FINISHING REDHEART

Re: FINISHING REDHEART

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

You need to be more specific in the question you need to ask. Have I used dye stain on wood, the question you asked? Yes. But I doubt that answer is what you were looking for.

Dye stain

Ellis Walentine

Redheart, or chakte kok, turns reddish brown upon exposure to air and light. Dye stain treatments work best on woods that bleach or lighten, such as walnut; but, if the underlying wood is getting darker, the stain will not be able to mask the darkening effect very well. Since redheart doesn't get as dark (relatively) as padauk or purpleheart over time, the dye stain stands a chance of maintaining at least some of the early vibrance. I've never tried it, so this is just an educated guess.

Ellis

Re: Dye stain

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

He didn't say what he wanted the dye to accomplish. I suspect preserving the original color. That won't happen. Or, targeting what color the end product needs to look like by adding dye to something already colored will be similarly elusive. One can certainly add dye and wind up with some color different than not adding dye.

Re: FINISHING REDHEART

Wiley Horne

I have tried shellac (without dye) over freshly planed padauk, but it did not stop the oxidation. The alcohol in the shellac did elute some bright red color , but that was not the cause of the darkening.

Dye would not stop the oxidation, and would face the added challenge that you can dye a light wood darker, but it’s slim or no chance to get a dark wood lighter using bleach/dye combinations and maintain any vibrance.

Doubt it will work, but why not try it and see what happens?

Wiley

Re: FINISHING REDHEART

Jim O'Connor

I have made several canes and walking sticks from willow to exotic hardwoods but I always try to get the final diameter to around an inch due to the weight. A heavy stick won't be used when walking for any amount of time. I don't know Redheart but I suspect an 1 1/2 stick will be on the heavy side.

Agree

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

I don't have an official stick but occasionally cut one from saplings at hand if navigating difficult terrain. Such sticks naturally taper. I choose something < 1 1/4" for the top. Even 3/4 is plenty big at the bottom. I wear a size large glove.