Hey, I'm wondering about how to get an aged look to some new maple. I'd really like to use an oil finish, but I'd also like to stain it or dye it to look a bit older. Can I mix up some Early American Maple dye (water based) and apply it, let it dry, and then put PTO over it? Or can I just add some sort of dye to the oil itself? Suggestions? Thanks much.
JP
I generally will mix up a water/alcohol based (eg Transtint) dye in a 1# cut of shellac, apply it, and lightly sand it when dry. After that, have at it with oils, varnishes or mixtures thereof. As always, try it on scrap first. mahalo, jo4hn
I generally use the wash coat of shellac after I'm satisfied w/ any dye/tint, but if you test enough the process you should be able to use jo4hn's technique if you choose.
Most water-based dyes won't be lifted w/ a following oil anyway, but again, you need to test on another piece than the project itself to be sure. The shellac route is safe haven.
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There are tinted oil finishes.
I have dyed Maple with water-based then gone over it with boiled linseed oil. The results are *amazing*. The BLO really makes the grain stand out and waves and swirls will appear that you didn't even know were there.
The only drawback is the BLO takes a looong time to *dry*, in my case over a week. I did rub the BLO in using wet/dry sandpaper which probably added to the drying time. Getting the right touch is a little tricky to not sand through the stain but is worth it.
When the BLO was dry I covered it up with thinned shellac scraping each coat smooth in between.
The whole process took a long time and I would probably only try it again when it is not summertime and humid.
Can't remeber which Mag had the recipe for this but I think it was Wood. I'll see if I can find the issue #.
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