1st colouring attempt: critique and comments

[Bodrighy]

As promised...


Quite pleased with the overall effect but can see faults in it. The colours are purple and blue but not showing up fully in the photo. I like the way the grain, hardly visible in the bare wood, shows up with the colouring. . Also highly glossed with wax.

For a first attempt I'm sort of pleased but need to practice and experiment a lot methinks

Comments and critique welcome

Pete

 

[stevebuk]

i really like this pete, i think the grain in this piece should have been highlighted a bit more, but as you chose blue and purple i dont think you could have.
I would probably have gone with RED/BLUE individually and mixed them into purple further up the body. Just my opinion mate not a complaint :lol:

keep em coming..

 

[Oakbear]

I love the colour combination on this, very nice. I especially like the way the blue highlights the grain at the top, and the purple plays it down a bit.

I see what folks say about every flaw being highlighted though (not meaning to be rude). It seems a bit unforgiving as a finish i think. Maybe go down another couple of grits next time?

 

[loz]

I like it Pete,

I did my first one last week ( couple of pages back ) -its very hard to get good photographs, esp with a glossy finish. I used acrylic spray on mine.

Have you ebonised the interior also, or is it dark due to shadow?

What speed did you apply at ?

Loz

 

[Bodrighy]

The inside is ebonised (spray) and I put the colouring on at about 700. The finish was baby bottom smooth before applying, I went down to 400 then burnished with w&d 1000. It dries very quicklt I found and will try again with another one tomorrow with differnet colours and perhaps putting it on statonary first as application when spinning has left rings. May be my technique or lack thereof.

pete

 

[tekno.mage]

700 rpm seems rather fast to me for applying the colour. I only use about 100 rpm when I apply colour with a small brush on small items. For larger items I use a cloth and make sure I spread plenty of stain on. I then wipe off excess stain with the item stationary and wipe excess stain off along the grain so as to avoid rings.

Having said that - I like your choice of colours and your first attempt at using the stains is far better than mine was!

tekno.mage

 

[boysie39]

Very impressive Pete, love the colouring. What timber is it, hard or soft wood. If a soft wood I wonder how would the colour react if you were to wire brush the grain some before applying. just a thought REgards Boysie

 

[Turn It In]

Hi Pete,
I like the colour combination and its amazing how it picks out the grain in different colours. I find that red, yellow and green run well together and one of the useful effects is to apply a band of green then yellow which you run the cloth with the yellow over the green and this dissolves the green again and blends it in. Then if you apply red you can put fresh yellow on from the yellow area onto the red and blend them.
I trust I have explained myself ok. Its good fun and a bit of a change but remember the gloves or you will end up with funny coloured fingers.
Looking forward to the next experiment,
Regards,
Ian

 

[Bodrighy]

The wood is sycamore. I tried blending it but was probably going to fast as it seemed to dry out. Short of turning by hand my slowest speed is 400 so I'll have a go at that and also doing it with the lathe off. Something to really experiment with. It is good fun as you can't really tell what is going to happen until you do it. I was surprised at how much the grain stands out. I took another photo with a flash and it shows up a bit more though still not a good photo.


Look forward to playing with the other colours and seeing what happens. Also perhaps mixing with sanding sealer, apparently that gives a different effect again.

pete

 

[boysie39]

Pete, the second pic. shows it even better. The more I see it the better it gets.Another string to your Bow perhaps? I,m sure you will come up with your own version of the colouring method and have everone wondering Why did'nt I think of that?. REgards Boysie.

 

[mikec]

Pete, that is a very interesting piece, the grain really "pops" with the stain.
Its worth working on to get the colour flow sorted. I an about to try a similar process on a yew vase.

Regards,

Mike C

 

[Doug B]

Looking good Pete.

I saw a chap demonstrating spraying bowl rims with an air brush, the differing effects he achieved were marvelous.
I look forward to seeing your progress.

 

[Bodrighy]

A pro told me that one way of applying it is to get it into a straw and then spray on the wood. Might try it but nowing my luck I'd probably hiccup at the wrong moment. It is quite fascinating watching the way that the colour affects the wood and perhaps on heavier grained wood like ash it could be quite spectacular.

 

[Richard Findley]

Good job there Pete. Especially as it's your first go!!! =D> =D> =D> =D>

Don't really do this sort of stuff but in a couple of demos I've seen of it the dye was rubbed almost randomly over the piece with it stationary. I think the demo I saw he used too many colours, I think maybe a couple or complimentary colours which kind of fade like you've done works better.

I'll be interested in your progress with this one.

Richard

 

[Bodrighy]

Must admit I have always been a fan of natural wood....the more natural the better :lol: but having seen one or two pieces that impressed me as they seemed to enhance rather than detract I decided to have a go. I am pleasantly surprised at how far the colouring goes. I reckon that I can do a lot of pieces with the tester bottles so watch this space as they say

pete

 

[zambezi]

Looks good! I am still trying to get the bowl right, still it gives me something to look forward to...

 

[Jenx]

Great Stuff Pete, and a bit of a difference from the 'rustic' ... but one that works !

Looking great ! 8) 8) 8) 8)

 

[Oakbear]

Aoplogies for my previous comment, i assumed the rings were highlighted from sanding!

Looking nice in that new pic though!

 

[Bodrighy]

Aoplogies for my previous comment, i assumed the rings were highlighted from sanding!

Looking nice in that new pic though!

:lol: :lol: No problem, though I did go and double check to see what I had missed. I think that putting the finish on at too fast a speed dries the spirit out quickly leaving the rings as seen. It could be made into feature if I can learn to control it but at the moment it's just a defect IMHO.

Pete