Anybody Make Stain?

[smitty0312]

Well......I got my portable wine table built........now I would like to stain it a deep purple color or something close.........how can I make my own stain? I will be staining pine......thanks in advance.......

 

[Scrolling Steve]

Dan, I have never made any myself but have read about making some with a vinegar base.......some early dies were made from Tea and coffee.     Someone here has tried  it I'm sure.  I will be interested to see the responses you get.......And don't forget to show us the finished wine table!

Edited July 28, 2015 by Scrolling Steve

[fredfret]

Try Clothing Dye. Test it on scrap first. it is water based so thinning is easy but it raises the grain. I use it for Ornements and some toy parts. I use shellac to seal it but a poly would be a better choice for something around liquids.

Fredfret

[Smudger]

Food colouring might work

[oldhudson]

All I can think of is RITZ die, the stuff people of my age use to die "T" shirts in the 70's. I used it once with some success.

Edited July 29, 2015 by oldhudson

[amazingkevin]

I've not had good luck staining soft wood .Let us see how it turns out! :)It always looked like mud.  

[DWSUDEKUM]

If you want purple there are several ways to do this.

 

One - Clothing dye - although the water will raise the grain a bit.  

Two - Food Coloring mixed with denatured alcohol will do the trick as well without raising the grain like using a water based product.  

Three - Watered down acrylic paint - watered down to the consistency of skim milk.

 

Those are the easiest to do.  There are some others that use caustic chemicals that I would not recommend to use.  Hope this helps

 

DW

[WayneMahler]

I have used Ritz clothing dye and also food coloring. Both are water based and easy enough to use. You would need to use a sealer first, or wet the surface then when dry sand very lightly to remove the raised grain then apply the dye and let dry. Aply a good finish after. Be careful when sanding the raised grain, I used a piece of 400 and a very light touch, if sand too much, you have to repeat the process. If you use the Ritz, you need to dilute in HOT water, other then that they work about the same. Always use a test piece to experiment with, you'll get a much better finished project when done.

[LarryEA]

Oh man, of course you will use scrap until you get the one you want..

I just think pine is a BIG test.

[DWSUDEKUM]

Water based stains do not do well on pine, neither do oil based,  Alcohol based however tend to work much better as the alcohol will dilute the resin in the wood grain allowing the dye to penetrate.  I would however try it on a piece of the pine that was used for the table first to get a good idea on how it is going to act.  They do make a wood conditioner for pine so that it will accept stain more evenly.  I would be interested in hearing how your finishing turns out.

 

 

DW

[Bendita]

I've made my own stain on several occasions but never purple but I've used berries of different types so a blue or black berry may work for you I mashed them up in a blender and screened the the stems and skins and seeds out with a cloth then added plain rubbing alcohol I don't have the ratio anymore but the last time I just experimented with it One thing I did find was pine was really difficult as it has so much oil in it good luck.

 

I may not been much help but I can tell you that it does work.

 

.../Hans

[kywoodmaster]

Not sure if they grow in your area but down south we have a plant called Poke. It is covered with dark purple berries that make a great stain. As said before blender, strain and mix with alcohol or mineral spirits. I would sugest pretreament with mineral spirits to help condition the wood.

[MetalScroll]

If you want purple there are several ways to do this.

 

One - Clothing dye - although the water will raise the grain a bit.

Two - Food Coloring mixed with denatured alcohol will do the trick as well without raising the grain like using a water based product.

Three - Watered down acrylic paint - watered down to the consistency of skim milk.

 

Those are the easiest to do. There are some others that use caustic chemicals that I would not recommend to use. Hope this helps

 

DW

im gonna try the food coloring n alcohol.

The acrylic paint in water is a method I've used a lot , but for some reason white doesn't do well for me..,

Thanks for posting!

[ike]

I have made z dies but don't use water use an oil or denatured alcohol or suck

[LarryEA]

I have made z dies but don't use water use an oil or denatured alcohol or suck

Ike, I cannot figure out that last word. What did you intend to say?  

What do you use besides oil or alcohol...???