Hi folks, I am working on a speaker cabinet and I have a fairly clear idea in mind of how I'd like it to look - grey figured wood veneer sides, and piano black elsewhere, all finished high gloss.
With that in mind, I got hold of some figured eucalyptus veneer for the sides, and the figure is exactly what I'm looking for... but the colour isn't.
Watching YouTube and browsing forums and Reddit, I'd seen that TransTint dyes were quite popular, but every application method I've tried so far, the dye just doesn't absorb in to the eucalyptus in the way I'd like. To be more accurate, it absorbs in to the open grain, but not at all in to the closed grain, so I end up with a very odd look.
Can anyone help with a dye / stain method that might get me what I'm looking for?
Searching Google for 'dyed grey eucalyptus veneer' should show some examples of what I'm trying to achieve, and searching for 'figured eucalyptus veneer' has plenty of examples of what I'm starting with.
With that in mind, I got hold of some figured eucalyptus veneer for the sides, and the figure is exactly what I'm looking for... but the colour isn't.
Watching YouTube and browsing forums and Reddit, I'd seen that TransTint dyes were quite popular, but every application method I've tried so far, the dye just doesn't absorb in to the eucalyptus in the way I'd like. To be more accurate, it absorbs in to the open grain, but not at all in to the closed grain, so I end up with a very odd look.
Can anyone help with a dye / stain method that might get me what I'm looking for?
Searching Google for 'dyed grey eucalyptus veneer' should show some examples of what I'm trying to achieve, and searching for 'figured eucalyptus veneer' has plenty of examples of what I'm starting with.
Eucalyptus has a natural oil which will repel and blotch any water based stain.
Grain is tight, doesn't like anything
Boiled linseed Oil, Tung oil or Teak oil. Penetrate better and none of these never ever use pre stain conditioner
Whatever you prefer for dry times. I like long dry time with Tung oil.
Slightly different colors with all these, Danish is lighter than Tung, never tried.
Never stained Eucalyptus but even basic maple or pine can be tight grained and not accept stain.
So usually worked with old school oil.
Dye should be oil based.
Even going through my pallet wood phase, I made pieces that did not look like pallet wood.
That junk doesnt stain at all, pain in the butt. I " made" my own stain with just straight turpentine and oil based paint.
That went right in, but I was making very dark stain.
If you got scraps hit it hard with turpentine as a " conditioner" see if that helps it behave.
Off the shelf conditioner not recommended for old school oils like tung or teak not sure with Danish.
Acetone can " clean" tree oils, but will F up stain or oils
Grain is tight, doesn't like anything
Boiled linseed Oil, Tung oil or Teak oil. Penetrate better and none of these never ever use pre stain conditioner
Whatever you prefer for dry times. I like long dry time with Tung oil.
Slightly different colors with all these, Danish is lighter than Tung, never tried.
Never stained Eucalyptus but even basic maple or pine can be tight grained and not accept stain.
So usually worked with old school oil.
Dye should be oil based.
Even going through my pallet wood phase, I made pieces that did not look like pallet wood.
That junk doesnt stain at all, pain in the butt. I " made" my own stain with just straight turpentine and oil based paint.
That went right in, but I was making very dark stain.
If you got scraps hit it hard with turpentine as a " conditioner" see if that helps it behave.
Off the shelf conditioner not recommended for old school oils like tung or teak not sure with Danish.
Acetone can " clean" tree oils, but will F up stain or oils
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With Trans-Tint dyes you need to first seal the grain to avoid the effect you are getting. I haven't worked with eucalyptus, but on white oak, walnut and other more common species after sanding, vacuuming and tack cloth I then apply a wash coat of shellac. I use Zinsser SealCoat diluted about 50/50 with denatured alcohol. It will dry very quickly, then give it a very light sanding to smooth the surface. Next, I mix the Trans-Tint with the diluted SealCoat to achieve the depth of staining I am looking for....experiment on a scrap of wood that you have given the same base coat to find the blend needed. It is usually best to blend the mix for a lighter stain density and then apply several coats to get the look you are after. Once you reach your desired appearance you move on to light sanding then applying the final finish. Most all finishes are compatible with shellac.
