Water based aniline dye.

[Gordon Eyre]

When it comes to staining I am all for simplicity. I doubt that I will ever do more than to mix together a couple of premixed colors from the manufacturer such as mahogany and French walnut as an example. If I could get the clarity of a dye in a can of oil based stain I would use that.

[Scott Holmes]

I've seen and used two different systems for water soluble dyes. Both work pretty well for repeatablity...

1. When mixing your dyes mix the entire container (in this case say 2 oz of powder) in ~ 1 pint of hot water.
This makes a super concentrated dye solution. It will keep indefinitely.

Now you can use these super concentrates to mix small quantities until you get the color you want. e.g. add say 1/8 tsp of Med brown dye and 1/4 tsp of Dark walnut and 3 drops of red mahogany to 2 oz of water (or 4 oz for a lighter color). Once you know the color match then upping it to a quart or gallon is simple and repeatable; even if you made a gallon and now you only need another quart is easy to get the right color.

2. Same principle but leave the dyes in the powder form. Use spice measuring spoons (See below) and make up samples in 1oz or 2 oz samples. Often when using this method I'll mix a 1oz or 2oz sample of the colors I think I'll need then use these liquids and mix them
e.g. 1/8 tsp of red Mahogany powder in 1 oz water, a dash of dark walnut powder in 1 oz water

now I'll mix amounts of these liquids say 1/4 tsp of red mah with (3) 1/4 tsp of dr walnut. I'll keep mixing new batches until I find the right combination.

It's much easier to do than it is to type it up.





•Tad — 1/8th teaspoon
•Dash — 1/16th teaspoon
•Pinch — 1/24th teaspoon
•Smidgen (smidge, for short) — 1/32nd teaspoon
•Drop — 1/60th teaspoon

[Kenneth Speed]

I generally mix my water based dyes at double strength ( In other words I use half the water the manufacturer recommends) and then I "play" with a small measured amount of dye, keeping track of how much I'm diluting it) and a piece of scrap until I get to something that looks right and then mix a larger batch for the project. If I have to make a mixture of dyes I record the proportions and what the mixture is/was for. Not terribly scientific but not totally hit or miss either. if I'm doing something for a client I'll do a sample board with labelled colors and a quick clear finish to give them a good indication of what the color will be. Sometimes I'll do a complete sample using the same exact finishing schedule I plan to use and get it approved before I finish the piece.

Ken

[Gordon Eyre]

Scott your input is always very detailed and precise. Thank you very much.

Thanks For taking the time to respond Ken, much appreciated.

[jesse ross]

I would stay away from using measuring spoons when using dye powder. Different dyes, mixtures, and batches can be fluffier or denser than one another, so volume of powder can be misleading (think a teaspoon of feathers vs. a teaspoon of led.) Of course this isn't an issue if you're using liquid dyes.

Generally, 1 oz to 1 quart of water (or solvent) is a strong solution. Start with that, pour off smaller volumes and dilute to experiment with lighter shades. Of course it's best to follow the mfg's guidelines, but truthfully there aren't that many people making aniline dyes, and this ratio generally holds. You may get more dye to dissolve into a quart, then realize the over-saturated, thick solution gives you lap marks.

If you write down your weight to liquid measurement, you have a better shot at reproducing the color in the future should that be necessary. Differences in wood & application method always make this process especially 'fun' however.