In my continuing quest to get even color on various wood stocks, I thought I might give dying a try as opposed to staining.Anyone have experience with using dyes on wood?
Rather than sanding sealer, Minwax makes a special "conditioner" for evening out blotchiness. It's what we use on our finishes in our architectural millwork facility.Sanding sealer is just a lacquer (or whatever other base) with more solids in it to fill the grain and speed up leveling. Acting as such, it will actually block the absorption of any stain or dye.The "conditioner" is much thinner, has really no solids in it, but fills those open pores in certain woods that tend to "grab" the stain more aggressively.https://www.minwax.com/wood-products/preparation/minwax-prestain-wood-conditionerSince we don't use dyes, I cannot advise on how this product will work with such. Apparently it is meant for use with oil based stains.HTH
Quote from: Stinger177 on July 12, 2021, 09:28:10 PMRather than sanding sealer, Minwax makes a special "conditioner" for evening out blotchiness. It's what we use on our finishes in our architectural millwork facility.Sanding sealer is just a lacquer (or whatever other base) with more solids in it to fill the grain and speed up leveling. Acting as such, it will actually block the absorption of any stain or dye.The "conditioner" is much thinner, has really no solids in it, but fills those open pores in certain woods that tend to "grab" the stain more aggressively.https://www.minwax.com/wood-products/preparation/minwax-prestain-wood-conditionerSince we don't use dyes, I cannot advise on how this product will work with such. Apparently it is meant for use with oil based stains.HTH I have used that on new wood.Some of the problems I am having comes when doing spot repairs.I can match the stain in some areas, but not all.Trouble is not getting dark splotches, but rather light spots where the stainjust doesn't seem to penetrate.
I use a carrier for the dye if you want an even color. For instance if I wanted to finish a stock that has an uneven absorption rate such as beech I would use an aniline dye that is oil/solvent soluble and mix a little with tru oil and go from there. Each coat will make the project a little darker. If it gets dark enough but needs more depth I use straight tru oil. I use J.B.Mosers dyes which I get from Woodworkers Supply and a little goes a long way. The dyes come in solvent, water or alcohol soluble so you have to match to the finish.