Dark Wood Options

rampantbunny

recipio wrote: »

Maybe ask for 'Spirit dye' - some assistants are not entirely up to speed.;)
The 5 litre dyes they sell are Sherwin Williams - the big American corp. To be honest you have set yourself a hard task - at the very least having spray facilities would give the optimum result for the dye and topcoat. I still think using the same laminate flooring on the stair treads with a solid wood surround would give you an identical match. It could be replaced easily in a few years if showing signs of wear.

I rang them back and asked for the name of the dye they did stock...was told it was Sherwin Williams but didn't catch the particular product (think granite or something similar sounding). This was a different sales man, and he again said, Nope, we've never stocked aniline.

Yea, the task could be difficult alright but the reward will be great (hopefully).
I'm not confident enough that we'd get good joints if trying to incorporate the wood flooring. Can't see us getting the cuts good enough at corners...will chat to my helper about it though.

recipio

rampantbunny wrote: »

I rang them back and asked for the name of the dye they did stock...was told it was Sherwin Williams but didn't catch the particular product (think granite or something similar sounding). This was a different sales man, and he again said, Nope, we've never stocked aniline.

Yea, the task could be difficult alright but the reward will be great (hopefully).
I'm not confident enough that we'd get good joints if trying to incorporate the wood flooring. Can't see us getting the cuts good enough at corners...will chat to my helper about it though.

To be fair, aniline dyes are soluble in water as well as spirits so I think its down to the actual product on sale.
Not sure about the joints with the laminate - edge to edge should be almost invisible but you would need a sharp blade for crosscutting.I think the pros use a guillotine for that reason.? You would have to 'wrap' a tread with something on the edges to conceal the two tone look - a definite downside.

tabby aspreme

rampantbunny wrote: »

Was in touch with MRCB in Dublin. Spoke to a gentleman there who told me that I'd have to mix different shades of the powdered aniline together to get the color I wanted, like brown, yellow, red, black. Plus the advice was to mix enough in one batch to ensure no color difference between one blend and the next i.e. do the whole lot in one go. I asked if they did pre-mixed batches themselves such as a 'dark-oak' and he said no.

TA, have you bought from them before? And if yes, did you get blended colors?
I also mentioned getting a 'wiping stain' to which he said, 'never heard of such a thing'. I said 'how about a stain you wipe on' and was told I'd need to be more specific - fair enough I suppose.


The restoration materials site in the UK sell blended powder mixes @ £12 each not including delivery. I might get some off them just see.

I would have got both , walnut and rosewood, were the blends , the solid colors and Bismarck
brown which is actually yellow, I mainly used them on mahogany which was French polished and when mixed with meths could be added to the polish for tinting.
If you are going to try it, get walnut and black , mix the walnut at the recommended rate then add black till you get the shade you need, you will need to measure very accurately and keep to the ratios you decide on, if using meths don't heat it to speed up dissolving or it will ignite.

Sand the wood then dampen it with a cloth and sand again before applying the stain .

What you are trying to achieve is not easy as you are trying to get a natural material to match an artificial one, practice plenty and enjoy.

rampantbunny

tabby aspreme wrote: »

I would have got both , walnut and rosewood, were the blends , the solid colors and Bismarck
brown which is actually yellow, I mainly used them on mahogany which was French polished and when mixed with meths could be added to the polish for tinting.
If you are going to try it, get walnut and black , mix the walnut at the recommended rate then add black till you get the shade you need, you will need to measure very accurately and keep to the ratios you decide on, if using meths don't heat it to speed up dissolving or it will ignite.

Sand the wood then dampen it with a cloth and sand again before applying the stain .

What you are trying to achieve is not easy as you are trying to get a natural material to match an artificial one, practice plenty and enjoy.

Cheers TA
I've ordered Dark Oak, Walnut, Mahogany from Restoration Materials. Didn't think to order black to darken..will see if any of the above come near to what I want then take it from there. I keep reading that light-fastness is not a strength of aniline dyes. The dyed material will be out of the direct sun but there will still be a decent amount of light cast on them..just not direct UV.

I also ordered a sample stain kit from Chestnut (UK)...the Chestnut Spirit Stain Samples - Wood Colours basically. Obviously not an aniline dye but I'm curious to see what they bring to the table.

If it comes to it, I wouldn't cry if the grain in the wood is not fully preserved in all it's glory. A more uniform look on the end product is fine for us as you can't actually see a grain in the floor unless you catch it with light at just the right angle.

I've a few pieces of white oak coming next week from joinery. Hopefully the dye comes soon after and the begins the experimentation.

tabby aspreme

While you're at it spend a fiver on a pack of steel wool and a bottle of vinegar, stuff some of the steel wool into a jam jar and fill it with the vinegar, leave it to soak for a few days, then brush it onto the oak and see the color change by the following day.

rampantbunny

tabby aspreme wrote: »

While you're at it spend a fiver on a pack of steel wool and a bottle of vinegar, stuff some of the steel wool into a jam jar and fill it with the vinegar, leave it to soak for a few days, then brush it onto the oak and see the color change by the following day.

That's the ebonising approach isn't it?...watched a few interesting videos of it last week including one where tea was used to increase the tannin levels of the wood.
Thought about using it to initially darken the wood, then use the aniline on top to see what it would look like. There's so many avenues a person could go down..not forgetting the ammonia route also. If a person had the time I'm sure it would be enjoyable.