Transtint first timer ?

[lou Brava]

I'm planning on staining/dying a large 40" x 92" white oak dinning table. Since I've never worked with it I'm wondering about using water or alcohol. I like the NGR part of the alcohol approach but not sure if the alcohol will dry to fast on the large top causing hard edges when applying & if the Alcohol will work with or affect a top coat Rubio finish ?
The instructions for Transtint say first timer's should use water, I'm sure theirs a reason for this. I saw a video of Transtint water thinned applied on a small Oak end table and the pre grain raising didn't seem to like a problem it just seems like an added step.
I'll take any advice or tips I can get on dying or Rubio.
Thanks

[John TenEyck]

Any water/alcohol soluble dye will work under Rubio Monocoat. Alcohol will not effect the RM; it evaporates leaving nothing behind that would cause a problem. Both water and alcohol will raise the grain on white oak, alcohol less so because there's less water in it but it still will to some degree. How bad the problem is depends upon how fine you sanded and the wood itself. I've had terrible issues with it on white oak sometimes, even with alcohol, until I sanded it to 320 grit. The only way to find out what works is to make test samples.

I've never found a problem with lap marks with Transtint, whether using water or denatured alcohol. I wipe it on generously but not flooded with a sponge then wipe off the excess with the sponge wrung out really well.

John

[Tom Bain]

Do you have the ability to spray? I personally prefer alcohol as the solvent for Transtint, and spraying is definitely my preferred method for application. If you get it a little too dark, you can spray pure alcohol to lighten up the dye … at least to a degree.

[lou Brava]

Thanks John, I will defiantly do samples trying with water & alcohol. One thing I read on the Rubio is sand to 150, if I need to go to 320 to prevent raised grain do you think the Rubio will still do what it's supposed to do?
Tom, I have no ability to spray. It's defiantly going to be a learning curve on the dye, hopefully a success !
I've got about 800 bucks in wood & a lot of hours in this table.
Thanks for the help,

[Curt Harms]

................
I've got about 800 bucks in wood & a lot of hours in this table.
Thanks for the help,
Definitely do samples and do the entire schedule, sand stain topcoat. I would be beyond pis er annoyed with lap marks on a project with that kind of investment. I've never tried hand application of transtint so can't help there.

[roger wiegand]

You can avoid most/all of the raised grain problem with water-based by wiping the table down with a damp rag after the final grit and then coming back with the same grit sandpaper very lightly (ie by hand, not much more than one pass) to just knock off the "fuzzies".

I've always used alcohol, applying it quite wet and wiping of off pretty quickly. Water will give you a lot more working time. Just tried spraying for the first time and it will absolutely be my method of choice going forward!

[Dennis Jarchow]

I second spraying on a large surface. Here is a video by Charles Neil on spraying transtint on a tabletop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgFzzZd0JVI&t=64s

[John TenEyck]

Thanks John, I will defiantly do samples trying with water & alcohol. One thing I read on the Rubio is sand to 150, if I need to go to 320 to prevent raised grain do you think the Rubio will still do what it's supposed to do?
Tom, I have no ability to spray. It's defiantly going to be a learning curve on the dye, hopefully a success !
I've got about 800 bucks in wood & a lot of hours in this table.
Thanks for the help,

Oh, sorry, I forgot about not going higher than 150 grit with RM. On the other hand, I know many people do go higher w/o issue, but I think most stop at 220 grit. I have not gone beyond 180 grit yet with RM.

I would sand to the highest grit you choose; let's say that's 180 grit. Then raise the grain with water, then lightly cut off the whickers with 180 or 220 grit. Do that once or twice more, until the surface is smooth. Then you can apply your dye mix.

My results with Transtint shows better color absorption/grain highlights with water than DNA, but both work well. Some folks use a 50/50 mix trying to minimize grain raising while still getting good absorption. Spraying is easier, for sure, but doing it by hand still works fine with water, DNA, or a mix. Just apply it generously, then wipe off the excess. Do the edges of the top first, then the top surface, then wipe around the edges again. On the base work bottom up, then wipe the excess.

Samples.

Good luck. Remember, the worst that can happen is you don't like it, but you can sand it off and start over. And dye doesn't penetrate very deeply, contrary to what many think, so it doesn't take a lot of sanding to get back to fresh wood.

John

[lou Brava]

My results with Transtint shows better color absorption/grain highlights with water than DNA, but both work well. Some folks use a 50/50 mix trying to minimize grain raising while still getting good absorption. Spraying is easier, for sure, but doing it by hand still works fine with water, DNA, or a mix. Just apply it
Good luck.
Remember, the worst that can happen is you don't like it, but you can sand it off and start over. And dye doesn't penetrate very deeply, contrary to what many think, so it doesn't take a lot of sanding to get back to fresh wood.

John

Good to know it's not one & done ! I didn't realize you could sand the dye out. Of course that's not what I intend on & with the suggestions from you guys I think it will end up pretty nice.
After watching that video (Dennis provided the link) & listening to what others are saying I'm thinking maybe pick up a spray gun & go that route. Only problem I have there is my compressor only puts out 3.2 cfm at 90psi with 2 gal tank. I've been web searching & it looks like right choice on a gun would be an LVLP type.
Thanks again everybody,

[Rob Luter]

I use Transtint with water on QSWO. I’ve never had issues with light sanding after the fact.

[John TenEyck]

Your compressor is too small to drive much of any gun you'd want for this task, and you don't need it anyway. It's not hard to apply Transtint to large surfaces, water or DNA. Practice on some samples as outlined above. Have faith and get after it.

John