I have a finishing problem that I am trying to solve. I've done a lot of woodworking but not a lot of finishing so I've been experimenting with various methods and documenting my progress as I learn.
While playing with some liming wax on Oak that has been dyed black, I came across a look that I would very much like to use on a computer desktop that I am building. Everything I’ve done so far is on test boards since I only have one shot at the finished desk, which will be 1-1/2” Red Oak with some very nice grain patterns. My end goal is pitch-black wood, with extremely high-contrast white grain with very sharp edges—that is, not “soft edged grain” from the white grain filler and black dye blending slightly.
I’ve looked at many techniques & recipes (some on this site) for this “ceruse” look but none involved dyeing the wood as black as what I’m attempting.
My recipe was as follows:
-After sanding, wetting, drying, sanding to 150 grit to raise the grain. I then brass-brushed the grain and blew it out.
-I applied two coats of Behlen Solar-Lux Black dye 1 hour apart. This is an Alcohol-based dye. I then waited a couple of days to insure evaporation of the dye carrier.
-Three sprayed coats of lightly applied dewaxed Shellac, 1 hour apart, as a sealcoat over the dye. Let dry two days.
-At this point I tried filling the grain. I’ve tried several things, among them:
-drywall compounds. This works, and cleans up easily with a light sanding with scotch pads.
-Aquacoat Grain filler (clear) with white Mixol tint added. Seems to soften the dye in the grain and pull some of it into the grain filler.
-Briwax white liming wax. This gives the highest contrast, stark white grain I’ve seen and didn’t reactivate or leech the dye. The manufacturers of this liming wax claimed to me (on a phone call) that there really is no wax in the product and that you can sealcoat/topcoat over it.
-Timbermate Grain Filler with a little Mixol white tint. Gives a good white grain but is a little difficult to clean off the surface of the shellacked/non-grain flat surfaces. Didn’t reactivate or leech the dye in the grain.
I suspect that the Sprayed shellac sealcoat, which landing on the flat of the wood, is not making it into the actual grain grooves themselves (perhaps the droplets/surface tension are larger than the width of the grain) and that is why some of the grain fillers are leeching dye and not being shielded by the sealcoat?
-Now I lightly spray a few more coats of dewaxed shellac over everything in anticipation of a topcoat of three coats of General Finishes water-based High-Performance Satin. I’ve used barely dusting coats, because the Shellac seems to reactivate the dye and cause it to smear into the grain fillers in all cases. The Briwax held up the best.
I am now considering skipping the Shellac final seal and top coating and instead using a pourable epoxy over the grain filler without a barrier coat, but I’m not keen on the 1/8” thick glass-like sheen that epoxy brings to the party, even though it would have a more durable desktop surface. I'm also concerned about the epoxy bonding correctly over the already shellacked dye.
I’d love to hear any comments or suggestions anyone may have for preventing reactivation of the dye (or anything else I may have missed).