Transtint issue
#10
Hi All - I made a sofa table out of hickory for my daughter who wanted it stained a dark color.  I used a Transtint dark brown mahogany color, that comes in the liquid form.  I mixed it with water to the color I wanted.  I am not pleased with the result however.  The coloring looks good, but it does not appear that the dye got into all of the grain.  The result is that it looks like it has light colored little spider webs all over it.  I put the dye solution on twice, once with a foam brush and then the second time with a rag, going against the grain and wiping down both times.  Anyone have this experience before?  Also, I will have to put some other coloring agent on it because I can't put a finish on it yet.  It pretty much looks awful (I tried pictures but the lines are too faint to see).  Can I use a stain over they dyed wood?  Thank you for any help you can provide.  FPT.
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#11
I would suggest try mixing the transtint with some mineral spirits instead of water.    Strongly suggest trying it on scrap,not the project.  Make a sample board with the dye/water mix as before, let dry and apply the new mix  and see if it solves the problem.    You could also wipe the surface with a solvent soaked rag.   This will try to remove the dye but will probably fill in the spider webs.     Alcohol will also work but is fast drying.   
 Brushing any finish over the Transtint will dissolve the dye a little also.  Spray shellac is a good sealer for the dye.   Yes you can apply a stain over the dye.      Try on scrap not on project.    We all learned this the hard way.     Roly
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#12
Transtint is not miscible in mineral spirits but it is in DNA.  Add some Transtint to DNA and see if it colors the pores - do this on scrap.  If it works, then you can do it on your project. 

Another option which will likely work is to apply a stain over what you now have, but you should try that on scrap first, too.  I would use an oil based stain, however, because if you use a water based one it will lift some of the Transtint and might make a muddy mess. 

FYI, you can apply any finish over Transtint.  If it's an oil based finished you can apply it any way you like.  If it's alcohol based (shellac) or water based, however, you must spray the first coat to avoid lifting the Transtint.  As mentioned, if you don't have spray equipment, you can use rattle can shellac to seal in the Transtint, and then proceed with brushing, wiping, etc. your finish on. 

Note:  I've had the same problem you describe when I tried dying white ash.  I eventually gave up and used a spray toner of Sealcoat shellac + Transtint and it came out beautiful.  However, that's only an option if you can spray.  

John
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#13
You dye to get color, then stain or BLO cut with MS to get depth and pop the grain colors.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE EQUALS WISDOM. RMB
The SO asked me today, "what are you going to do to day"? I said "nothing".  She said, "that's what you did yesterday"! Me, "Yes love, but I was not finished yet"!!!!!!!!
Smirk

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#14
I stand corrected on the mineral spirits.  I was thinking a slower evaporating solvent than lacquer thinner would be easier to work with.   Roly
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#15
Transtint liquid is only mixable in water or DNA, the powder version one in water only.
KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE EQUALS WISDOM. RMB
The SO asked me today, "what are you going to do to day"? I said "nothing".  She said, "that's what you did yesterday"! Me, "Yes love, but I was not finished yet"!!!!!!!!
Smirk

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#16
Not to be a nit picker, but Transtint is soluble in quite a few solvents:  water, DNA, lacquer thinner, acetone, and a few others.  For clarity, the "powder version" is called TransFast, and is soluble only in water as you said. 

FYI, you can add Transtint to some solvent based products it's not directly compatible with by first dissolving it in lacquer thinner, or other compatible solvent, and then adding that to the product.  I have used that approach several times to adjust the color of a solvent based stain, such as SW's BAC wiping stains, and it works very well. 

John
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#17
Last time I did a test dye on some ash, I also experimented with adding a few drops of dish soap to the dye to reduce the surface tension.  Seems to work but not a scientific test.  Just that the second and later test pieces seemed to have fewer problems with "empty" pores.
Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things. -- G. Carlin
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#18
Dear all - thank you kindly for all the advice.  Very much appreciated.  I think I will use and oil based stain next.  I don't really want to fool with the Transtint any longer. I will probably put 1# shellac over that and then one of the GF finishes.  Thank you, again...FPT
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