How far to sand before dying blanks.

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Dan_F

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I'm working on a maple blank that needs a little something to accent the curl. I've sanded to 3600 micro mesh, started wondering at what point the dye will no longer soak in? For those who dye, when do you do it? Thanks.

Dan
 
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rherrell

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I sand all the way before I dye. You will never be able to sand to the point where the dye won't soak in. I use food coloring and after it has dried, I burnish it with a piece of brown paper bag. Sanding after you dye will remove some of the dye which is another look all together.
 

leehljp

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I'm working on a maple blank that needs a little something to accent the curl. I've sanded to 3600 micro mesh, started wondering at what point the dye will no longer soak in? For those who dye, when do you do it? Thanks.

Dan

Dan,

Others can chime in on this. In flat work, I often hear people comment that if something is too smooth, the finish won't take, finish won't stick etc. But that is not true. I personally find that burnishing some woods bring the curl out and the more, the better (up to a point). And burnishing is sanding, of sorts, that is finer than 12000 MM.

I just used the ebonizing technique on a very small bowl and it was sanded to 8000 mm before I ebonized it. Worked well. Hard to sand AFTER using dye without causing streaks.
 

ehickey

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For quilted or curly pieces, I prefer to double dye. I learned most of this from BryanJon; he was a big help. Here is my procedure:
* Finish shaping the piece, leaving it oversized by about 10-15 thou.
* Apply a light coat of black dye, just enough to put the color down
* Let dry overnight
* Sand with 220 until the black is only left in the bottom of the curls. This is where I sand down to the final dimensions of the piece, and go all the way through the micromesh.
* Apply the dye that you want (maybe red)
* Let dry overnight
* I like to sand with the last 3 or 4 grits of micromesh if the quilt or curl is strong enough. I puts a nice highlight on the piece.

This pen looks much better in person. The picture does not capture the depth very well.
 

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KenV

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Color and wood get to art -- processes are not repeatable because the wood changes unless you are using glazes (color added between layers of finish).

Maple is a wonderful place to try things. You have lots of choices for color agent, depending on your expectation for stability of color over time. Think Ultra Violet fading.

I find that acrylic inks are an excellent source of color to play with because the pigments in the ink tend to be color fast, and do not fade easily. The pigments in inks are more fine than they are in traditional artist colors and wood stains. The next up in fine pigments are paints designed expressly for air brushing applications (yet another slippry slope in decoration). Inks are videly available at moderate cost in small containers with a wide range of colors.

Aniline dyes are more durable than such products as food colors. Alcohol solvent vs water is better on wood with aniline dye because of the tendency of water to raise grain.

Sanding does not have much effect on dyes, but does affect the effect on inks and stains with pigments. You need some texture to hold the fine pigments.

You can get more uniform colors, or can use sanding and recoloring to alter shades and effects. I like to back sand fiddleback maple or birdseye maple to bring out contrasts. The birdseyes act as end grain and take more color/pigment. Burls are all mixed up grain.

The use of a shellac wash coat to seal the grain will allow better control of the amount of color for light shading applicaitons, and a resealing of each layer of color helps keep the colors from muddling together.

A light yellow undercoat followed by other colors is sometimes magic.

I learned a lot about color watching Cindy Drozda at demos -- take a look at her videos for some ideas on color - she uses lots of maple burl and mixes color and sanding.
 

Mack C.

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Are these anything like what you are attempting to achieve?
attachment.jpg


attachment.jpg
 

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Dan_F

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Yup, except probably a more natural looking color, like an antique maple.

The blank has some curl, but it's not as pronounced as it had appeared when the blank was whole. I just want to give it a little contrast to bring out the figure a little more. I don't know if just BLO would be enough to do the trick. I guess I should try a sample piece before doing the turned pen. I've used the dye (Trans-tint) in flat work, but not on a polished surface before, so not sure what to expect. Seems like it ought to work fine.

Dan
 

BryanJon

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Thank you Eric for the nod. The technique I use is a bit different from what you described.(Nice pen BTW)
I work for PRS Guitars , and I use the same staining and finishing techniques on my pens as we do on our guitars.
When I have some free time , I will write a tutorial on this.
 

Dan_F

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Thank you Eric for the nod. The technique I use is a bit different from what you described.(Nice pen BTW)
I work for PRS Guitars , and I use the same staining and finishing techniques on my pens as we do on our guitars.
When I have some free time , I will write a tutorial on this.

Ohhh, nice guitars! I'd love to see a tutorial.

Dan
 
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