RIT Dye as a stain for wood?

[Engraver-60]

RIT Dye as a stain for wood? - Can it be done? I've read where you can dissolve in DNA (Denatured Alcohol or PGA) and then apply like any other dye, but would like to know for sure. Thanks.

 

[2after909]

there was some talk of people doing that in another thread about non-toxic finishes. i think some photos too...

 

[Ripthorn]

I have seen some people do it before, the issue that has been raised though is that they are not lightfast and will fade over time. Never done it myself, though.

 

[Engraver-60]

I've also seen where straining the solution through coffee filters is good to do, but wanted to be sure.

 

[Buckocaster51]

RIT instructions on how to dye wood and wicker.

 

[rip_topaz]

I'm really interested in this. Anyone have any pix of guitars stained with RIT? I've read their site pretty well but would like to see some examples of it on axes.

Also, other than fading in UV, how is compatibility with top coats?

 

[Colt W. Knight]

I have used RIT dye on bare succesfully several times. It works really great on woods like maple. The problem I encountered with RIT is that its so watery, raised grain can be an issue.

 

[rip_topaz]

After reading through their site, I was expecting raising of the grain. If I were to purposely raise the grain and sand back once or twice before dying, how much might that help?

 

[Colt W. Knight]

After reading through their site, I was expecting raising of the grain. If I were to purposely raise the grain and sand back once or twice before dying, how much might that help?

It would help a lot, and thats what I try to do. On a super soft wood like pine, its pretty tough applying a waterbased stain to the wood because the grain swells up so bad, that you can't simply just sand level. Even clear coats can do this to soft pine. On harder woods, raising the grain once or twice, should almost eliminate any problems as long as you go easy on the dye and rub it out nicely.

 

[chall1525]

I'm planning on using some brown rit dye mixed with a amber dye similar to transtint on a maple neck. I'm going for a dark amber. I'll post som pics and mixture "recipe" assuming it works out.

 

[Engraver-60]

I mixed up a jar of yellow, and a jar of red, and a jar of blue - using 91% isopropyl alcohol as the solvent this morning. I dipped popsicle sticks in and it is not an effective dyeing method for wood. Very weak colors.

 

[Colt W. Knight]

I mixed up a jar of yellow, and a jar of red, and a jar of blue - using 91% isopropyl alcohol as the solvent this morning. I dipped popsicle sticks in and it is not an effective dyeing method for wood. Very weak colors.

I used it straight.

 

[Fingerpikingood]

Using RIT dye

I've used Rit fabric dye with great results. I mix with just a little water and apply several coats. Here is one I've done using black, brown, and yellow to acheive a tobacco sunburst. No real fading after about 3 years-but the guitar is not stored in direct sunlight. It's got about 15 coats of nitro over it.

 

[sean79]

Dang. That's a nice burst. Is it all rubbed on?

 

[sean79]

I've used rit dye to do a maple plywood speaker baffle. It looked nice - a lot better than any stain I've ever tried on maple.

 

[Fingerpikingood]

Dang. That's a nice burst. Is it all rubbed on?

Yeah, all rubbed on using only three colors of rit dye. The clear nitro finish was sprayed of course

 

[fraser]

these pics are of a neck i did with, not RIT dye, but basically the same thing- just cheap fabric dye.
tinted with the dye, then tru-oiled

once mixed up it applied just like any other water based dye.
however, it had a high salt content. once it sat overnight the stain was unusable.

 

[tnt423]

I did this with RIT liquid straight out of the bottle. Rubbed in one coat, sanded back with 600g and rubbed a second coat in.
(image removed)

 

[Rano Bass]

I did this with RIT liquid straight out of the bottle. Rubbed in one coat, sanded back with 600g and rubbed a second coat in.
(image removed)

That looks really nice, good job.

 

[love4god]

cool-aid works to

godbless