TransTint dye on walnut to prevent fading

[Scott Goldthwaite]

I was listening to the Woodshop Life podcast recently and one of the hosts (Guy Dunlap) said he uses Dark Walnut TransTint dye on walnut to help keep it's original color as it will fade over time. He said he only uses 3-4 drops of dye per 16 oz of alcohol. This is a pretty dilute mix. I tried this on some scrap walnut (sanded to 320). I dyed 1/2 of the board and after it dried I couldn't tell the dyed half from the other. Has anyone done this? Does this ratio of dye to alcohol seem right?

[Alex Shanku]

There's a few good threads on this forum discussing this exactly. I beleive that using transtint was brought up in this one, at least:

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....g-due-to-aging

[John TenEyck]

You'd have to wait 10 years or more, or do some accelerated UV exposure testing, to prove weather or not such a dilute ratio of Transtint would counteract the fading. I've had pieces not fade at all in 10 years, but I've seen other pieces (not mine) where I didn't know it was walnut until I sanded it. I have used a higher concentration of TT Dark Walnut dye on walnut to deepen the color, but not necessarly to prevent fading although that would be a nice side benefit.

If preventing fading is a major objective, the best thing to do is keep it out of direct sunlight at all costs, and bright indirect sunlight if possible. Using a finish with a two component (HALS) UV stabilizer package would be of great help in prolonging any fading, too. SW's Kem Aqua Plus is one such finish.

John

[John Kananis]

Walnut is supposed to lighten over time. That said, Kiln dried walnut is sometimes masked somehow (different methods include Trans tint (and other dyes), garnet shellac (best method imho) and stains. I would never do this to air dried walnut... as dead-looking as Kiln dried walnut is, air dried walnut is some of the most beautiful stuff in the world.

[Scott Goldthwaite]

There's a few good threads on this forum discussing this exactly. I believe that using transtint was brought up in this one, at least:

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....g-due-to-aging

Thanks, I'll check that thread out.

[Curt Harms]

John's advice sounds right. Given it's UV from sunlight - or presumably artificial sources like lighting - that causes fading, limiting the amount of UV reaching the piece seems like a primary goal. A finish with UV blocker is the only method I can think of short of keeping the piece in a space with little UV.