Staining and wood dye 2

Step by step guide showing how to colour wood using dye whilst keeping its natural beauty. Details for preparing the surface and applying the dye with a brush or cloth

Staining and wood dye 1

Brush

Lay the dye on using a relatively large brush and a fairly liberal coating. Blend the edges of each area of work quickly and keep going until the section is complete.

Cloth

Application using a lint free, clean cloth is a much favoured method. The speed of work increases and seems more contolable.

Wear gloves when using this method to avoid staining your hands as well.

Put some dye in an old ceramic bowl or disposable foil dish, bunch the rag into a pad shape and dip it into the dye. Wring out any excess and apply using a rubbing action.

Technique

If possible, Lay the workpiece flat. This makes life easier as wood dye tends to be very fluid and runs easily.

Overlaps of dye are probably the most common cause of unsatisfactory results. These occur where the dye has already soaked into the wood and is recoated inadvertently. Take care to work one section at a time leaving a tidy and reasonably accurate edge between panels. Keep the dye flowing so that it doesn’t have a chance to dry out on you.

With a panelled door, for example, follow the same sequence as shown for painting, but take extra care not to overlap onto the surrounding sections.

On floors, apply the dye to a couple of boards at a time along their entire length. Keep the edge between this and the next pair of boards accurate.

On large panels, the most difficult of all, use a sufficiently large brush or cloth to enable you to keep the working edge wet. If the edge is allowed to dry, the application of dye alongside it will inevitably cause doubling up resulting in a darker patch at the join.

When dry, apply a second coat if required. Allow this to dry and then varnish to protect the surface.