Wood dye recommendations

[David Stranz]

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).

 

[Peter D'Attomo]

Try Angelus shoe dye

 

[David Stranz]

Thanks. I saw that on Amazon and it can be shipped to California.

 

[Dwayne Watt]

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.

 

[Jim Reynolds]

India Ink is another alternate to making wood black. Both Laurent Niclot and Simon Begg used this in classes I took from them.

 

[Dwayne Watt]

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.

 

[David Stranz]

India ink is water based, so it will raise the grain, I assume. Is the Keda dye water or alcohol soluble?

 

[Dwayne Watt]

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.

 

[David Stranz]

Sorry, missed that on first reading. Thanks for all of the help.

 

[Bill Blasic]

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]

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.

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.

 

[rkriet]

Another vote for India Inc.

 

[Michael Nathal]

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

 

[Bob Brown]

Douglas and Sturgess

 

[Bill Blasic]

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

Michael, just so you know when I ran my two year test on dye Behlen aniline dyes faded completely away and the Behlan Solar lux fade a little bit. Only the metal acid dyes showed no fading after two years

 

[John Tisdale]

I have been using W.D. Lockwood dyes for almost 20-years - specifically their Metal Complex Walnut.
Lockwood is only available from Lockwood - their customers are mostly furniture manufacturers

They do sell a sample kit and their technical support guys are the best - it's good to talk to someone who actually knows how to use their product

 

[Randy Anderson]

Very timely find on this post. I have a good sized sweet gum floor vase (32" tall) that developed black mold spots in large areas over a good portion of the piece. I didn't catch it early enough in the drying process to try and treat it. Even then it's usually a futal effort. I know some like the look. I don't. Considering torching the outside to a charred black but also dying it black. I've never dyed wood before so will explore some of the ideas here. It doesn't have much inherent grain contrast so not worried about covering up nice grain but want it to still have some resemblance to wood. Would plan on a sealer and then gloss clear finish after dying, or torching. The tone change band near the top is where I had tried a bit of water/bleach to see if it helped subdue the blotches.

Any inputs on dying a large very light toned piece?

 

[Chris Lawrence]

You could dye it black then sand it back when its dry so only the growth rings are dyed. Then dye it again that should make the growth rings a little darker then the rest.