looking for a cherry recipe in dye form

larry merlau

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Delton, Michigan
well its almost time for me to put color on some cherry, i dont want stain as in pigment type, i want a behlen dye combo to get some of the rich rusty reddish brown.
the reason for color on this project is to match up some color variations i have going on. so any of you that play with dye give me some hints please. i will be using lacquer for top coat.
 
Larry the go to for me when I want to give a nice warm cherry, { which is my favorite} is 1 part cherry / 1/4 part dark green.

Play around with tweaking that a bit to your liking on test boards. If you seal the wood 1st and apply the color it will be redder , if you apply the color directly to the wood it will be browner.

You should be around in her these days. Jarrod came in and pushed me out of the spray booth while I have been gilding the past few weeks. He is learning ....fast LOL But he always calling me to check out what he had done after he did it and then I have to teach him what it will take to make the color right. He is starting to see it now.
 
Larry from the transtint web site.
[FONT=Arial, Arial, Helvetica]#6010 RED MAHOGANY - for dark red cherry colors. Great for the "Bombay" dark mahogany look when mixed strong (1 oz. dye to 1 pint solvent).
here is the link
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Or use 6003 straight, or blended with 6004 or 6008 if you're trying match an existing finish. 6028 (green) will soften some of the red to help with an 'aged' look. Don't forget that, whatever dye you use, the cherry itself will age and darken.

I've used 6003, blended with 6004 and 6028, to dye poplar secondary parts to blend closely with old cherry.
 
I dislike using any color on cherry, since it will continue to change color after it has been dyed, so now you have just put the piece on a different path. If you can wait for the cherry to age, you will get a great brown color, and repairs will be easy since a clear finish on the repair will allow it to catch up (like the tan line from a watch or swim suit will fade and blend in). End of sermon.

When I am trying to hide some cherry sapwood I use Transtint 6003 reddish brown, which Jeff specifically designed for cherry. I spray a toner slightly darker on the sapwood, since the heart wood will get darker to catch up.

The real winner is 6007 Cordovan, which looks horrible on every color chart I have seen. I had a client that wanted a specific dark mahogany color - I spent a huge amount of time layering stain and dye to meet her requirement. I don't know what triggered my investment in $20 worth of cordovan dye, but it was a perfect match for what she wanted. When she came back for an additional piece a couple years later, I just used the cordovan, and she declared it a perfect match. See www.plesums.com/wood/bedroom/vanity.html
 
well guys , i normally dont color it either, but i need to match a board to the rest, charlie its not the same tree and has a different shade.. i was looking to use behlens dye and have used trans tint a fair amount. shoud have looked at 6003 that is what i am after.. so now i am here and still need to get some color but i do have time still.. i am also a firm believer in suntan charlie and jim..
 
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