# Best method to dye wood



## PTownSubbie (Aug 7, 2010)

I am trying to do some wood dying to make some colors for the PITH pen and am curious what you have found to be the best method and dye to use. The wood doesn't need stabilization, just a color change...

I also own a pressure pot and a vacuum pump to use depending on the best method.


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## Dustygoose (Aug 8, 2010)

I did a neon blue color for my son as a funny.  It was some figured Maple and I did it on on a slim.  I used some neon blue food coloring after I turned and sanded it.  One pass, let it dry then sand with 600.  Then finished.  

I know no pic didnt happen.  If you want to see it I will have to get it and snap a quick pic and post


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## PTownSubbie (Aug 8, 2010)

Dustygoose said:


> I did a neon blue color for my son as a funny. It was some figured Maple and I did it on on a slim. I used some neon blue food coloring after I turned and sanded it. One pass, let it dry then sand with 600. Then finished.
> 
> I know no pic didnt happen. If you want to see it I will have to get it and snap a quick pic and post


 
Thanks for the reply. I have heard of this technique but unfortunately I have to have penetration because it is segmented and then turned...


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## Jgrden (Aug 8, 2010)

I use Crystal Lite. Powerful stuff.


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## holmqer (Aug 8, 2010)

PTownSubbie said:


> Thanks for the reply. I have heard of this technique but unfortunately I have to have penetration because it is segmented and then turned...



I've had good success with Transtint in alcohol.

If your intent is to have each segment a different color, you could either drop the segments in a jar of dye, or if that causes too much warping, you could dye small pieces then cut to size later.


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## micharms (Aug 8, 2010)

Fred:
I've just tried dyeing some wood and haven't had a chance to turn it yet. Here is what I did.
These are slices about 1/4"thick and 7/8" wide by about 5". I mixed the dye with alcohol and placed the wood and dye in a container and put it in my pressure pot and applied vacuum. Left that for about 30 minutes then released the vacuum. Reapplied the vacuum for about another hour. By that time the slices had sunk to the bottom of the container. I them applied pressure for an hour. When I removed the slices from the dye I sandwiched them between thick paper towels and clamped them between 2 pieces of corian until dry. No warpage.

As I said I haven't glued them into a blank yet and turned them but I am hopeful that I got good penetration.

Michael


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## PTownSubbie (Aug 8, 2010)

I did some more research and TransTint seems to be the way to go. I didn't have any so I just tried some liquid dye in alcohol. Placed it under vacuum a while ago. We will see how it goes.

My main concern was I didn't know how to find a liquid that wouldn't cause any problems to the internal rubber parts of my vacuum pump like acetone would...

Thanks for the replies. If anyone else has any input I am still open to trying other things.


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## IPD_Mrs (Aug 8, 2010)

This will sound a little weird, well coming from me maybe not, bird toy dyes.

There is a company that makes dyes for bird toys called Vitacritter.  You mix the dies with rubbing alcohol.  15 parts alcohol to 1 part dye.  These are very vibrant colors.  A couple of dips in the dye and left to dry on a paper towel.  Great thing is the alcohol helps to dry it very quickly so you don't have to worry about leaving the pieces for weeks to dry and no checking in the wood.


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## PTownSubbie (Aug 15, 2010)

Alright, I have done some testing and results were not satisfactory but when I read about how some are doing it, I am doing it the same way.

1. I cut a couple of test pieces of wood (Poplar) that were 3/4"x3/4"x2". I used poplar because I read it is an easier wood to stain/stabilize.
2. Mixed my dye with DNA. I used the Rite dye for dying clothing because that is what I had available at Wal-Mart since it was close.
3. Put the pieces in a jar in my Pressure Pot and drew a 28" vacuum. Maintained vacuum for 24 hours and then immediately put 75# of pressure on it for another 24 hours.
4. I allowed it to dry overnight and cut it the next day and the dye was not as dark as I would have liked.

What am I doing wrong? Any ideas?

Will TransTint Dyes work any better? I am wondering if the Rite dye is not small enough molecules to get into the pours of the wood? Is DNA the right transport vehicle for the dye or is another type of Alcohol any better?

I am just frustrated because I think what I am doing should work.

Thanks for listening and hopefully helping me out a bit.


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## Dustygoose (Aug 16, 2010)

Have you tried the dyes at CSUSA? i think there like $8.00 a bottle


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## nava1uni (Aug 16, 2010)

I use food coloring and Dr. Martin's liquid watercolors.  Very vibrant colors.  I have found that the dye cannot penetrate deep enough into the wood to allow it be turned and still have color.  I have found that maple, aspen, pine and holly all take color well with fairly even penetration. I have never dyed anything to segment.


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## holmqer (Aug 16, 2010)

PTownSubbie said:


> Alright, I have done some testing and results were not satisfactory but when I read about how some are doing it, I am doing it the same way.
> 
> 1. I cut a couple of test pieces of wood (Poplar) that were 3/4"x3/4"x2". I used poplar because I read it is an easier wood to stain/stabilize.
> 2. Mixed my dye with DNA. I used the Rite dye for dying clothing because that is what I had available at Wal-Mart since it was close.
> ...



I use a similar method for TransTint, but do multiple vacuum / pressue cycles. Some colors seem to work better than others. Red, Blue, Green seem to work OK, Purple I struggle with in some woods, but it works great in burls.

One thing that is not so obvious by just looking at the jar of dye / alcohol mix is that it may not actually be as dark on wood as it looks in the jar. I have taken a very blue looking jar, dipped some wood in it and it was just faintly surface tinted. Once I get it to the point where just dipping the wood in, gets a vivid surface color, I know I have enough dye in the mix.

I have no experience with Rit dyes on wood, and thus no idea if they work as well with alcohol as they do with hot water. My recollection from using Rit to dye cloth was to get the water / dye mix very hot before putting the cloth in.


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## Wood Butcher (Aug 16, 2010)

I've dyed corn cob and wood with Dyna Flow dye from JoAnn Fabric (prolly get it elswhere too).  The process that worked best was: turn to size, sand to 400, apply dye liberally with a clean white cloth (wear rubber gloves or else...), let dry or speed it up with a hair dryer, apply a couple coates of thin CA, sand again with 400, apply more coates of CA and micromesh.  Sounds long but it's not.  I doubt it's UV stable so don't leave it outside all day.  As I recall I got 4 or 5 small bottles for maybe $5 and it's water based.
WB


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## ironman (Aug 17, 2010)

csusa has a article on coloring wood here is the link

http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/store/article/51?Args=


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