve seen it elsewhere. Thanks in advance.
I have a Cherry bowl with a wavy rim and I want to dye the top with a blue dye. This will be my first attempt at using dyes, so I have zero experience to draw from. I would like to have some experienced folks give me advice on a couple of things. First, which type of dye (not necessarily brand) will work best with Cherry. I want a fairly deep blue color. I plan on using a pie plate to put the dye in and then dropping the bowl into for ____ minutes. How does that sound?
Any other advice is also appreciated.

[John Keeton]

Allen, my first concerns would be that the dye will quickly bleed up the bowl from the surface line - and may not do so in a consistent fashion, leaving you with a "ragged edge" to your dyed area. Secondly, the blue on the cherry will almost certainly give you a purple cast from the inherent red of the cherry. I would think you would do better with taping off the area to be colored, and using an acrylic paint in an airbrush.

[Bob Bergstrom]

John's right in that It would start to bleed. Alcohol and water dyes penetrate in seconds, not minutes. If a sharp line is needed mask it off and whether you use paint or dye an air brush is the best and most feasible way to go. An airbrush allow much more flexibility in application and fading colors. A paint brush will work if a sharp line is wanted and it is masked off. Also the use of shellac as a way of preventing penetration can be sometimes used. I would practice, practice and practice on some cherry flat stock or a discarded bowl.

[Jim Burr]

IMHO Allen, Cherry has no business being dyed. It has an open grain and usually stands on it's own. If I may, try some ash or maple if you just want to dye part of it. Dye is a tricky business.

[David DeCristoforo]

Without getting into the question of the "appropriateness" of dying cherry, I would reiterate the warning about the dye "bleeding" if you attempt to soak the rim. Masking is a better idea, but brushing the dye might just as easily lead to bleeding as the dye will penetrate the wood under the masking tape. I would mask and use an air brush. The dye should be built up to the desired intensity with very light "fog coats" which will "flash dry" with minimal bleed. Even so, you may still get some bleeding so you might want to test the whole process on a "sacrificial" piece first. As has been mentioned, dyes can be tricky and unpredictable...

[Marc Himes]

I have used blue alcohol based dyes on cherry and it comes out blue green. If you want a royal blue you may consider some of the wood dye pens with a broad tip. This may give you more control over the edge of the color and you can try several different shades to see which one you like. A very wide stripe of color can be difficult with a pen but it may be worth a try. You could also try bleaching the wood before applying the dye. I have never bleached wood but it may give you a better blue. Ebonizing with vinegar and steel wool will cause cherry to turn gray and you could then apply a bright blue over that. There are many options and trying them on a test piece of wood may be worthwhile. Using an air brush if you have one would be easier.

Marc Himes

[Joe Landon]

I typically use water based aniline dyes. If you don't want certain areas dyed you may consider sealing those areas with the finish (poly, lacquer, shellac...). I do a lot of dyeing. There is a blog about one of my techniques on lumberjocks.com. Search for 2 DYE 4.

Good luck!

[Prashun Patel]

Hmmm, from the cherry I've turned, I'd be daunted by trying to find the right combination of greens/reds/blues to make the orange cherry the right shade of blue. Then, I'd be concerned that in a matter of months, the bowl would turn purple/brown as the cherry does what it does when exposed to light.