Phar out finishing techniques

[bradleyheathhays]

I've just begun collaborating with a local artist who wants to make a fairly large mural out of wood. The idea we've come up with is to design impressionistic type pieces based on arranging square wood blocks into the larger image. The plan is to develop different finishing techniques for the blocks to give them different color intensities, contrasts between the grain, and overall color. The blocks will be used as 'pixels' if you will in the larger image, so the smaller the wood block the higher the resolution of the final image. I would imagine the blocks will be between 1 and 2" square. The idea is mine but I'd never be able to do this without an artist. She'll be doing the true 'art' part and I'll just be providing as wide a variety of finishes on these blocks as possible. The wider her variety of wood blocks to choose from the better the end result will be.

So as an example, here's an art piece I found on Etsy. It seems the artist here has either baked or burn treated these pieces. I'm taking this idea as inspiration on how I can vary the finishes on these wood blocks. But I'd like to have as many coloring/finishing options as possible, which is the purpose of writing here.



What I need now are both wood species suggestions and finishing techniques. Just brainstorming so everything's on the table.

I need different wood grain size options. Need both wider and narrower grained species.

Would be nice to have a species where both the fast and slow growth rings take dye stain so they have the same hue.

Need coloring / technique suggestions. I've used General Finishes water based dye stains before so that's one idea for generating color.

Thanks for your ideas.

 

[vegas urban lumber]

I've just begun collaborating with a local artist who wants to make a fairly large mural out of wood. The idea we've come up with is to design impressionistic type pieces based on arranging square wood blocks into the larger image. The plan is to develop different finishing techniques for the blocks to give them different color intensities, contrasts between the grain, and overall color. The blocks will be used as 'pixels' if you will in the larger image, so the smaller the wood block the higher the resolution of the final image. I would imagine the blocks will be between 1 and 2" square. The idea is mine but I'd never be able to do this without an artist. She'll be doing the true 'art' part and I'll just be providing as wide a variety of finishes on these blocks as possible. The wider her variety of wood blocks to choose from the better the end result will be.

So as an example, here's an art piece I found on Etsy. It seems the artist here has either baked or burn treated these pieces. I'm taking this idea as inspiration on how I can vary the finishes on these wood blocks. But I'd like to have as many coloring/finishing options as possible, which is the purpose of writing here.

View attachment 252173

What I need now are both wood species suggestions and finishing techniques. Just brainstorming so everything's on the table.

I need different wood grain size options. Need both wider and narrower grained species.

Would be nice to have a species where both the fast and slow growth rings take dye stain so they have the same hue.

Need coloring / technique suggestions. I've used General Finishes water based dye stains before so that's one idea for generating color.

Thanks for your ideas.

that looks like run of the mill home depot white wood, douglas fir or the like. 2*2 or 4*4 cut on an angle and rotated, and yes it appears a torch was used to add the gradient darkening affect

 

[trc65]

First question, are you going to use "colors of the rainbow" or more of a monochrome pallette?

Secondly, whichever way you are going, going to want the most fade resistant dye available and maybe even want a finish with UV blockers.

I don't know for sure, but TransTint (liquid) and TransFast (powders) are reputed to be some of the best. If you are going for colors of the rainbow, buy a set of primary colors (and probably a color mixing chart) and a large pad of paper to keep notes as you start mixing. If you are going for a monochrome effect, one or maybe two colors would work using different concentrations.

Either way, my preference would be alcohol for the dye carrier for quick drying and minimal grain raising.

I'm no help on wood types to use, but the first that comes to mind is clear hard maple.

 

[2feathers Creative Making]

What color/ shades are you looking for? Browns, blues, grays, pinks, greens, purple, yellow? All available in natural wood. If you want to color all the wood yourself, box elder or soft maple would take the dye without showing strong contrasts. Spf from the box store is the cheapest like the guy on Etsy used.

 

[bradleyheathhays]

trc65...Eventually I could get into more colorful pallets but for now we're keeping it simple and sticking to more natural 'woody' colors you could say. Yes, colorfast is highly important here. Most of these works will be inside but some could be outside as well. Thanks for all that advice man, go glad you chimed in. I've had maple suggest other places as well.

2feathers Thanks, yes, I hadn't thought about searching for natural wood colors insofar as pinks, greens, etc. Colorfastness is an important factor so I'll have to keep that in mind. To be honest, I'll probably lean toward using a single wood for staining, something that takes stain well, so I don't have that learning curve of working with new species. Let me ask, when you mention box elder and soft maple being good candidates for dye, saying they wouldn't show strong contrasts, are you referring to contrast between growth rings after dyed? Thanks again.

 

[2feathers Creative Making]

2feathers Thanks, yes, I hadn't thought about searching for natural wood colors insofar as pinks, greens, etc. Colorfastness is an important factor so I'll have to keep that in mind. To be honest, I'll probably lean toward using a single wood for staining, something that takes stain well, so I don't have that learning curve of working with new species. Let me ask, when you mention box elder and soft maple being good candidates for dye, saying they wouldn't show strong contrasts, are you referring to contrast between growth rings after dyed? Thanks again.

Yes, I was referring to growth rings creating the contrast. Such as oak or other woods with very porous growth rings that will absorb extra dyes.
Dark Green has been demonstrated recently with ammonia on black locust. Pinks and lavenders have shown up in pine lumber from the hardware stores...
Don't fall for rainbow poplar. It has an awesome color range for a few days then starts heading to basic brown.
If you want to use poplar sapwood, it will take color nicely without costing you too dearly. Even available at the big box stores kiln dried and ready to use

 

[trc65]

Going with natural color(s), I'd probably proceed by picking up a board or two of different species you are considering and run some tests.

First, get together with your collaborator and get an idea of how many different gradations of color she will need/want for the design.

Then get some TransTint (brown?) and a bunch of jars and start making some dilutions. I'd try to get all your gradations from a single color if you can, but you may need to use some black to get to darkest gradations wanted.

Start making samples, but I'd make replicates of each concentration (from different areas of each board) to see the variability between random pieces.

I think I'd want to put a top coat on all samples as well so you are evaluating the final look.

Other things, think about application methods. For uniformity, I'd probably consider spraying first. Brushing or wiping would be too easy to over saturate pieces with dye changing the color.

For tests, don't try to make samples with 10 or 20 gradations, rather start with whit what you think would be the darkest and then trying a .25, .5, and .75 concentration. Then if those tests look promising, keep with divisions and add in a .125, .375, .625 and .875 dilution and see how those work. I honestly don't know if you'll get a linear response or if variability will be high within a given concentration. It would be nice if you got a good consistent linear response as you could then gear up to batch process all of these and throw each color gradation into a bin for the artist to grab out of as they are assembling the piece.

Of course, careful measuring, labeling and record keeping are paramount.

You've probably already thought about all of this, but if not, hope some of it might help you.

It a fascinating project and be sure to keep us updated as you proceed.