Tinting walnut oil

[kevin nee]

Have anyone on this sight ever tinted walnut or bush oil. I am finishing up a set of cored apple bowls and thought a little RED might be fun. Thanks in advance, Kevin

[John Keeton]

Kevin, I have not tried to tint either of those oils, but I have tried various methods of tinting WOP without success. Wouldn't it work better for you to dye the pieces first, then apply your finish? Another option is to tint shellac (Transtint will work) and apply that. The problem with tinting quick drying film finishes is that if they are applied thicker in one area than another, you may get inconsistent coloration.

[Bill Hensley]

I tinted tung oil with a water soluble dye and the results were there but subtle. I only used 1 coat of tinted oil and suspect more coats would have made it more obvious.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I tried it with Tung oil with little success. I agree with John to apply the tint first then apply your oil.

[Morey St. Denis]

Generally when Walnut oil is being applied as a preferred finish, it is largely due to its food safe properties without the potentially toxic metallic drying agents common to more robust finishes. Are you intending kitchen use for what I take to be apple wood turnings? If so, you could try dilute red food coloring as a wood dye prior to your Walnut oil finish.

If finish toxicity is not a concern for your intended application, suggest you could experiment with a number of tints or dyes on some similar scrap wood to arrive at the appearance you're looking for. According to several published articles I've recently come across in woodworking magazines, applying a wiped-on alcohol based dye to colorize your wood turnings prior to finishing in oil or varnish is reportedly the way to go. You'd also have the option of dying only certain areas like just the turned rim or outside surface and potentially leave masked regions or re-turn and polish (to ensure a crisp edge) some areas of the interior for naturally light fruitwood contrast.

[Harry Robinette]

If I was to try doing this I would try Mix-all I believe Woodcraft carries it it's supposed to mix with anything.

[Steve Vaughan]

I would wonder how well any dye - mixed into an oil finish - would work as it soaks into the end grain. I'm thinking the end grain, with as much as it will soak up, would end up splotchy and colored unevenly, especially with the rest of the bowl. How about finish sanding up a piece of the wood your using, including the endgrain portion, and try it out on that first? That'll give you an idea of what to look for.

[Marvin Hasenak]

How about Fiebing's Leather dye that is alcohol based? It comes in a lot of colors and some leather repair shops handle ii. It should only take a drop or 2 to get a color going.