Dye Question

[Dominic Carpenter]

I have never used dye, but am considering it on my current project and need advice. I am using Walnut legs and slats with Cherry every where else on a Stickley Metro Morris Chair. The Walnut looks terrific and will contrast nicely with the Cherry. Over time, however, the Walnut will begin to loose its deep rich color and I would like to minimize the fade from UV light. I plan on using a Natural Danish varnish as my finish. Would using a dye help maintain the color of walnut or should I just use a satin uv blocking urethane?

[John TenEyck]

Dom, the walnut will fade some over time, but the bigger change will be in the cherry which will darken much more. Both are driven by exposure to light. I don't think dye will minimize the fading of the walnut, only shift the starting point. I do know that some finishes with good UV stabilizer packages will prevent yellowing of the finish AND color change in the underlying wood for many years. The two I know that do this for certain are General Finishes WB High Performance Poly (mostly acrylic), and WB Enduro Clear Poly. I learned this when I talked with GF's chemist a couple of years ago when I was researching UV color change. He wasn't hard to reach by phone.

I finished a cherry jewelry box with HP Poly about 4 years ago. The color has remained the same, best as I can tell; the color today is the same as the pictures I took after it was first finished, and the color on the outside is no different than on the inside.

People sometimes complain that WB finishes look ho-hum, bland, etc. But I've found that over dye or shellac they look just like solvent based finishes.

John

[Steve Schoene]

As John pointed out, the fading of the walnut will be significantly "outdone" by the darkening of the cherry. The contrast will increase over time, and generally in a good way since walnut continues to be attractive as it ages. To block UV with a topcoat would change the entire look, since to be effective UV blocking finishes need to be applied with considerable thickness of film. If you have low-e double pane window, the UV will be greatly reduced.

[Dominic Carpenter]

Thanks for the advise. I will leave the Walnut as is. There is little to no sap wood so the color is nice and uniform. I will do some more research on the UV issue. Again, your expertise is appreciated.