# Denatured alcohol and food coloring??



## Band Saw Box (Mar 23, 2014)

Has anyone ever tried mixing food coloring and denatured alcohol? I was thinking about trying to dye a blank and all I have on hand is food coloring. My thought are if I use the denatured alcohol I wont raise the grain.


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## longbeard (Mar 23, 2014)

Dan, I have not tried food coloring, but do use a alcohol base dye. I get it from A.C. Moore's (like a hobby lobby) 3 bottles to a pack. I use it just like i do a CA finish, no mixing, straight out of the bottle and dribble it on the blank as it is turning with a piece of cotton cloth on the bottom of the blank rubbing it in on low speed. Now back to your food coloring, i would try it straight first on a scrap blank straight out of the bottle, then maybe mix just a few drops of DNA with it to see which way is best and to your liking. 




Clear box elder burl
George did mention something i forgot. I do turn my blanks to final size then dye the blank.
Thanks George

Harry


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## robutacion (Mar 23, 2014)

Band Saw Box said:


> Has anyone ever tried mixing food coloring and denatured alcohol? I was thinking about trying to dye a blank and all I have on hand is food coloring. My thought are if I use the denatured alcohol I wont raise the grain.



Are you talking about just let the wood soak or put it under vacuum...???

Without the full vacuum, most woods will only soak at the surface, a couple of millimeters in and you got nothing however, if you are thinking in putting a mix of denature alcohol in you vacuum chambers, STOP, you will destroy the pump oil, and possibly cause considerable damage to the pump, believe me, I know, I've tried various solutions to dye wood and none of them had much penetration, using the vacuum pump/chamber to force some of those solutions into the wood, didn't work as expected with the worse being the dye mixed with the denature alcohol, the vapors created were a nasty thing...!

If you are trying to dye blanks for your own use, save yourself some money and lots of time by, simply dying the turned barrel when gets to finished size, it takes 30 seconds using a bit of cloth and the dye/colour, burnishing it against the wood, the friction heat generated, will dry the little wood the barrel has.

If you want to be sure, use a heat gun or a hair dryer to dry any moisture from the dye, burnishing it will leave a smooth finish so, you can apply a couple coats of thin CA before you touch it with any fine grit sand paper, the rest is done as any normal CA finish...!

I hope this helps...!

Cheers
George


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## Wildman (Mar 23, 2014)

I recommend picking up bottles of India Inks, at local hobby or craft store, no mixing required.  

Scroll down to see individual colors available.  I buy individual bottles  vice sets.  Do not have much trouble with raised grain. Except for black all colors are transparent and see wood grain. 

Dr. Ph. Martin's Bombay India Inks - BLICK art materials

Whether you mix food coloring with alcohol or water there is a learning curve.  Why not try using un-mixed on some scrap and see how it goes.


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## longbeard (Mar 23, 2014)

robutacion said:


> Band Saw Box said:
> 
> 
> > Has anyone ever tried mixing food coloring and denatured alcohol? I was thinking about trying to dye a blank and all I have on hand is food coloring. My thought are if I use the denatured alcohol I wont raise the grain.
> ...


 

Thanks George, i did forget to mention that i turn mine to final size then dye them.


Harry


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## sbwertz (Mar 23, 2014)

I use Americolor gel food coloring diluted with dna and wipe it on after micromesh sanding, then micromesh lightly with higher grits before finishing.  Some people have warned that the color fades with time, but this pen has been in daily use for almost 4 years now and is still bright green.


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## Jim Burr (Mar 23, 2014)

A good friend and world class turner, Steve Schlumph, did some great research on dyes after a gallery piece he dyed with food color faded while in a window display. Turns out that use isn't an issue, UV is. So if the pen sits in your purse or pocket all day...it's fine. Leave it on the dash of your car...in a week it looks like a piece of notebook paper. Stick with Aniline dyes...they are made for just that purpose...unless you want to eat your pen!


