RIT dye for coloring pen blanks

[Chrisrsnow]

I am looking to make a couple of colored wooden pens for a friend. I do not have any of the equipment for stabilizing so I was wondering if I could get away with soaking a blank in dye, or perhaps turning a pen and then "staining" it with dye prior to finish sanding and polishing. Has anyone ever tried this or have any input or suggestions?

 

[KenB259]

After turning to size thinned oil paint works well. Better yet, transtint dyes. I'm guessing Rit dyes would also work.

 

[carlmorrell]

I tried food coloring and it worked well. Here's hemp with green food coloring:

 

[RGABEL]

I have used RIT dyes for coloring wood and it worked fine. After dying I used some gray woven pads to knock down any raised fuzzies without removing much of the color.

 

[jttheclockman]

I have used Rit dyes for coloring and they work well. But I used DNA as the carrier instead of water. No grain raising and deeper penetration. But as you mentioned better to be close to final dimensions. With Rit dyes there are a ton of colors to chose from or at least use to be. It has been a long time since I did that. I am a dip and drip guy. Better coverage and even coverage. Doing double applications does nothing. I am telling what I found with my method.