# Fading Stain Colors



## dallasfan12 (Jan 27, 2012)

Hello, my friend and I are refinishing a birch drum with stain and want to go with green to black fade stain. How can we do this and make it look professional?


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## chemmy (Dec 13, 2011)

dallasfan12 said:


> Hello, my friend and I are refinishing a birch drum with stain and want to go with green to black fade stain. How can we do this and make it look professional?


Are you talking about guitar look where it's sunburst with three colors? the middle being light followed by a darker tone towards the edges and then black, or near black on the last couple of inches of the edge itself?


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## dallasfan12 (Jan 27, 2012)

chemmy said:


> Are you talking about guitar look where it's sunburst with three colors? the middle being light followed by a darker tone towards the edges and then black, or near black on the last couple of inches of the edge itself?


Exactly like this
http://m.bing.com/images/more?q=cav...72b7&kval=12.1&appns=mSERP&cutc=1327690816649

Only one color of green to black. I'm a newbie so I'd need to know everything, like kind of top coat and everything


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## chemmy (Dec 13, 2011)

dallasfan12 said:


> Exactly like this
> http://m.bing.com/images/more?q=cav...72b7&kval=12.1&appns=mSERP&cutc=1327690816649
> 
> Only one color of green to black. I'm a newbie so I'd need to know everything, like kind of top coat and everything


just how "new" are you talking? do you know how to spray? this is not a hand done finish, it needs to be sprayed if you want a pro look, ok?

As to your link, this is what i get: 

*404 - File or directory not found.*

*The resource you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable.*

Do you have another good link??


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## dallasfan12 (Jan 27, 2012)

Just google image "Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps Drumline 2011"

And I don't have a sprayer, I'd just be doing it by hand. How expensive are sprayers? Is it possible to do by hand?


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## dallasfan12 (Jan 27, 2012)

Like this only green to black.


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## chemmy (Dec 13, 2011)

Is It possible, most things are possible, but it takes knowledge and know how. You could apply the green you want and then seal it in with polyurethane sand and apply another coat and then apply the black to the top quarter of the drum with a rag and then blend it out with a brush to get it uniform and get a similiar affect then seal the black in with a spraycan coat of polyurethane, minwax fast dry gloss a couple of coats, then if necessary do the black step again if it needs to be darker on the edge yet, resael that with apray poly a few coats and keep doing it till your happy with the end results. 

But this is anything but a pro way of doing it. Just a DIY method at best.

You also could just use lacquer spray cans all together that can be had in transparent colors after your initial green stain has been applied to the wood, but no matter which way you go you will need to use dye for the base color not a pigment green, [to muddy looking] . 

I'm sure somebody else may pop in to give you other advice.


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## dallasfan12 (Jan 27, 2012)

chemmy said:


> Is It possible, most things are possible, but it takes knowledge and know how. You could apply the green you want and then seal it in with polyurethane sand and apply another coat and then apply the black to the top quarter of the drum with a rag and then blend it out with a brush to get it uniform and get a similiar affect then seal the black in with a spraycan coat of polyurethane, minwax fast dry gloss a couple of coats, then if necessary do the black step again if it needs to be darker on the edge yet, resael that with apray poly a few coats and keep doing it till your happy with the end results.
> 
> But this is anything but a pro way of doing it. Just a DIY method at best.
> 
> ...



So green, polyurethane, sand, polyurethane, black and spread with brush then topcoat? And how do I know if it is dye or not?


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## chemmy (Dec 13, 2011)

dallasfan12 said:


> So green, polyurethane, sand, polyurethane, black and spread with brush then topcoat? And how do I know if it is dye or not?


Dye will say its dye, if not then most likely pigments. you'll personally know because it is totally transparent unlike pigments which are opaque to varying degrees. on the spreading of the black, apply it by rag on the are ayour wanting, go across the grain allapround the drum first then with the grain [up and down] til you get a unifrom color, clean your brush, then blend in the edge to lighten a little so it fades from the darkest to the lightest as needs be.


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## dallasfan12 (Jan 27, 2012)

Okay thanks. I actually wanted to do green in the middle and black on both edges but if that proves to be a lot of work I may just skip it. What's the purpose of sanding the first coat of polyurethane and how do I know how much to sand it?


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## dallasfan12 (Jan 27, 2012)

Also 2 more things, is there any specific type of polyurethane and do both stains need to be dyes?


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## HowardAcheson (Nov 25, 2011)

I suspect the those drums were finished with a tinted clear coat finish. I don't know of any way it can be done without spraying.


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## chemmy (Dec 13, 2011)

HowardAcheson said:


> I suspect the those drums were finished with a tinted clear coat finish. I don't know of any way it can be done without spraying.


your correct H, thats why i backed off the post, i will leave it to others.


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