Thanks folks. I should have mentioned in my first post what I've already tried...
So far, the nicest look was the airbrushed dye, but as soon as I put a clear sanding sealer on it, the dye colour was muted quite a bit and the yellow of the wood became dominant.
The sanding sealer + dye mix looked OK, but needed quite a few coats to tone down the yellow, and at that point, it was really a little too dark. I suspect that the Shellac based approach is going to be similar to this, but it's worth a try.
I'm actually wondering if I might need to bleach before applying the dye; thoughts on that?
- Applying the dye to the raw (prepared) wood diluted with 50:50 water IPA
- Airbrushing the diluted dye
- Soaking overnight in a mason jar of dye diluted with water
- Mixing the dye in with water based sanding sealer after an initial coat of clean sealer
So far, the nicest look was the airbrushed dye, but as soon as I put a clear sanding sealer on it, the dye colour was muted quite a bit and the yellow of the wood became dominant.
The sanding sealer + dye mix looked OK, but needed quite a few coats to tone down the yellow, and at that point, it was really a little too dark. I suspect that the Shellac based approach is going to be similar to this, but it's worth a try.
I'm actually wondering if I might need to bleach before applying the dye; thoughts on that?
A quick update here... I tried two new approaches with little scraps of the veneer I'm planning to use:
The second approach, while wet, still looks a little brown, but it ends up looking a fairly uniform grey when dry, and the dye does appear to be all the way through the veneer. I haven't tried sanding it to found out if that's actually true or not yet, because I don't have that much spare, and I still have another, related, approach to try.
So far this method is the most promising, the figure is 100% there, the grain isn't super dark, it's just like a grey (slightly brown) version of the starting veneer. I've topped this with some un-tinted SealCoat, and this made the figure pop without removing the dye. After a few light coats of diluted Seal Coat I've moved on to water based sanding sealer and after that I'll move on to the gloss clear top-coat. I think this sample is going to come out well.
Reading online, I've come across a few folks who have dyed veneer by applying vacuum and / or heat while soaking. This is what I'd like to try. If nothing else, it should speed up the process, and perhaps ensure greater absorption through the veneer which is helpful in case I end up sanding through the sealer. There is unfortunately a fairly high chance of this because the veneer is somewhat wavy, and I need to build up the clear to achieve a flat surface before polish.
- Applying Zinsser SealCoat diluted 50:50 with IPA (Denatured Alcohol is not available in CA anymore), followed by the same diluted SealCoat with a single drop of TransTint added
- Soaking the veneer strip in water diluted TransTint for 72 hours
The second approach, while wet, still looks a little brown, but it ends up looking a fairly uniform grey when dry, and the dye does appear to be all the way through the veneer. I haven't tried sanding it to found out if that's actually true or not yet, because I don't have that much spare, and I still have another, related, approach to try.
So far this method is the most promising, the figure is 100% there, the grain isn't super dark, it's just like a grey (slightly brown) version of the starting veneer. I've topped this with some un-tinted SealCoat, and this made the figure pop without removing the dye. After a few light coats of diluted Seal Coat I've moved on to water based sanding sealer and after that I'll move on to the gloss clear top-coat. I think this sample is going to come out well.
Reading online, I've come across a few folks who have dyed veneer by applying vacuum and / or heat while soaking. This is what I'd like to try. If nothing else, it should speed up the process, and perhaps ensure greater absorption through the veneer which is helpful in case I end up sanding through the sealer. There is unfortunately a fairly high chance of this because the veneer is somewhat wavy, and I need to build up the clear to achieve a flat surface before polish.
There are hundreds of eucalyptus species with a huge range of timber qualities and colours.From near white of Globulus to to dark brown/red of Marginata.Some are oily like Patens but most are not and take stain well.
I am guessing stuff being sold as eucalyptus is probably Globulus [Tasmanian Bluegum] which is a common plantation species.
I am guessing stuff being sold as eucalyptus is probably Globulus [Tasmanian Bluegum] which is a common plantation species.
