Pigment advice

[Lijongtao]

Hi all

Last year I did a 16-week French polishing course. I really enjoyed it so have invested in some kit etc.
My inlaws have asked me to repair their table which was french polished but I need some darker pigment, well all sorts of pigments as I haven't got any at all.
I am looking for the powdered ones we used in class but don't know where to buy them from. I'd ask the old teacher but he isn't well and I don't wish to bother him. Can anyone point me in the right direction, where to buy, which ones are best, what colours would be used the most and any other info, please? I am a very beginner at this

Thank you Li

 

[sometimewoodworker]

Hi all

Last year I did a 16-week French polishing course. I really enjoyed it so have invested in some kit etc.
My inlaws have asked me to repair their table which was french polished but I need some darker pigment, well all sorts of pigments as I haven't got any at all.
I am looking for the powdered ones we used in class but don't know where to buy them from. I'd ask the old teacher but he isn't well and I don't wish to bother him. Can anyone point me in the right direction, where to buy, which ones are best, what colours would be used the most and any other info, please? I am a very beginner at this

Thank you Li

The little I have done did not use a pigment in the finish but on the surface before the finish.

 

[Lijongtao]

It is for a colour match prior to the polish.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

It is for a colour match prior to the polish.

OK in that case it doesn’t need to soluble in alcohol, though you may have fewer problems if it is.
Wood dye Is one source this is one of the sets that may be a good match

Or search google for aniline dye powder

don‘t forget you must do a test On a sample board of both the dye and dye with finish over first

 

[mrpercysnodgrass]

Hi Li.
Welcome to the forum.
The powdered pigments you were using were almost certainly spirit aniline dyes. You can get them from the big polish supplies but if you just want small quantities then I would suggest using Rest Express who sell Fiddes stains (although they are all the same no matter where they come from).
You will need about seven or eight different colours to give you the tinting option for colour matching.
The essentials are, Bismarck Brown or Vandyke brown, Mahogany, Walnut, Black, Orange, Green, Yellow and Blue.
These are all sold in 50g tubs so would mean an initial investment of around £80!
They can all be made up as stains when mixed with meths or can be mixed with shellac on the brush for touching out blemishes or matching in a small area or moulding etc.
some of the colours like green and blue are only used to adjust colours so 50g of those may last you a lifetime. Green as a weak stain is very useful for toning down a strong red and blue as a weak stain is good for negating a reflective grain.

 

[Lijongtao]

Wow, thanks so much for the information, it is greatly received. I used the last pigments in meths as that's the way he did it. I will certainly look into purchasing them all as I will definitely need them in the long run. I think I will buy the water-based one too as I am always tinkering with woods.

So Rest Express is the shop, great to know.
Sincerely appreciate your lengthy replied and kind help.

Thank you Li

 

[marcros]

Hi Li.
Welcome to the forum.
The powdered pigments you were using were almost certainly spirit aniline dyes. You can get them from the big polish supplies but if you just want small quantities then I would suggest using Rest Express who sell Fiddes stains (although they are all the same no matter where they come from).
You will need about seven or eight different colours to give you the tinting option for colour matching.
The essentials are, Bismarck Brown or Vandyke brown, Mahogany, Walnut, Black, Orange, Green, Yellow and Blue.
These are all sold in 50g tubs so would mean an initial investment of around £80!
They can all be made up as stains when mixed with meths or can be mixed with shellac on the brush for touching out blemishes or matching in a small area or moulding etc.
some of the colours like green and blue are only used to adjust colours so 50g of those may last you a lifetime. Green as a weak stain is very useful for toning down a strong red and blue as a weak stain is good for negating a reflective grain.

could I ask what you mean by a reflective grain, Mr Percy?

 

[mrpercysnodgrass]

could I ask what you mean by a reflective grain, Mr Percy?

It is when you get long and end grain together like fiddle back sycamore, and as you move around the piece the light gets absorbed by the end grain and reflected by the long grain creating a 3D effect. Very attractive in lots of timbers but you sometimes get it on antique Mahogany and it can make the piece look patchy. A weak blue stain stops it from doing this, don't ask me how, it was something I was shown many years ago by another restorer and it works!

 

[mrpercysnodgrass]

So Rest Express is the shop, great to know.
Sincerely appreciate your lengthy replied and kind help.

Rest Express is quite expensive but what they have is a very good selection from all of the polish suppliers. They stock WS Jenkins (my favourite firm) Mylands, Fiddes and Liberon.

Thank you Li
[/QUOTE]

 

[marcros]

Ah, thanks. I had never thought of it being a negative feature, only something you would want to enhance.