Dye........?

Stuart Ablett

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Tokyo Japan
I'm having trouble finding the aniline dyes here, so I was wondering if the dye used to dye clothing would work?

I CAN get Rit here.....Hmmm....

I just looked on the www.Ritdye.com site and they say you can dye wood, but the dye should be HOT to work correctly.....

Anyone ever try Rit on wood?

Cheers!
 
I haven't done it myself, but I found [a post on penturners.org] which implies that RIT will work:

redfishsc said:
Stick with a straight dye (like regular old grocery store RIT dye or solvent-based aniline dyes from www.woodturnerscatalog.com or somewhere similar. A good alcohol or acetone based dye will dry superfast and will be ready to finish in less than a minute. The color will look great-- you can mix them as well to get the color you want.

I assume that the "you can mix them ... to get the color you want" comment applies to RIT dyes as well as aniline and other dyes. :dunno:
 
Stu, in one of the books I have it is mentioned that you can use silk dyes on wood. I bet you can find those where you are.

I am sure aniline dyes are used in Japan. I cannot imagine what else would be used these days. I prefer using those dyes that are dissolved in alcohol as they don't raise the grain as much. You also have to be careful if you use steel wool as any water based dye will cause the tiniest fragment of steel to rust and leave an ugly spot on your work. DAMHIKT.....
 
Thanks for the info Mike, I too would rather use the dyes I can mix with alcohol for the reasons you state.

My wife and I looked up the "Aniline Dye" here on the web, and they are listed as a poison, so maybe I can't get them? :dunno:

I will look for the silk dye, thanks! :wave:
 
Stu I have used the RIT dye and I agree with Ron it did not seem to go in deep. Also if you use a water based dye it will definitely raise the grain on the wood where if you use the Aniline alcohol based dyes it won't raise the grain and dries fast. I used the RIT dye on a piece of maple and by the time you get it sanded smooth from it raising the grain of the wood I had sanded thru the dye in several places. I had not thought to see if a person could mix the RIT dye with denatured alcohol or not. Just my experience.
 
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From what I have read most fabric dyes are supposed to be heat set.

Leather dyes I have heard work well and may be available locally.
 
Thanks Mike, I think I can find leather dyes.

Ron, what do you mean by "Fade" :huh:

Due to what, sunlight?

Just curious, not doubting you at all, just wondering what would cause the dyes to fade.

Cheers!
 
This is what I've experienced with dyes.

Alcohol dyes do not penetrate as deep into the wood because they dry so quick. Water based dyes have the opportunity to penetrate into the wood because they stay wet longer.

With alcohol based dyes, most of the color is on top of the wood and has a greater exposure to (UV) sunlight. Because of this, the colors fade quicker.

This is pretty subjective since different color dyes and different types of woods, along with different combinations of each, has an effect to the lightfastness of dyes. So, your mileage may differ, so your best bet is to experiment.
 
Stu, I dyed a box elder burl pen with purple Rit dye and it worked pretty well. I let it soak in the dye for about 30 minutes after I had it close to finished size if I remember right and then the little wood I removed made it look pretty good. Here's a pic...
 

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Stu, I've used water based fabric dyes with some success, but I'm still unsure aobut how color fast they might be. So far so good though. I mix mine following the directions on the package except I substitute 50% of the water with DNA to speed the drying. I've only use smaller pieces so I also used vacuum to help "draw" the dye into the wood and I've achieved pretty good penetration. Don't know if this will help, but it's what I've done.;)
 
Stu,
another place to experiment...try using inkjet refill ink. The refill kits come with syringes for precise placement of the dye/pigment ink. By the way, pigment inks are more colorfast but don't penetrate as well.
 
Now that is thinking out of the box Dick! :clap:

I know if you get that stuff on your hands it takes a while to wear off, it does NOT wash off........DAMHIKT :doh:
 
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