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## Band Saw Box (Mar 23, 2014)

Thanks for the help. We went to A.C. Moore this  morning but we could not find the dye. We ask but no one could tell us were it could be found or even if they carried it. We ended up getting some gel food coloring and oil based paint. I'll play around with them to see what I can come up with. I have a few light colored blanks I can play around with.


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## longbeard (Mar 23, 2014)

Band Saw Box said:


> Thanks for the help. We went to A.C. Moore this  morning but we could not find the dye. We ask but no one could tell us were it could be found or even if they carried it. We ended up getting some gel food coloring and oil based paint. I'll play around with them to see what I can come up with. I have a few light colored blanks I can play around with.


 

Give me just a few minutes Dan and i will give a name and maybe a pic


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## Band Saw Box (Mar 23, 2014)

Ok Thanks.  That maybe why I could not find it as I was looking for dye. Were in the store did you find it?  I think I would still like to give it a try.


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## longbeard (Mar 23, 2014)

The pic is in the above post
There you go Dan, hope that helps.
I just put it on like i'm doing a CA finish with a piece of cotton cloth on the bottom of the blank rubbing it in, lathe on slow speed.

Harry


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## Band Saw Box (Mar 23, 2014)

Thanks Harry. I'll try to find it. I used gel food coloring and DNA on this blank and few coats of WTF. I guess I should have let it try longer (I'm not sure how long to let it dry) as I got some blue come off as I put on the finish. I'll turn this blank down some more them I'm going to try some oil base artist paint next I'll try it straight out of the tube to see what happens.


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## longbeard (Mar 23, 2014)

Band Saw Box said:


> Thanks Harry. I'll try to find it. I used gel food coloring and DNA on this blank and few coats of WTF. I guess I should have let it try longer (I'm not sure how long to let it dry) as I got some blue come off as I put on the finish. I'll turn this blank down some more them I'm going to try some oil base artist paint next I'll try it straight out of the tube to see what happens.


 

When i get done with mine, i will let the blank spin a bit while rubbing it with the cloth. I also get some dye to come off on the first 2 passes with ca, but after that it's good. Not sure of the results using WTF or anything else, i've only used ca.
That blank looks good though.


Harry


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## Cmiles1985 (Mar 23, 2014)

Would distressed ink (or anything else from the embossing aisle) work for enhancing the appeal of the grain? As I have so many walnut blanks, I may have to do some experimenting!


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## longbeard (Mar 23, 2014)

Cmiles1985 said:


> Would distressed ink (or anything else from the embossing aisle) work for enhancing the appeal of the grain? As I have so many walnut blanks, I may have to do some experimenting!


 

Take pics and let us know what you come up with Clark.


Harry


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## Cmiles1985 (Mar 23, 2014)

Well, no such luck with the heat set ink/embossing powder. It may be this bland blank from my 30 pack of WC slimlines. I shaved that stuff off and went with a heavy coat of tempera paint, let it dry some, wiped off and burnished with saw dust. Below is the result:



It's not too pretty, but on a burly blank may look nice. I suspect that when finished with CA the color would hold up until the CA cracks.

Now that I've seen a larger photo of my work, the blue is really blotchy!

This photo may be a bit better:


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## Cmiles1985 (Mar 23, 2014)

Retried the heat set ink without trying anything crazy except on a piece of redwood. Cured with heat gun then burnished in wood shavings:


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## Phillip Kelley (Mar 23, 2014)

*BlueBoy*

Under forums, go to "Other things we make" & look at a blue vase that I dyed using India Ink.  I think you will like the results on a pen.  I haven't dyed a pen yet...but that is next...jsut haven't found the right blank yet!




Band Saw Box said:


> Has anyone ever tried mixing food coloring and denatured alcohol? I was thinking about trying to dye a blank and all I have on hand is food coloring. My thought are if I use the denatured alcohol I wont raise the grain.


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