Epoxy Question

[James Baldwin]

Hi, I want to fix some cracks in a bowl I'm turning and I would like to tint the epoxy I'm going to use. What would I use for a tinting dye? I'll be using system 3 epoxy, thanks, Jim

[Wally Crawford]

I prefer pearlescent powders. There is a wide variety of colors available and they mix well with the epoxy. I have never used system 3, but have used various other suppliers and never had a problem with any of them.

[Erich Elfeldt]

System 3 makes pigments and colorants for their various products. https://www.systemthree.com/collections/pigments

[Dave VanDewerker]

I have used both powders and dyes from Alumilite and Alumidust. Both work fine, the one thing I will caution you on is don't use too much of the color. The first couple of times I did this I used way too much dye or powder and the epoxy was so dark it looked black. You can also use almost anything to color epoxy, ink, coffee grounds, ect.

[James Baldwin]

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I've got to finish up a couple of other projects before I get back to the bowls. I also blew it last week end. We made a trip to the Oregon coast and I was thinking about wood for bowl blanks before we left because they grow some pretty nice trees in the Portland area (large). I didn't think about it again till we were on the way home and in Pendleton,Or. I even had my pickup. Missed out on some pretty nice cherry and silver maple. I also found out that Myrtle wood is getting hard to get. Jim

[James Baldwin]

The one thing I didn't mention is the System 3 epoxy that I use is amber colored not clear like the stuff for table tops or casting. Will this matter if I'm tinting it. Jim

[Paul Williams]

Yes, it will affect the finished color, but how much depends on what color tint you use. Most dark colors should be ok. Obviously an amber or brown tint will be just fine. You might try a small test amount if you are going for a light color.

[Bill Howatt]

This is strictly a personal choice. My preference is to try to make the filled crack look as natural as possible which usually translates into dark or brown colors. I do not care for the bright "look at me" fills since I want to see the piece not some filler. I don't dispute in some cases the colored fill can be an asset.
I don't know what you are patching but for many cracks I find coffee grounds packed into the crack and then hit with CA glue. For larger voids I use the grounds with epoxy but it is worth the time to do some test mixes first to get the appearance you like - for coffee grounds or anything else. Coffee grounds are not totally monochromatic so they do mimic wood bark to some extent.
Since I like dark colors as a general rule, other thing's I've used is black milk paint powder and black toner from exhausted laser printer toner cartridges. I guess if you want to go with colors you could also get exhausted laser printer color toner cartridges.

[Brice Rogers]

I've mixed a number of different things with epoxy. Wood dust, coffee grounds, transtint dye (dry), pearl-esent stuff and even Tester's (hobby) enamel. It all seemed to work fine. The epoxy got hard and could be sanded fine.

I've also thinned epoxy and tried to use it as a wood stabilizer soaked into the wood. It seemed to work fine, but the thinner (acetone IIRC) extended the curing time (which wasn't a problem for me).