Help with dyed maple + CA finish

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gketell

gketell

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AAAAAARG

I'm working on a pen for a coworker and he wants purple dyed curly maple. No worries, thinks I; I've read all the tutorials and and threads by people with B-A-utiful dyed pens. They said: sand, dye, blo, CA, done. Sounds easy enough and very close to what I normally do.

Well, here's the problem. No matter how much blo or how many layers of thin CA, each coat the paper towel gets a ton of purple on it. And, the medium CA never sets up properly. My last try (the fourth or fifth try) I used blo, 4 coats of thin CA and then one coat of medium waiting for each coat to dry before moving to the next. At this point everything looked good and was dry so I added a second coat of medium. Come back after 15 minutes and the CA is still wet, the dye has started weeping out of the pen through the CA so it looked like the blank was crying purple CA. AAAARG!!

Fresh HotStuff CA. Transtint dye with red food color in a 4:3 (dye:food color) mix. (Pure, no water or alcohol or ???)

Any ideas from you pros out there? Please!?!

GK
ps I had the same problem before I started mixing in the red food color.
 
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Originally posted by gketell
<br />AAAAAARG

I'm working on a pen for a coworker and he wants purple dyed curly maple. No worries, thinks I; I've read all the tutorials and and threads by people with B-A-utiful dyed pens. They said: sand, dye, blo, CA, done. Sounds easy enough and very close to what I normally do.

Well, here's the problem. No matter how much blo or how many layers of thin CA, each coat the paper towel gets a ton of purple on it. And, the medium CA never sets up properly. My last try (the fourth or fifth try) I used blo, 4 coats of thin CA and then one coat of medium waiting for each coat to dry before moving to the next. At this point everything looked good and was dry so I added a second coat of medium. Come back after 15 minutes and the CA is still wet, the dye has started weeping out of the pen through the CA so it looked like the blank was crying purple CA. AAAARG!!

Fresh HotStuff CA. Transtint dye with red food color in a 4:3 (dye:food color) mix. (Pure, no water or alcohol or ???)

Any ideas from you pros out there? Please!?!

GK
ps I had the same problem before I started mixing in the red food color.
Click to expand...


Did you try heating the blank to thermoset the dye after application? Not that I have ever dyed a blank, so I haven't tried it but in the real world I have used dyes that to set them they have to be heated to be permanent.
 
You could try marker instead of food colouring or dye. This is a blue one I did using a Sharpie. Coloured it solid with a navy blue marker then lightly sanded to reveal some of the grain and curl again then went through the final sanding and CA application.

200742310730_DSCF2388small.jpg
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You can buy a dyed maple blank from many places. That color won't come off. I usually get mine from AS.

If you don't want to buy a blank, I second the marker idea. I have used prismacolor brand markers with great success.

Chris
 
Greg,
If you e-mail me your address I'll send you a couple violet/stabilized curly maple blanks.
 
Hi all,

Glass, no I haven't tried heating it. I thought heat was bad for the blanks lasting. No?

Jaywood, Chris and Ron,
Thanks for the ideas. Unfortunately this customer wants a VERY specific color of blank. It is his fraternity color. I talked with a couple of the stabilized blank makers and a couple of the dyers and they all declined to take on a *specific* color.

Here is a shot of what he likes. It will be ingraved and filled with gold and on a gold-ti kit.

2007423145657_IMG_4645.jpg


Ron, if your blanks are that color I would LOVE to get one or two from you (and I hope many more in the future).

GK
 
I use aniline dye in powder form. It mixes with water. The brand is Transtint from Woodcraft. I have no problem with it bleeding or with the CA not drying.
Do a good turn daily!
Don


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I did colored corncob pens using Sharpie markers and the color didn't bleed through. I used LOTS and LOTS of CA to fill in the spaces in the corn cobs. That may be the trick. Many, many layers of CA. I'm talking ten to twelve layers of thin CA, letting it cure overnight and then more layers.

That's what I did anyway.

Julia
 
have you tried letting the color soak in/dry for a day or two before finishing? i know the wait kills pen turners... but it might be worth a shot.
 
I hadn't been letting it dry overnight before since all the write ups on doing dying said it was unecessary. However, The last "fix" last night is sitting on the lathe drying until tonight when I get home from work. Hopefully that will resolve it.

I may just switch to a spray laquer for this beast. I haven't done that finish before but I can't imagine it being any worse than last night. [xx(]

GK
 
Your sequence is fine, except there is a waiting period between "dye" and "CA glue". You problem sounds like you are going immediately from one to the other. The solvents in dyes take time to evaporate. A water soluble dye takes overnight, but can be accelerated with a heat gun or blow-dryer. Solvents evaporate faster, and the Sharpie and Prismacolor are solvent soluble dyes.

There will almost always be some residual dye on the surface, and that has to be removed by burnishing the surface with a cloth. Otherwise, this excess dye can contaminate the finish.
 
Don,

I'm using the liquid Transtint dyes. It is based on Glycol Ethers. I just read the MSDS. I may try to find a way to mix/use the paste food color. This stuff is scarey.

I let it dry overnight then sprayed it with two coats of laquer this morning. This afternoon I grabbed the wrong can and hit it with a coat of sanding sealer which floated the dye again. Cleaned up the mess, added more dye, let it dry for 1/2 hour or so and hit it with laquer again. Looks good so far. We'll see tomorrow.

GK
 
I would be more than happy to send you a couple to see if they are the right color.
Just keep in mind that dyed stabilized blanks are very fussy due to the nature of wood.
If you PM me your address I'll send some to you.
 
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