Tip: Easy way to dye something jet black

[Frederick Skelly]

Hi guys,
Ive been rooting through Taunton's "40 years of FWW" disk and found another tip worth mentioning. If you need to dye something very very black, use India Ink. (You can get little bottles at craft stores or big bottles online.)

I just tried it on a file handle. It's a very deep black and I while I can still see the texture of the grain, the color is absolutely uniform - there's no contrast like I've read about happens with actual 'ebonizing' techniques. I put two coats of shellac over it, waxed it and its done. I like this approach because previously, when I've painted handles, I've lost the wood's texture.

Thanks Taunton!

Fred

[Reinis Kanders]

What kind of topcoat did you use?

Edit: Ignore this Q. I just finished reading the post to the end.

[Bruce Page]

Do you paint it on full strength?

[Frederick Skelly]

Do you paint it on full strength?

I did this time. It dried pretty quickly.

[Bill Jobe]

I think that's what inspection layout used so they could easily see the scribe the made at nominal size.

[John K Jordan]

...If you need to dye something very very black, use India Ink. (You can get little bottles at craft stores or big bottles online.)

I just tried it on a file handle. It's a very deep black and I while I can still see the texture of the grain, the color is absolutely uniform - there's no contrast like I've read about happens with actual 'ebonizing' techniques.


The nice thing about india ink is it is pigment based instead of a soluble dye which is likely to bleed with certain finishes.

A woodturner elsewhere suggested pigment-based markers and brushes to sign and color turnings for this reason. He recommended Faber-Castell Pitt pens which he buys from Blick Art supplies. I got some sets of blacks and colors and they are great - the brush style of pen has a soft but sturdy brush tip that can be used like an artist's brush.

JKJ