# watco and transtint dye



## bobinca (Dec 25, 2011)

Hello folks,

I've rebuilt an old built-in dining room cabinet in my house, made of quartersawn doug fir, and I'm at the finishing stage. I want to tint the piece a deep brown, while not obscuring the grain too much.

Because the cabinet will get some direct sunlight, I'm concerned about using a topcoat on it, since I imagine it will fade and I don't want to ever be in the position of having to sand it down to re-apply the finish. I'm therefore seeking something that will give me some protection but that is possible to re-apply periodically.

I've done lots of testing on scrap pieces and have come up with a combination I like: (a) wood sanded to 150 grit, followed by (b) a thin sanding sealer coat, followed by (c) a mixture of Watco Dark Walnut (12 parts), Transtint liquid dye Dark Mission Brown (3 parts), and Transtint liquid dye Dark Walnut (1 part). I wipe on steps (b) and (c). The final product looks dark, even, and the grain is still readily apparent.

Here's the thing: I now know (but did not when I was experimenting with the various combinations of things I used!) that Watco (Danish oil) is "incompatible" with the Transtint liquid dyes. From the Transtint spec sheet "Known Incompatibilties:TransTints are incompatible* when * added* to the following products: Watco Danish Oil, Minwax Wipe on Poly, Minwax Antique Oil, and similar wipe on oil finishes (excluding gels)". This comes from here: http://www.joewoodworker.com/transtints.htm Presumably, it is incompatible because of the mixing of oil (Watco) and glycol ether (Transtint). (?)

Now, my question: although incompatible, this mixture appears to work fine for me. When I make up my concoction, I mix it thoroughly and apply it right away. It goes on evenly. It looks fine on my test pieces after many weeks. Is there something I'm missing? Will it be problematic over time? Why does this seem to work, in spite of being "incompatible"? Can I go ahead and use it this way, without fear of some future problem? To me, the best test is what I've actually done -- trying it on scrap pieces -- and this seems to work very well so far...but I'm scared there's something I'm not thinking of... Any thoughts/advice/ideas are very much appreciated, thanks.


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## chemmy (Dec 13, 2011)

bobinca said:


> Hello folks,
> 
> I've rebuilt an old built-in dining room cabinet in my house, made of quartersawn doug fir, and I'm at the finishing stage. I want to tint the piece a deep brown, while not obscuring the grain too much.
> 
> ...


Bo, test this and get back with your results ok?

purchase the watco in natural (no color] and put some in a glass or clear palstic container, add a few to several drops of the transtints and see if the spread out on thier own to color the watco or if they float on top or sink or donot readily combine. If your findings are that they float or sink then they are not compatable ok? i think you will find either they sink or float but donot disperse uniformly ithe oil ok? but at least this will give certainty to the fact and convince you of what is really taking place ok? 

Looking forword to your results!!:yes:


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## RNrunner (Dec 12, 2019)

Did you ever finish your piece with the transint dye and danish oil? I am curious about it as well!


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