Michael Dresdner

Q: Can I leave a very small amount of dye in the edges of a raised panel door to create a glazed effect?
A: Nope. Dye does not work that way. That’s why we use very specific materials for glazing. Dye is absorbed by the wood, but because it usually contains no binder, you can not leave any on the surface. You must wipe off anything that was not absorbed. When dye dries, it reverts to a powder; excess on the wood will leave a layer of powder that can prevent finish from adhering properly.
Glaze, on the other hand, is usually made from pigment, though it can, in theory, be made from dye. It contains enough binder so that if you leave excess on a raw or finished wood surface, it will dry to a solid film. One of the easiest ways to create glaze, and one that really explains how glaze works, is to thin regular paint. It applies color, but dries to a solid film.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 9:00 am and is filed under dye, pigment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.