Bright Coloured Dyes

[pjm699]

Does anyone have advice on colourful wood dyes.

Seems to be a chestnut / tiger competition

I have finished some of the primary ones that I used to get from the sadly ended "Woodworks Craft Supplies"
Not for children's toys but for training aids in wood to colour code all the different parts.

many thanks

 

[niall Y]

Have successfully used the Chestnut ones to dye turned, birch-ply, items. The only downside was the limited range of colours. I did look at fabric dyes to greatly extend this range, as I was after the more lurid colours you find in Mesembryanthemums, ( my goodness, that's a long word ).
I didn't follow this through, as I made do with Chestnut ones, which I intermixed. to give me additional colours. Some of these were not as vibrant as I would have liked, especially the purple, which ended up a bit grey when applied.

 

[robgul]

Have a look at AG Woodcare's Village Green Stain range . . . lots of colours (I'm going there tomorrow to get 3 small bottles for an experimental "pallet art" project)

 

[pjm699]

That's brilliant thanks, I was looking at American food dyes but I guess none of those would be too fast even if they are lurid when applied. Will have a stroll round the village green and see how I get on.

 

[robgul]

That's brilliant thanks, I was looking at American food dyes but I guess none of those would be too fast even if they are lurid when applied. Will have a stroll round the village green and see how I get on.

I'll report back on them - I'm getting Poppy, Cobalt & Sunflower to stain some surfaced pallet timber for an arty "installation" in our garden . . . plan to stain some of the panels in the colours and some in various woodshades (Chestnut products) that I already have - and then yacht varnish to seal.

Oh, and AG Woodcare send the VG products post-free which is a bonus (I'll be cycling past the place on the way home from the club run tomorrow )

 

[niall Y]

'Rit All Purpose Dye,' and 'Rit Liquid Dye', can be used on wood, and are a couple of the fabric dyes I looked at a while back. I've no direct experience using them, but they are sold as light-fast. Food -dyes ,however, are not, ( after all they only have to last till the food is consumed). They are also available in many more colours, and can be that little bit cheaper.

 

[baileytog]

Not sure which side of the pond you are on but…. Crimson Guitars in the UK supply wood stains in many colours both in spirit base or water base. I have a full set of both and they are fantastic.

 

[baileytog]

Not sure which side of the pond you are on but…. Crimson Guitars in the UK supply wood stains in many colours both in spirit base or water base. I have a full set of both and they are fantastic.

Sorry forgot the link…
https://www.crimsonguitars.com/sear...st&options[unavailable_products]=last&q=Stain

 

[Blackswanwood]

Other than spirit stains not raising the grain when applied are there any differences in the results between water and spirit based stains?

 

[Jacob]

https://www.woodmagazine.com/materials-guide/finishes/aniline-dyes

 

[baileytog]

Other than spirit stains not raising the grain when applied are there any differences in the results between water and spirit based stains?

I would consider the spirit stains to be more stable and less likely to fade, usually I would finish the water based stains by over coating with a clear coat paint (2K) or nitrocellulose as I use them to finish guitars. The spirit stains tend to “flatten” to a subtle sheen whereas the water based one are flat . The colours of both water and spirit stains are consistent when applied. Crimson Guitars have a YouTube channel and have videos demonstrating the different stains.

 

[sploo]

It's not marketed as being for wood, but I've had some success with Fiebing's leather dye: Leather Dye - Fiebing's

There's a good range of colours, and it mixes well with shellac.

 

[robgul]

I'll report back on them - I'm getting Poppy, Cobalt & Sunflower to stain some surfaced pallet timber for an arty "installation" in our garden . . . plan to stain some of the panels in the colours and some in various woodshades (Chestnut products) that I already have - and then yacht varnish to seal.

Oh, and AG Woodcare send the VG products post-free which is a bonus (I'll be cycling past the place on the way home from the club run tomorrow )

This is the result - some panels in the coloured stain and some in wood colour stains (the latter being oddments I had on the shelf)

The colours applied very easily and got into the wood - two coats were fine for what I was making, just a recalimed pallet - with a 2 coats of yacht varnish, and clear caulking around the inner edges of the rebated frame - the panel is in the sun (when available!) so time will tell if there's any fading. The project was just a bit of fun to liven up a dull corner of the garden.

 

[kinverkid]

I'm another fan of the water based aniline dyes. I have some which must be around twenty years old. I've decided there must not be a shelf life because they still work as well as the day I bought them but you must still keep them in the dark. All dyes and dyed items will fade given enough UV exposure. It's just that some take much longer than others. You will need to knock back the raised grain with a bit of 320 grit but it really is just a quick rub-over. You may want to avoid a water based finish though as you can reactivate the dye which probably wouldn't be a problem if there's only one colour but you may have areas where you won't want it to bleed.
Other colouring techniques I've tried:
Clothing dyes (aniline)
Alcohol (Chestnut and Colron) both very good
Food colouring (for temporary items because it will fade quickly)
Permanent marker re-fill mixed with methylated spirit and a little shellac. I don't know how long it will keep its colour on wood yet but it's great as engineer marking blue. Works out less than a quid for 250ml.

Gary