Tint/Stain question

[Hawk]

With the cost of wood these days I'm going to try to stick to local stuff. This means I'll need to explore tints.

Looking for input on what works. I looking to tint the wood allowing for the grain of the wood show through. 

[ChelCass]

Some people use acrylic paint that has been watered down.  You can also get Unicorn Spit, others use food coloring. Also you could thin down various stains. You would need to do a test on whatever wood you are using to see if you are getting the effect you want.  It looks like you are fairly close to Clare, have you considered checking out getting some wood from the Amish?  

 

Edited April 8, 2024 by ChelCass

[Hawk]

8 hours ago, ChelCass said:

Some people use acrylic paint that has been watered down.  You can also get Unicorn Spit, others use food coloring. Also you could thin down various stains. You would need to do a test on whatever wood you are using to see if you are getting the effect you want.  It looks like you are fairly close to Clare, have you considered checking out getting some wood from the Amish?  

 

Getting wood from the Amish has crossed my mind, just haven't looked into it yet. And as you mentioned, I'm in the process of trying different methods on samples to see which works best. It's mostly green I'm working on to see if I can get anything better than just using poplar, which is what I may do if I can get anything I like. 

But then again, this is half the fun of intarsia, finding/discovering colors in wood!

[Dennis51]

I’ve used food coloring a few times, it works ok and is pretty cheap

[JJB]

I use TransTint when I want to add color to wood. It's in concentrated form but 1 small bottle can make up to a quart of color/ stain. Comes in many colors and can be applied with a brush or rag. I have even used it in my airbrush for some of the small toys and puzzles that I have made. Can be mixed with water or alcohol.

 

https://www.woodcraft.com/products/transtint-alcohol-water-soluble-dye-2-oz

[kmmcrafts]

On 4/8/2024 at 5:03 PM, Hawk said:

Getting wood from the Amish has crossed my mind, just haven't looked into it yet. And as you mentioned, I'm in the process of trying different methods on samples to see which works best. It's mostly green I'm working on to see if I can get anything better than just using poplar, which is what I may do if I can get anything I like. 

But then again, this is half the fun of intarsia, finding/discovering colors in wood!

Worth looking into if you have space to sticker it for about a year.. I just bought a 100Bdft of 3/4" Cherry from them for $0.75 a board foot. LLJohnson current price $3.23 if you buy at least 100bdft. more if you get less and less if you get more, LOL

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

I have at times used RIT clothes dyes and mixed with DNA. There are many colors to choose from. Little goes a long way. 

[Joe W.]

On 4/24/2024 at 1:00 PM, Dennis51 said:

I’ve used food coloring a few times, it works ok and is pretty cheap

Me too - mixed with denatured alcohol.  Liked the results. 

[Hawk]

Great suggestions, Thanks everybody, definitely some things to try! 

[preprius]

my hot pink feet used food coloring gel. Pink frosting I think i put 6 drops of pink and 2 drops of green in a cup of water, let it soak over night. 

I had to look up hot pink mixture.

Edited April 26, 2024 by preprius

[Bill WIlson]

On 4/24/2024 at 11:55 PM, JTTHECLOCKMAN said:

I have at times used RIT clothes dyes and mixed with DNA. There are many colors to choose from. Little goes a long way. 

I've used pre-mixed liquid RIT dyes a few times.  Never tried the powder mixed with DNA though.  That sounds intriguing. 

[Norm Fengstad]

I have used annalin dies also watered down acryllic paints 

[Scrappile]

40 minutes ago, Norm Fengstad said:

I have used annalin dies also watered down acryllic paints 

Searched annalin dyes and came up with a pretty good article on using dyes 

[Zoot Fenster]

I will second Transtint dyes.  In my furniture building days, I got tired of board color mismatch and needing just one more board of a certain color.  So I bought more curly maple than I will ever use and tint it as the client desires.  My family likes Golden Brown in 100% and 200% concentrations, but it is an easy way to make green, blue and red wood.  The mixed dye is kept in test tube vials labeled with "drops per vial".  It doesn't take much.  On light woods, first raise the grain with water, then lightly sand with 400grit.  I also tried Mixol paints from Woodcraft, but did not like them much.