I went to a great demo by Mark Gardner at the Bay Area Woodturners Association monthly meeting yesterday. He showed one of his textured urn vessels, which had been dyed black using Fiebing's "USMC Black" leather dye. Unfortunately, that brand is illegal here in California, probably because it is alcohol-based and has a high VOC content. Can anyone give me a recommendation for an alternative, alcohol-based leather dye that works well on wood? Powder or liquid, either one is acceptable (we can buy denatured alcohol).
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Wood dye recommendations
- Thread starter David Stranz
- Start date
Try Angelus shoe dye
Thanks. I saw that on Amazon and it can be shipped to California.
Keda Dye is powder. It can be mixed with water or alcohol. Can be found on Amazon or on the Keda dye website. Also is quite inexpensive for the quantity of dye that can be made.
India Ink is another alternate to making wood black. Both Laurent Niclot and Simon Begg used this in classes I took from them.
I agree with Jim. India ink will cover up the wood grain where dye lets the wood be wood. I use India ink frequently as well as dyes.
India ink is water based, so it will raise the grain, I assume. Is the Keda dye water or alcohol soluble?
I've never had India ink raise grain. It dries in literally seconds but fully cures over a day or so. The Keda dye is both alcohol and water soluble as I already stated.
Sorry, missed that on first reading. Thanks for all of the help.
I use Transtint dyes they are alcohol or water soluble. I use them with Acetone and when I can't smell the acetone I know the dye is set. Also Blick Black Cat India Ink is the best India ink to use on wood and I sometimes use an airbrush to put it on.
Dave Landers
Beta Tester
I wipe on India ink (Speedball brand) and it does raise the grain for me - mostly doing hard maple. I simply plan on sanding again after the first application (with the last or next-higher grit) and re-applying. Sometimes I'll wet-sand with my last grit and the ink.
Another vote for India Inc.
I got a bottle of Behlen Solar Lux stain from a friend. It is non-grain raising and I like it quite a bit, better than Fiebing's. I believe it is now marketed by Mohawk
Douglas and Sturgess