wood dye's

[rayben]

which are the best wood dye's to use and were could I buy them,need these as a lot of my wood is light oak.
Regards Ray

 

[AES]

Hullo rayben. As no one else has answered (yet), I'll try.

I'm in Switzerland so I've no idea if this applies to UK or not, but I use little packets of "crystals" which you mix with water - a full range of "woody colours" available, plus "primary" colours such as red, blue, green, black, & even "white".

Very easy to use, just mix with water and apply with a sponge. More coats equals a darker shade of the basic colour, though the primaries remain translucent (of course - it's stain, not paint)!

The brand name is CLOU (actually the name of the chap who owns the company, in Offenbach, Germany), and they're pretty cheap in one of the national chain DIY stores we have here. Only about a fiver (equivalent) per packet too.

As above, the trouble is I have no idea if this brand (or similar) is available in UK (as above, it's German made), nor where to buy it.

But surely you can find something similar in Screwfix or B&Q or somewhere?

HTH

AES

 

[CHJ]

which are the best wood dye's to use and were could I buy them,need these as a lot of my wood is light oak.
Regards Ray

I suggest you get hold of the trial packs of Chestnut Stains and see if they do what you need, you can then go for the bigger volume packs of colours you need.

Although you will find the little trial bottles will go a fare way on small items.

A tip, if you go for the small packs, just pierce the sealing plug with a sharp point and dispense little drops, removing the plug can result in unwanted spillage.

 

[Claymore]

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[linkshouse]

Ray,

The first dyes I bought were the Chestnut trial packs already mentioned. I use them for Intarsia work so don;t use much and are still going strong after nearly a year. They do a wood pack and a colour pack and I bought both.

That said I did have minor problems with spirit based sealer smudging them so thought I'd have a go with water based stains and tried Littlefairs white which I found to be very good and bought a larger bottle of.

Then... I came across Liberon's concentrated colour dyes going cheap at a wood shop so bought three of them. I have only used the green and it worked fine the only comment I would add in regard to these is, as the name suggests, they're concentrated, and boy are they!

I'm not sure my variety of choice/use has helped but they are what I have used. I suppose at the end of the day the best advice would be, go for the sample sizes that most manufacturers offer and try them yourself to see how you get on with them

Regards

Phill

 

[rayben]

Thanks every one for your replies much appreciated