How to make my own stain?

I wanted to make my own stain. I took some berries and crushed them, I applied like regular stain and it seemed to work great. What happened then was that a drip of water landed on my wood and the stain lifted. What can be done to something like berry juice to make it stick to the wood? I read that some have used alum but I have no idea why/if that would work. If someone could shed some light on stain making I would love it!

Thanks!

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Reply to
errfrsdaf
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With every color of the rainbow with all manner of application for dyes, tints and stains available right off the shelf, I can't think of why you would want to make your own.

But..

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stains you make will not likely be color fast, nor will you have have any idea of how they will react with top coats of oil, solvent, or water based finishes.

Stains can be made from anything. The old Mexican "rough" or "rancho" style furniture that is now called "rustic" by those smart enough to sell it, was finshed with a black glaze for probably 50 years.

The glaze was made by putting gasoline in a bucket, then tossing in a chunk of roofing tar for low slope application. (The kind that goes in a hot tar kettle). It turns black, blackish brown, or really dark brown depending on the actual chunk you put in and how long you leave it. It actually makes a nice glaze, it just takes a long time to cure out to get rid of the smell of gas.

I thought that was really unique until I saw Michael Dresdner commenting on his experiences with the same, exact glaze.

Robert

Reply to
nailshooter41

Look up "mordant"

Reply to
dadiOH

Unless you're JOAT, of course... He uses coffee, tea, probably kool-aid on gun stocks and stuff... I guess it depends on which drum ya hear, huh? lol

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Reply to
mac davis

Don't forget the yellow paint on his tools :-)

Joe

aka 10x

Reply to
10x

Because my kids and I llke doing stuff like that.

We'll find out! So far it looks good under poly.

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Reply to
errfrsdaf

Thank you! More talk of alum!

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Reply to
errfrsdaf

Hello,

It needs to be locked under a sealing coat of finish. Try spraying, not brushing, shellac. Brushing will lift the stain. By the way, there is a good chance that the stain will fade more quickly than other types. Vegetable dyes are, but not always, very fade susceptible.

Good Luck.

Reply to
Baron

On Thu, 9 Oct 2008 12:26:23 +0100, dadiOH wrote (in article ):

The most common mordants are alum and, of course, urine.

if you ever weave yourself a Chinese carpet, you can soak it in a bath of urine of one of your domestic animals - Yak is good, but camel or goat are quite effective too - and spread it out on the roof in the hot sun for a few weeks . This will make the neighbours aware of your new hobby and they will almost certainly contact you to discuss your interest. It's a great way of breaking the ice when you move somewhere new.

Anyone here still have an Afghan coat?

Reply to
Bored Borg

I remember reading that the American Indians appreciated mother nature's math.. A deer has exactly enough brains to treat one deer skin, or something like that..

mac

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Reply to
mac davis

I found this on

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Hello! It's time to gather walnuts for the dye!

Reply to
Bored Borg

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