# Dyeing Birch



## CivilEngineer13 (Aug 29, 2008)

I want to use a water based dye (not stain and not oil based) to get some baltic birch ply to a nice deep brown, possibly a very very deep red. What dye should I use. I'm trying to eliminate as much experimentation as possible to save some $$$.

Thanks for any help you can provide!


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## JW_in_Indy (Mar 20, 2009)

You can find a few pre-mixed dye stains but you'll need to look around a bit. Dye stains are usually made by mixing something like the TransTint brand dyes with denatured alcohol (my personal preferred medium for dyes because alcohol doesn't raise the grain like water). But the TransTint dyes can also be mixed with water or lacquer. You can also mix them with 50% DNA and 50% water or 50% DNA and 50% lacquer so they are very easy to use. It just all depends on your project. There are lots of other dyes available as well.... it's just going to depend on which one works for you. And, FWIW.... dye stains are very often used in conjunction with penetrating stains. Especially with the darker colors. Both types of stain will affect your wood differently and a lot of times the combination of the two will be much better than one or the other alone.

http://www.joewoodworker.com/transtints.htm
http://www.woodcraft.com/Family/200...ode=06INGOOG&gclid=CNeuk9itgKACFRIeDQodRCuQjg

Also, on a wood that tends to be very splotchy when stained (like Birch), don't underestimate treating the wood prior to staining. Don't buy one of those expensive pre-mixed "wood conditioners." IMHO, they are pricey and don't work all that well. I've found that a couple of spit or wash coats of a 1# cut of de-waxed shellac disolved in DNA or if you don't want to mix your own shellac then you can use Zinsser's Sanding Sealer (which is a 2# cut of blonde shellac dissolved into DNA) and cut it 50/50 with DNA giving you a one pound cut. You will need to experiment on scrap until you achieve your desired results. I'd advise that you keep a finishing schedule on each so that when you do end up with that exact look you want.... it's in writing and most important.... repeatable. I can't tell you how many times I didn't do that and wasn't able to get the same look on a project that I did on scrap because I "thought" I remembered all of my steps and/or amounts but didn't.

It's fine to try and save "$$$" by not experimenting, but far too many of my projects came out with very disappointing results when I didn't. Just food for thought....

Good luck!

*EDIT: *Another thought.... dyes stains are often times sprayed. Do you have spray equipment and planning on spraying or are you going to apply it by trying to brush or wipe it on, or some other method? It will affect your results tremendously IMHO.


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## toddj99 (Jan 1, 2008)

I've used transtints and, as mentioned, when mixed with water, they will raise the grain. The way I did it was I sanded down to 320, sprayed with distilled water - just a light misting - let it dry, then lightly sanded again with 320. The projects were then topped with either GF varnish or some type of poly.


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## Rick Mosher (Feb 26, 2009)

I use WD Lockwood water base dye stain. Comes in powder form, just add hot water. http://www.wdlockwood.com/

Raising the grain before your final sanding is recommended.


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