staining mountain ash

[astrid]

does anyone know the best way to stain mountain ash, staining the timber rather than just tinting the surface finish.
Ive used oil base X two coats and this works but hides the grain a bit.
spirit base and water base just dont seem to penitrate.
most of this stuff from the 20's was surface finished in dark polish which probably explains why it looks so crappy after 60 years.

astrid

[echnidna]

what colour do you want to stain it?

[astrid]

I'm not asking about a particular colour. just any ideas on turning light M'ash dark.
for those of you over seas mountain ash is a gum tree eucalipt not anything to do with a european ash.
a harder wood version is known as tasmanian oak because it resembles oak without the radials
astrid

[Ian Wells]

I've just stained my mountain ash floors with a metho dissolved spirit or "analine" stain. good penetration and didn't move around with the top coats of lac much as I applied a tap coat of 1.5 pound cut shellac first.
St. lukes Art shop in Smith St Collingwood Vic sell them.

Ian

[MacS]

Did you try water sponging the wood.

If you want to darken the wood, try this on a sample. brush it with Ammonia, and then check the color, if its too dark reduce the ammonia.

[astrid]

client wanted a total colour change on an 80yo bookshelf
very hard timber, ended up using oil bases wiped on and pigmented DO
I returned for another job 3 yeas on, no scratches or fading, still ok despite heavy use.
astrid

[MacS]

Astrid,

Can you enlighten me as to why you ask questions, when you already solved the problems.

You ask for sugesstions about "mountain ash" wood, then you tell us how you alreadty finished a bookcase 3 years ago, with tinted pigmented danish oil, and how great it looks.

Please clarify.

[astrid]

go away macS
this is tantamount to stalking
astrid

[MacS]

Are you running away again because you got caught.

I try to give you an honest answer and sugesstion to you question, and you come back with some off the wall answer. You don't have an answer, so you say, I'm stalking you.!

Don't you want to be challanged, or do you prefer to be the know it all on the forum.

I see you also mentioned that you are using pigmenbted stains, and you also add pigments to your DO to tint the color. I thought you said, that pigments stains scratch very off easy, and then show the raw wood, and that they hide the wood..

I'm only trying to keep you honest. (lol)

[ubeaut]

ENOUGH!!!
For goodness sake. Astrid & Mac please, both of you go to your corners and stay there.

I'm getting more than a bit fed up with this childishness and I'm sure others are also. Play nicely or pack up your toys and go play elsewhere.

There's plenty of room for all on these forums. Room for all to have their own opinion, room for all to pass on something for others and room for all to learn from others. As much as we may think we know it all, I can tell you now, none of us do. None of us!

________________________________

Below is the answer for the original part of this thread. Even though I also have no idea why the question was asked 3 years after the fact.

The answer for colouring/dying of Mountain Ash as per the original is quite simple. Either of the following chemicals were used:

1. Condy's Crystals (Potassium permanganate)
2. Potassium Bichromate

Both chemically dye the timber and were used extensively on Mountain Ash. They worked extremely well with the timber because of its high tannin content and were responsible for the mainly deep walnut and rich oak colours that much of the Mountain Ash was used to imitate.

I can offer this info because I have local knowledge and experience I can also tell you that one is carcinogenic and the other will kill you, so if you don't know what your doing leave them alone.

Neil

PS In case you can't read Latin my signature below translates to "Mortals are not wise at all hours".