U'Beaut Dye Mixing

[Glenn.Visca]

I recently purchased a pack of U'Beaut water based dyes, and have been hunting the web for anything that might describe some recipes for different colors. I understand that it will depend on the type of timber, the depth of color required etc. I am looking for a starting place for lets say some basic colors that I can build on.

Never done any of this before, other than big box pre-made stains a number of years ago.

Anyone got any tried and true mixtures they repeatedly work with ?

Now a second question...

Is there such a thing as a "standard" set of timber dyes/stains that represent a common point of reference for the industry ?

Thanks,

[router]

Hi, This is a very good question. What you really need to do is to obtain a "Colour Wheel" and then learn how to use it. It will show you what mixing different colours and quantities of each colour will produce. It will really open your eyes as to what can be achieved and is very helpful when trying to match an already used colour.
It is good fun.

All the best

Router

[Xanthorrhoeas]

Is there such a thing as a "standard" set of timber dyes/stains that represent a common point of reference for the industry ?

Thanks,

In my experience the "standard, point of reference" colours are usually described in terms of timbers. Most of the standard colours relate to the timbers used in European countries or, often, North America. As such they are things like Walnut, Mahogany, Cedar (Meaning Western Red Cedar), Pine etc. Each manufacturer has different versions with a slightly different take on the colour of those timbers though. I only stain when I repair Australian antiques and I use spirit stains such as Wattyl "Traditional Stain" or Feast-Watson "Prooftint" products and then mix different timber colours and sometimes add black to get the tone that I need to match the adjacent timbers. For new items I depend on/celebrate the natural colour of the timber, I don't stain.

Spirit stains will most likely fade if exposed to the sun, so exterior stains are often pigment stains and much longer lasting outside, but tend to be muddy in appearance so their "timber equivalent" colours are different again. I do not know about the permanence of the water-based stains.

I hope that this helps.

David

[Arron]

Not quite sure what you are after here but is the Pantone (PMS) system useful to you.
Arron

[Glenn.Visca]

Thanks to all.

I see a thing called the Finishers Color Wheel, but alas, no Oz suppliers.

http://www.amazon.com/Behlen-Finishers-Color-Wheel/dp/B001FBTIEW

anyone seen any (or anything like it) locally ?

[Cliff Rogers]

I used the 'suck it & see' method.

It goes a long way so using a bit for testing isn't a problem.

I got some scrap of the type timber I wanted to colour & mixed up a couple of samples of straight colour & applied it to see the results.
Then I started blending them bit at a time to get what I wanted.

The brown stain was mixed by adding a bit of Orange to Cedar.

The Cedar comes out purple on some timber.




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[Glenn.Visca]

Thanks Cliff ...

I was trying to be a little cheeky and exploit the knowledge and experiences of others.

I have now begun my trials and think I have something that will fly with SWMBO. What I am attempting to color are legs under a study desk, so the color is not imperative considering it will be in shadow, kicked and battered.

Many thanks to all,