staining wood

[Phill05]

What would you use to stain a whitewood the colour of the sea a bluey/green.

 

[Sgian Dubh]

Blue dye, plus other colours mixed in to suit. Slainte.

 

[Phill05]

Sorry I should have said I tried spirit stain and I don't seem to be able to control it it soon sinks in and drys.
This is the wood and the natural patterns in it lend itself to use as the waves in the sea.

 

[D_W]

In the case where you have that type of loose curl, the wood is less dense. Even dyes are going to accentuate the pattern maybe more than you want. You can experiment with dyes or micronized pigments (the latter are a favorite of mine because they see a smooth surface as still being rough and will stick even on crisp hand planed maple).

I'd say if you're applying aniline or premetallized dyes, be sparing at first. In the world of guitars, dyes are often applied in a couple of shifts to ensure that the result isn't uneven.

There is another option, of course, which is sizing the surface with seal coats and then applying the color as a toner coat (but that's out if you're going to use a very sheer finish like a wax or something).

 

[Phill05]

Thanks DW,
" In the case where you have that type of loose curl, the wood is less dense. Even dyes are going to accentuate the pattern maybe more than you want"
This is the problem I am having, just been taking to a friend and he has said try a food colouring you can get a gel in a tube that you can mix to differ shades that is not so harsh so I might give that a try, nothing to lose.

Don't know if anyone's tried food colouring on wood?

 

[D_W]

Food coloring usually isn't very light fast (as in you may get significant fade in a VERY short period of time. Same with the older fabric dyes that are fairly easy to use and will color wood just fine.....just not for that long).

 

[D_W]

(in order of lightfast)
* earth colors and other associated similar mineral based colors (lamp black, true india black, etc) - light fast forever
* premetallized dyes - very light fast, though some colors a little less so than others, the chance of buying a guitar and having it sit next to a window and develop a fade line is far less now than it was 40 years ago
* aniline dyes that aren't premetallized - good light-fast (you can look up, just as the pre-M types to find out which colors fade faster)

...everything else below that, i'm not sure as lightfast that isn't in decades seems to me to be something for school projects, etc.

I have far less experience with this stuff than someone who works commercially, but have spent most of my minimum experience with guitars and then earth colors micronized pigments (which are a stain and not a dye, but the uniformity is wonderful - they're also present in artist colors/japan colors, which used to be linseed oil based, but the ones I've gotten in the last couple of years are distillate based - a coat of super blonde dewaxed shellac makes it pretty safe to top them with anything, though. I've had no adhesion issues).

 

[Peri]

https://newellwoodworks.co.uk/guides/guide-to-wood-finishing/
Very good guide to wood finishing - including staining (Chemical, Nitrostain, Water dye, Spirit dye, Water Pigmented and Oil Pigmented.