Anyone have experience with doing colored wood dyes on the lathes? I took a class at WoodWorld last week from Bob Fleming where we turned, textured and dyed a maple bowl. Not entirely happy with my results but I’d like to try some more to get the feel for texturing/dyes on the lathes and just wondering if anyone at the shop has done it.
Are you asking about dying the wood beforehand, or applying the dye at the end after sanding, but before finishing? I’ve not done either, but curious myself as I did get some dye that is just sitting in the corner right now.
If it’s a light wood, I’ve seen videos of people using markers on wood while on the lathe then sealing it afterwards. That might be easier to apply/control than what I’m assuming is some form of liquid dye. Can you post your results from your class, I’m curious to see how it came out!
Jimmy Clewes also does classes at wood world. I’ve had good results with this technique but highly figured wood is key.
We did a rough turn of a maple bowl, minimal sanding, applied texture with several different texturing tools, did a quick sanding (using shavings) to knock down the fuzzies, then applied diluted dyes using a cloth while spinning slowly. Finished up with multiple coats of spray lacquer.
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I have used the Hampshire Sheen line of products to do coloring. I like them because they are water based. I have a youtube video of my first bowl using those colors. Wood World of Dallas sells the whole product line.
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We did a brief sanding after texturing, then applied dye diluted with alcohol, then we did a spray lacquer. That’s just how we did it in the class
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I will happily meet anyone and show them what I did with the Hampshire Sheen dyes. I am not signed off on lathes yet, so you will have to provide the piece, and I will just talk you thru it. pretty easy.
Just met you. Hope we can do some turning stuff soon.
Thanks, I could use some help
I have done that with Aerosol Dyes, but would advise against that. It looked good, but was a mess.
So I actually made a couple guitar bodies a while back.
The key if you’re trying to get that grain pop look, like the bowl you pictured above. is you’ll actually, dye the piece sand it almost all off leaving just the darkest streaks then dye again removing less but still showing some bare wood then dye again then lightly sand and dye again! What that process does is the places where the dye soaks in most are left darker and more saturated! Creating that contrast pop!
#2 is use an analine dye and depending if you buy powder or liquid mix or dissolve it in denatured alcohol! Faster drying and doesn’t raise the grain like a water based dye does!
#3 is finish! Any dyed wood left bare isn’t going to look good. The color will be dull and lack luster! With dyed wood, the higher build(coating thickness) and polish potential are key! So my rankling would be (#1- sanding sealer with a buffed/polished lacquer top coat[but you have to let the finish off gas before you cut and buff]) #2 would be friction polish if on a lathe, multiple coats buffed to a mirror, #3 would be sanding sealer with a paste wax top coat again polished till your arm falls off!
Those would be my key tips to get the best and most visually stunning look from dyed wood!
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Gorgeous. Makes me want to play a real guitar, not just the air one I have. 
Honestly mine would play just about as good as an air guitar, they’re wall hangers! So most people who play would notice it’s missing the cavity for the plug in jack, but it does have a rear cavity and wooden cover!
Figured woods my favorite to work with and after coming across some pictures of PRS 24s and private stock 24s I became literally obsessed with the dyed figured wood, and I have a background a few hobbies prior to woodworking doing graphics and using heavy heavy coats of 2 part urethane to top coat heavy metal flake the cutting and buffing(now granted this is nitrocellulose lacquer, which you can spray on super thick like urethane using traditional compressor and gun setup).
So it was purely a venture into making that aesthetic, it’s all hand routed, and the neck is walnut with figured maple as the fretboard dyed a gradient to a lighter hue with the traditional prs head stock also dyed figured maple.
But I never put frets or strings on them, basically I stopped where luthier skills come into play lol
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Chris,
That dyed wood is so beautiful and the gloss you got on them just gleams. Bet it makes you smile whenever you see them on the wall. They are a thing of beauty. I swear if I was in a bad mood they would change my mood just looking at them. Fascinating, gorgeous, interesting, and/or textured art does that to me. Thank you so much for sharing.