Q: I built a dresser with soft maple. I am ready to apply the finish which included a dye stain under a polyurethane top coat. I have been testing pieces to ensure that the wood will all look uniform and it does not. I have sanded everything to 220 and certain boards look like they [...]
Q: How is it that Mohawk Ultra Penetrating Stain is water soluble after it has dried?
A: It’s a pre-mixed dye, formulated with solvent but no binder. Because there is no binder, it dries but does not form a film; it merely reverts to the original powder or crystal form of the dye. Thus, until it [...]
Q: I’m going to be finishing some cabinet doors with a water soluble aniline dye. The doors are simple frame and panel. Should I pre-stain the panels before assembling?
A: I would. It is much easier to stain the panels before assembly, no matter what type of stain you are using. Staining first means the stain [...]
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 [...]
Q: I have completed the woodwork on a white-oak table and need to color it dark brown. I tried the usual commercial stains, which colored the grain cathedrals on the face sides, but hardly colored the long grain at all. So I went to The New Wood Finishing Book and checked out your pages on [...]
Q: I’ve heard applying a wash coat of shellac underneath water based dye can reduce blotching on hard maple. Would you recommend this?
A: No, for a lot of reasons, but we really need to start by cleaning up the terminology, since in this field, it is very specific. I think you mean water soluble dye, which [...]
Q: After getting married, I picked up a piece of wood up here in Alaska and had all his family write a message on it. I am planning on adding a photograph with spray adhesive, then clear over it. Will the clear hurt the photograph, what should I use, and how should I apply it?
A: [...]
Q: What should I use before or after applying red cherry or rosewood aniline dye to a desk so as to not change the color?
A: You don’t need anything prior to applying the dye. As for afterwards, some clear finishes are slightly amber, but no common woodworking finish will alter colors like red cherry or [...]
Q: I want to paint my wood desk with an alcohol soluble aniline dye. I heard that an aniline dye may require a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye.
A: Mordants are necessary with some natural dyes, and with certain dyes made for cloth. However, the dyes sold specifically for coloring wood are [...]
If you are talking about commercially prepared waterbased stains, the vast majority of them are pigment based. I only know of one company offhand that is offering premixed water soluble dyes, though there are many that offer the dyes in either powder or liquid concentrate form that are ready to mix with water.
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