Dyes and Stains … what's the difference? A dye will color your wood and not inhibit the grain presentation while a stain is pigment or earth (i.e. dirt) and depending on how opaque it is, when mixed it can cover all the grain. Most of the colors I use on wood are dyes. If I need to color a vessel or bowl or any part of them I use dyes.

How do you use dyes? If you are coloring the entire piece, it's easy. Put the dye on to saturation. It's important to saturate the wood so the dye will color the piece evenly, otherwise it could be blotchy. If you need to color a portion of the piece you can't apply dye directly because it will wick and be uncontrollable. I first put two coats of wax free shellac on the areas to be colored. The shellac is controllable and if you make a mistake use shellac solvent to wipe it off and start again. Using a dry brush technique, dip your brush and wipe it on a paper towel then add color to the shellac.

Sometimes I want a finial for a hollow form to look like ebony and for this I use black dye. There are two I use that give a true black: Transtint Black or Transtint Leather Dye Black. Either will give you a true black, not a blueish or purplish black. After the finial is dry I use 'wipe on poly' gloss. After several coat of the poly it looks like glass.

It works for me! Happy turning!

Phil can be reached directly via email at woodturnerphil@gmail.com .