Water based stains

[JamesDad]

What kind of success have any of you had with water based dyes? I've never used them so I would really appreciate any input.
Thanks

[Jeffrey Schronce]

Sure. Love them. What do you want to know?

Edit : Note title of thread says stains and body says dyes. Love water based dye. Hate water based stain. Go figure.

[JamesDad]

One thing that appeals to me is the safety factor due to my basement shop sharing space with a furnace and a water heater. In the quest for safety am I giving up anything. Does water based dye penetrate the wood as well as an oil based stain. What kind of variety of colors are available. Is it easy to mix and apply with consistant results on both domestic and exotic woods.

Thanks, Kevin JamesDad

[Jeffrey Schronce]

Water based dyes are generally a little better than alcohol based stains in light fastness. Alcohol does not raise grain like water does though. That seems to be the trade off between those types of dyes. As far a water based dye versus oil based stain I say it all depends on what you are doing. Water based dye, IMHO penetrates better than oil based stain. Oil based is thicker as is the solids in oil based. It is not uncommon to use both on a project.
I personally don't color a lot of wood anymore, rather I like natural finishes. I did recently get a request for a very large project that involves ebonizing oak or ash. I built a test piece last week and got a very nice even dye with little effort. I got the red oak solid black with zero splotching, grain issues, etc. The cool thing about dye is that it doesn't hide the wood grain.
Variety of colors is limitless as they instantly blend together. All it takes is some warm tap water and an approximate amount of dye and it will thoroughly disolve itself in seconds.
I used the stuff from Jeff Jewitt. Homestead Finishing is the company. His transtint dye is sold at WC, Rockler, etc. You can buy larger quantites from Homestead from their website.

[JamesDad]

Thanks for your helpful information. I also prefer to leave wood natural but a project is coming up that requires a stain. My experience with water based stain wasn't good either so I'll give water based dye a shot.

Thanks, Kevin

[crokett]

Kevin,

If you are worried about the fumes being ignighted by your furnace or water heater, don't be. My SIL is a chemist. I talked to her about this once and she said you'd pass out from fumes long before they were concentrated enough for an explosion.

That said, normal working rules apply - don't take rags soaked in oil finishes and wad them up, etc. I take my used rags outside and lay them flat on a brick wall. And don't go spraying something directly on the pilot light of your furnace or whatever.