Recommend any wood dyes?

Jay Butts

Jay Butts

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My Pro Sport is away getting re-blacked and thought I’d have a go at redoing the beech stock. I’m pretty good with wood but thought I’d ask you lot if there was any particular wood dye you may have used that left a nice finish. It’s very nearly ready for this stage as I’ve just got to finish off with some super fine paper ready for the dye. I’d like it to be dark but suppose that’s just up to me with however many coats I want to apply.



Any suggestions gratefully received…

Cheers. 🍻
 
I just use Varathane brand oil based stain ( water based raises the grain), preceded by Varathane brand, pre stain conditioner( essentially a weak cut of shellac). The P.S.C. helps to control the blotchiness that beech is famous for. Final finish , for me, is a few coats of Tung oil & Japan drier, if wanted( very light & burnished in by hand friction), followed by B.L.O. , to desired effect, same technique, let cure thoroughly, then a coat of Minwax natural color paste wax. Have fun John.😊😊👍
 

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I used morrels solvent based stains on my beech stocks, comes in different colours and can be mixed to give different shades, dries quick and finish off with walnut oil and seal with slippery dicks walnut wax.
 

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Liberon Spirit stain Dark Oak thinned down and applied with a fine brush and Rustins Button polish on a pad of cotton cloth. Try on a piece of old wood first to see the effect. Used to put some life into a boring beech stock.
 

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I use spirit stain as I find it penetrates better and isn't patchy like some water based stains can be, Morrells is a favourite as they do a decent range of colours but others as mentioned above work well

For finish I use either (satin) tung oil or walnut oil and when fully dry seal that with as many coats of wax as it takes to get the shine I want
 
 
I’ve had some passable results with Colron American Walnut on a Pro-Sport beech stock, you do need at least half a dozen coats on though. However my good friend @p13shooter who has forgotten more then I’ll ever know about working with wood tells me you’d get better results with a spirit based dye rather than the Colron which is water based.
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I’ve only messed around with dyes but started with water based and then tried solvent based, all purchase from eblag
I found the water based needed a few coats but had no issues with either, couple of coats of MM stock oil and their good to go
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I would say any good quality water based walnut stain will be fine, but do think about thinning it down a little for your first coat. Your stock might okay but it’s too late once a full strength coat has been applied. Also, l would always go with water based as it won’t effect your final finish like an oil based one might. Yes you will need to de-nib after each coat of stain but that just makes for a much smoother surface.

I once used an oil based stain and had terrible trouble with the Tru-oil finish in that it just went tacky and wouldn’t dry. Had to start all over again. After using a water based stain everything was fine, anyway that was my experience, others may say differently.

Good luck, it’s going to look great 👌.
 
A friend of mine put me onto Red Alkanet from Red Kite , finished with CCL. You can build depth and contrast with less or more coats. With the CCl, 0000 wire wool rub down between coats and either leave flat finish (more practical) or continue until you reach a glassy posh shotgun finish. I went for the latter and was really pleased with myself but constantly frightened of marking it so not a complete win. Nath92 has some other worldly offerings on his thread that may serve as inspiration. Good luck, be interested to hear /see what you end up plumping for 👍
 
Chestnut spirit based stain gives good results our very own @Cinimod put me onto the stuff

You could get the sample pack, I did 3 stocks with it and will have loads left


www.agwoodcare.co.uk

Chestnut's Spirit Stain Wood & Primary Colours 250ml

Chestnut Quick-Drying Spirit Wood Dye manufactured with high grade, fade resistant materials. Can be intermixed for colour matching or thinned using Cellulose Thinners for delicate wash effects. Spirit Stain is also suitable for mixing with Cellulose Sand
www.agwoodcare.co.uk www.agwoodcare.co.uk
 
Any spirit based dye will do but omit the superfine sanding until the dye has been applied and dried. I am assuming that the stock either has been grain filled or does not need it, however if it does then this needs to be done also the grain should be raised with a rub with a damp cloth and when dry sanded with a fine paper to remove the raised nibs. Below are 2 beech stocks both finished in many coats of alkanet oil rather than a spirit dye which is alkanet chips steeped in artist grade refined linseed, the more alkanet that is steeped in the oil the darker the colour become and it will let the grain structure stand out when polished
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Most stocks are sealed at the factory with some sort of lacquer, wax or varnish, water based stain has a hard time penetrating this, so it does not take easily, but if you are sanding down past this barrier, water based works well as you can dilute it and work the colour up. (though it will raise the grain) Spirit stain overcomes this problem and can be diluted with meths or spirit thinners. Worth getting a light stain and a dark, and work them up to the depth of colour that you want. You don't want to start with a dark stain and find you have something that looks the colour of a telegraph pole or worse Homer face palm
With a lighter stain you can often enhance the outline of the grain with a darker soft thin brush, blend the edges, by running over the edge with a brush dipped in thinners and follow with a dry cloth.
 
Last edited:
Jay Butts said:
My Pro Sport is away getting re-blacked and thought I’d have a go at redoing the beech stock. I’m pretty good with wood but thought I’d ask you lot if there was any particular wood dye you may have used that left a nice finish. It’s very nearly ready for this stage as I’ve just got to finish off with some super fine paper ready for the dye. I’d like it to be dark but suppose that’s just up to me with however many coats I want to apply.



Any suggestions gratefully received…

Cheers. 🍻
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Hello.

Use only spirit based stains on beech.

Other solvent based stains especially water stains will leave your beech stock looking very dull indeed.

Spirit stains can be tricky in that that they evaporate quickly and can leave your work looking stripey. Work quickly trying to keep a wet edge where you overlap with each swipe of your applicator.

Wear thin gloves or you will easily stain your skin with spirit stains and a bit if a bugga to clean up later.

An old hint is to apply the stain to a piece of waste wood until you get the hang of it.

Good luck.
 
I’ve used the spirit based dyes from Chestnut and found them very good. Also, I’ve recently started to use a 90/10 mix of acetone and shellac as a pre sealer before applying the dye as it certainly stops the blotching. This is my Stingray………dom

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Cinimod said:
I’ve used the spirit based dyes from Chestnut and found them very good. Also, I’ve recently started to use a 90/10 mix of acetone and shellac as a pre sealer before applying the dye as it certainly stops the blotching. This is my Stingray………dom

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Yes, another great tip we use. Acetone also evaporates quickly and leaves a very thin shellac (French Polish) film which helps an even cover of the spirit dye without blotching.

Keep 'em coming.
 
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