How I color epoxy

[Timberwolf]

I found years ago that you can't get any blacker than pure carbon and it's great for coloring epoxy.....To turn epoxy jet black, I let the flame from an ordinary candle "play" on the rounded bottom of an old spoon for a minute or so...then I scrape the carbon off directly into the epoxy and mix thoroughly....It only takes a very tiny amount and it does not affect the strength of the bond...I use JB Weld to set the blades of my woodcarving knives into the wood handle, and I cannot stand the "gray" color it turns when hard.!!..The carbon black takes care of that...and you can polish it to a high sheen to resemble ebony...And it's great for setting inlays to have a black border...All you need is a match, a candle and an old spoon.....

[Herebrooks]

Bravo!!! Good simple solution.

[Arlin Eastman]

I found years ago that you can't get any blacker than pure carbon and it's great for coloring epoxy.....To turn epoxy jet black, I let the flame from an ordinary candle "play" on the rounded bottom of an old spoon for a minute or so...then I scrape the carbon off directly into the epoxy and mix thoroughly....It only takes a very tiny amount and it does not affect the strength of the bond...I use JB Weld to set the blades of my woodcarving knives into the wood handle, and I cannot stand the "gray" color it turns when hard.!!..The carbon black takes care of that...and you can polish it to a high sheen to resemble ebony...And it's great for setting inlays to have a black border...All you need is a match, a candle and an old spoon.....

Thanks for posting this Jack.

I know guys have said this before and it is good to say again.  To me I am kind of lazy and use India black ink or artist acrylic black when I have it or I have had someone who was getting rid of their transtint a few years ago for a couple of bucks so he gave them all to me and I have about 6 black bottles of them.

[Timberwolf]

Thanks for posting this Jack.

I know guys have said this before and it is good to say again.  To me I am kind of lazy and use India black ink or artist acrylic black when I have it or I have had someone who was getting rid of their transtint a few years ago for a couple of bucks so he gave them all to me and I have about 6 black bottles of them.

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Arlin, JB Weld that has been tinted with carbon black will never fade like some inks or paints can do. Plus it can fill holes for decorative effects. It can be polished or left with a matte finish.

I "discovered" the lampblack/epoxy trick about 20yrs ago when I was trying my hand at inlaying metal in my silversmithing adventures...I had some bad experiences with the "tinting" additives I bought for that purpose..The epoxy would not get hard like it was supposed to..It's hard to know how much to use, but with lampblack there's no problem because the tinting power is so strong that it doesn't require much of it...Plus it's "Cheap as dirt'.....

[Alan S]

India ink is carbon black; the water it's dispersed in can be a pain for this use, but it won't fade.

Your method sounds convenient to me.  I suspect most black pigments in paint are carbon since it's cheap, but the soluble dyes may be mixtures of other things that might fade.

[Pirate]

Thanks for the time you spent for the write-up.
Does anyone know if ink from a printer cartridge could be used to tint epoxy?

[Bill Holt]

Several years ago I needed to color a large amount of epoxy; some one here suggested Harbor Freight's Black Powder Coating.  At the time it was about $5 for about a qt. but I think it was sold by the pound.  A little bit of that powder went a looooong way and very easy to use and store.

[Timberwolf]

Thanks for the time you spent for the write-up.
Does anyone know if ink from a printer cartridge could be used to tint epoxy?

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Don't know about a printer cartridge but I bought a small container of gel for tinting epoxy and used it as directed but it prevented the epoxy from hardening sufficiently.,That's how I started trying to find a substitute that WOULD work without costing anything..I use it exclusively now.