# wood dyes



## Twig Man (Jan 4, 2013)

I need some advice on a good wood dye. I am looking for a green, red, and orange dye to make some of the fruits and vegtables I am turning for my bowls. Also is there a type of wood that might soak in the dyes better. I was thinking maybe poplar or basswood might be good. appreciate yalls thoughts and input.


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## brown down (Jan 4, 2013)

i use the cheap stuff, clothing dye works awesome for me and have had zero issues with it. its like 2 $ for the powder and that makes a lot of dye stain.


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## DKMD (Jan 4, 2013)

The RiT clothing dyes are cheap and come in a hundred colors... The downside is that they may not be as colorfast as aniline dyes. I've used the artisan dyes from Craft Supplies but you'll have to mix for anything beyond the primary colors. Transtint is good stuff, but it's not cheap. 

Maple and holly would both be great for coloring. Sycamore and ash wouldn't be bad either. You can always use two part wood bleach before applying the dye if you want to eliminate the wood tint.


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## LoneStar (Jan 5, 2013)

I use alcohol based leather dyes from Tandy leather. They're not particularly cheap but work great.


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## barry richardson (Jan 5, 2013)

I use dye quite a bit, mostly the alcohol based premixed stuff like this http://www.woodworkingshop.com/product/b5036a235/?inMed=GSTORE&gclid=CMH04LTb0bQCFeuPPAodHCMAWg Works real good and the colors are intense. A pint goes a loooong way. There is a wood turning guru that specializes in dying his pieces on another forum. I asked him what he uses. Forget the brand, but he said he uses water based dyes, because they tend to be more color fast. His logic was that water based dyes penetrate deeper into the wood, whereas the alcohol in the alcohol based dyes flashes off so quickly that it doesnt penetrated as deep. Here is another idea that we have discovered at work. My buddies' daughter is an oil painter, and she gave us some artist oil paints to mess with. They work great, the color saturation is super intense, and they come in every color you can imagine, or you can blend it. It takes a good long time to dry completely, a few days. But I have put lacquer over it after a couple of days with no problem. As far as wood, about any light colored wood will take stain well, but maple would provide the most neutral pallet. Holly would be great, but you would probably pay throught the nose to get white holly of the thickness you need.


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## The Wood Bucket (Jan 5, 2013)

I use the Artisan Dyes from Craft Supplies. They work very well and can be thinned if needed. Here is the link http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/p/3/-/9/148/-/1502/Artisan-Coloring-Dye/dyes I have used it on all types of woods


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## Twig Man (Jan 5, 2013)

Thanks for all the great ideas! I have ordered some dye and will post some pics when I am done using them


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## taylor23 (Jan 24, 2013)

For wood dyes I recommend you Charles Neil’s conditioner. It is fine finishing for wood. But you can also use topcoats and the water soluble dyes. It mainly depends on condtion of wood. The color should look like natural when finishing.


London shutters


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