what did I do wrong?

[James Sweeney]

Hey guys, looking for some advice here. I recently finished a box that I used water based dye on. I followed the instructions for mixing the dye and applied it on my project. It looked great. The wood I used was ash. after letting the dye dry for 24 hours, I tried to apply minwax polycrylic water based polyurethene. When I did this, the dye I had applied started bleading all over. What did I do wrong? do I need to let it dry longer? can I not use water based poly over water based dye. My understanging was that I could use any finish over the dye. Help

[Howard Acheson]

Of course, the water in your waterborne finish dissolved your water soluble dye. That's going to happen. If you want to use a waterborne finish over a water or alcohol soluble dye, you should first apply a coat of shellac as a barrier coat. If you plan to use a waterborne finish or an oil based poly varnish be sure to use a dewaxed shellac.

If your box is small enough, go to your local big box and buy a can or two of Zinsser's Spray Can Shellac. It's totally dewaxed and easy to apply. For a larger item use Zinsser's Sealcoat which is a 100% dewaxed shellac.

[glenn bradley]

Right, using products with a like reducer will do that. I use Zinsser's Seal Coat as a barrier between coats.

[James Sweeney]

thanks for the info guys, I feel so dumb now, I guess I should have researched a little before trying this. I have some zinsers and I will try the dewaxed shellac to seal it first.