I'd like to add an accent piece to a piece of furniture I'm building and want to ebonize a piece of Maple (though I suppose it doesn't have to be Maple, I just want it to be black). I've read that dye stains will be better for doing this. I picked up a can of Minwax "Wood Finish" oil based stain, but can't seem to determine if it is dye or pigment stain. Does anyone know how I can tell. Any other comments on the process would also be appreciated. Thanks
Thu, Apr 19, 2007, 3:21pm (EDT-3) snipped-for-privacy@hvc.rr.com (Doug) doth come in and mumble: want to ebonize a piece of Maple . I picked up a can of Minwax "Wood Finish" oil based stain, but can't seem to determine if it is dye or pigment stain. Does anyone know how I can tell.
Sounds likea waste of good maple to me, but it's your wood.
Yes, someone knows. The manufacturer. That's the reason they put the 1-800 number on the can, so you can get answers about their products. Or did they leave it off yours?
JOAT I have anal glaucoma. I can't see my ass going to work today.
For Black, I have had better luck with Behlen's Solar Lux which is alcohol base. It seems to penetrate better, and is about $11 - $12 buck a bottle.
When I use the Behlens for finish, I thin it quite a bit. But for black as possible, use it straight.
Almost all woodturners yearn to ebonize some kind of wood for finials, knobs, caps, and decorations of all manner. Right now, I think the preferred method is real India Ink from the art or office supply store. This is really a prevalent method since almost no one can find the good ebony at a fair price, and the Macassar (sp?) has a tendency to have brown streaks in it. So wood is saturatated in the ink, sanded after grain raising, then saturated again. A piece of wood done this way actually looks like ebony.
For me... I cheat. On something of size I would hit the accent piece with black laquer so I could get it dead black, and if my final finsh is gloss, I am on my way. If it is satin, out comes the steel wool to knock off the shine.
General Finishes makes a Paint /Stain in black in their Kountry Colors collection.. You can paint it on and leave it or wipe off to you preference of darkness.
I have a whole oak family room suite to ebonize and I have done some testing in preparation. I chose oak due to the pronounced grain structure so that the texture would still come through the finish. I used water based black aniline dye from woodcraft mixed at the recommended strength. I applied it liberally and let it dry completely. I followed that with some water based Minwax black stain that I had mixed at Home Depot. I got this plan from Bob Flexner's book. My test have come out very well and more importantly to the satisfaction of my customer.
Most of the common "yellow can" Minwax finishes do contain some pigment, often contain dye as well, and a few contain only dye. If you want to check a can you've already purchased, just open it and stir up from the bottom with a small stick. If it contains pigment some will stick to the stick and you will be able to see it.
Look for something you don't have to stir, and it'll be a dye. Pigment is added as particulates, and has a tendency to settle in the can and seek the pores in the wood. Easy to tell which is which by what they leave behind on a piece of white paper.
Ebonizing by dye would be fine with cherry, soft maple or birch, or if you just need color over durability, basswood. Aniline dyes, RIT fabric dyes, India ink are all pretty common ways of going about it.
Another solution is the inks used in inkjet printers. They are available in either dye or pigment versions. Dye based products tend to fade more than pigment.
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