What Color Dye for Tiger Maple???

[Gilbert Vega]

What color dye do most of you use on Tiger Maple to accent the stripping? Please post a pic of the result. Thanks.

[Keith Starosta]

Hi Gilbert!

Recently, The Wood Whisperer used this dye on one of his projects, and it looked really nice.

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=11448

He used the Dark Vintage Maple. I just bought some this afternoon for the same project, and will probably apply it tomorrow. I'll post a pic after I'm done.

- Keith

[Jim Becker]

Water soluble Transfast is what I used for this candle stand...it's a mixture of several colors so I can't give you the exact match.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=46058&d=1157332056

Original Thread:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=32449

[Chris Barnett]

Jim,
That wood is too beautiful to be used as a candle stand. It should instead be framed in something nice, and hung on the wall.

[Larry Rasmussen]

I've been planning a few pieces for the front room using figured maple but have been wondering whether I should warm it up just a bit. I've been doing some test pieces when I have to do other finishing and tonight I tried a bit of the TransTint #6003 Reddish Brown.

The tint is diluted with acetone then added to General Finishes Seal-a-Cell clear, the first coat applied to the raw wood. Next in the finishing system is the General Finishes ARM-R-SEAL oil and urethane topcoat, a finish meant to be rubbed on. I've had very good luck with it and since I'm an amatuer I looked to the same product to dye the wood. I don't want to experiment, just get a nice finish. I may try just a little bit of yellow or gold before I make any decisions. I have posted the reddish brown with one layer of gloss topcoat so far and the flip side of the piece on which I just used a coat of Seal-a-Cell clear, two coats of topcoat gloss and one coat of the semi satin topcoat. I think the dye I have now is too dark.

This General Finishes stuff is featured by rockler so there is info on their site. I'm sure there are alot of other easy approaches but this rub on stuff is almost fool proof.

Good Luck,
Larry

[Jim Becker]

Jim,
That wood is too beautiful to be used as a candle stand. It should instead be framed in something nice, and hung on the wall.

Thanks, Chris. What makes me happy is that it was the first time I worked with tiger maple and the dye. I did use the "multiple application and sand it back" technique that I've seen Dave Malen use on his beautiful maple pieces for this one. It really did emphasize the figure even more.

If I were to do another piece and intended to go lighter (this one needed to have some similar color values to the cherry that I normally build with) I'd probably do multi-color dye work, too, starting with a yellow and working through a few others as appropriate to get to an overall look that matches the intended end result.

[Rob Millard]

Gilbert,

I have tried several different methods, most of which required the application of the dye in two steps, sanding between coats.
Once I tried the Trans Tint Dark Vintage Maple, I abandoned all of those methods. At first I was put off by the “dark” in the dark vintage maple, because I see too many reproductions that are overly dark. I found that one coat of the dye produced a very pleasing color with excellent contrast to the curl. I have attached a link to an article describing the process I use to finish curly maple.
http://americanfederalperiod.com/cof5.htm (http://americanfederalperiod.com/cof5.htm)

Rob Millard

[Gilbert Vega]

Thanks for all the input guys. This gives me a lot to think about. :)

[David Tiell]

Gilbert,

I have tried several different methods, most of which required the application of the dye in two steps, sanding between coats.
Once I tried the Trans Tint Dark Vintage Maple, I abandoned all of those methods. At first I was put off by the “dark” in the dark vintage maple, because I see too many reproductions that are overly dark. I found that one coat of the dye produced a very pleasing color with excellent contrast to the curl. I have attached a link to an article describing the process I use to finish curly maple.
http://americanfederalperiod.com/cof5.htm (http://americanfederalperiod.com/cof5.htm)

Rob Millard

Anyone know of a way to lighten up that Dark Vintage Maple? It's a little dark for what I need, and I can't find anybody selling the Light Vintage Maple except for Homestead (TransTint manufacturer) and they only carry it in quantities much larger than I need. I'm thinking about trying the Honey Amber and maybe darkening it just a tad with a drop of Golden Brown, but I've never used dyes before, so I'm just winging it here. Is it easier to start light and darken, or start dark and dilute to lighten? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Dave

[Sean Kinn]

I'm still newer to dyes too, but after experimenting on some scraps it was much easier for me to start light and go darker a few drops at a time. The beauty of dyes is this ability to tinker with them endlessly. Most of my jobs are smaller, so I try to avoid ending up with a lot of leftover mixed dye solution (as you may with starting dark and adding more water or alcohol until it's light enough).

In fact, you could just mix the Dark Vintage Maple in a slightly lesser than the recommended concentration to lighten it up. I'd try this out on some scraps first and see if your happy with the results. I'm always afraid if I mix up a combo of two dyes it would be hard for me to duplicate at a later date if I had to....but that's just me. Finishing still makes me nervous.

[Steve LaFara]

I'm new to dye and need very small quantities so the ratio thing on the bottle does not work. I usually need around 3-4 oz of dye for a given project so I've been trying to use the number of drops from the bottle to a 4oz of water mix. Big question for me is how do you change a dye that is too red to something more brown? I'm trying to do a small birds eye maple piece and started with Dark Mohogany but it's really too red. How do you go about adding something?

I really like the look of Jim Beckers piece above but he said that the color was acheived by a mixture that he can not remember. Any clues?

[Jim Becker]

Steve, I know that the primary color in the dye on the maple piece above is Antique Cherry Brown. I just don't remember what else I threw in it...mixed the batch a long time ago and am still using it. LOL

[Steve LaFara]

Thanks Jim! I ended up experimenting a little today and came up with something that I like. Started with a heavy mix of Dark Mohogany and then added a little amber until I got to where I wanted. The amber took out the pinkish hue that the mohogany had and made it very rich looking. Pops the figure nicely and with 2 to 3 applications, ends up just dark enough to not hide the figure.

Learned a lot and ended up with some pretty ugly colors, but I now have a much better idea of the possibilities! I tried to keep notes on the mixes so I can come close again if need be. A whole new world of opportunities opened up for me today. Thanks again!

Oh, and maybe the most important lesson was that you need to wash coat the end grain before dyeing or you have a real mees on your hands!:eek: