Black Dye on Quilt Maple

[Doughboy]

Are there tricks or tips towards dying a quilt maple top black? I've seen some horrible ones that kill & blur the grain & some that looks amazing that bring out the grain for a nice 3D effect.

The person doing my paint job is very good, doesn't have much experience with black, so anything I can throw his way would be appreciated.

 

[Patrick from Davis]

It depends on what dye you use.  The dye's tend to add the 3D character to the figure.  Not to say that tints do not as well, but the dye gives a lot of depth.  Then you should seal it.  Put a layer between the dye and the clear.  Then the clear stays clear and adds that clear water on the depth of the dye.

So to recap...
Dye
Seal
Clear

Patrick

 

[Doughboy]

It depends on what dye you use.  The dye's tend to add the 3D character to the figure.  Not to say that tints do not as well, but the dye gives a lot of depth.  Then you should seal it.  Put a layer between the dye and the clear.  Then the clear stays clear and adds that clear water on the depth of the dye.

So to recap...
Dye
Seal
Clear

Patrick

Thanks!!! Are there particular dyes, brands etc that are better suited?

 

[Patrick from Davis]

It is difficult to say.  It is sort of like guitar strings, people have their favorites.  However, I have used the ethanol soluble dyes from Reranch and they work well.  I think Tonar uses the MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone) dyes from LMII, although I would ask him to be sure.  Several others have used water based dyes and had great success as well.

Beyond just the dyes, there are several tricks to getting a particular effect with dyes.  The collective knowledge on the board should be able to figure out a method for getting the finish you want.
Patrick

 

[Doughboy]

It is difficult to say.  It is sort of like guitar strings, people have their favorites.  However, I have used the ethanol soluble dyes from Rereanch and they work well.  I think Tonar uses the MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone) dyes from LMII, although I would ask him to be sure.  Several others have used water based dyes and had great success as well.

Beyond just the dyes, there are several tricks to getting a particular effect with dyes.  The collective knowledge on the board should be able to figure out a method for getting the finish you want.
Patrick

Thanks!!! I will need all the info I can get on this particular dye job as nothing ruins a nice top more than a poorly done dark paint job.


Hopefullt Tonar will chime in with his expertise.

 

[jackthehack]

I like Mixol dyes, applied with lacquer thinner.

There are a variety of effects you can get using a dark colored dye on quilt maple, it might be useful if you could post a picture of  what you are trying to get for your black dye finish...

 

[bagman67]

The Transtint dyes work pretty well from what I've read, but consider diluting heavily.  Their green is VERY intense.  You can apply more coats easily but getting it off once it's too dark is a muthah.

Bagman

 

[Patrick from Davis]

I also bought some pieces of quilted maple off of eBay for testing the details.  I can't recommend this enough.  I learned about dye strength and blending and so on.  The difficulty with giving advice on the subject is that the different dyes behave similarly, but not the same.  Nothing beats first hand experience in this case.  Also you get to see how much of an effect the clear coat has on the work.  I was taken back by how much it changes things.
Patrick