Wood dyeing

[870BkWht]

Ive got a wood project that I want to do this winter and I want to dye some wood to do the project.  Its completely un turkey call related, but I know you guys have dyed wood for some calls.  I have read and heard of some people using Rit dye, but Im not sure Ill be able to get the right color I want with Rit.  I also googled and found out about some Annelyne(spelling) dye but again, not sure if I should use a alcohol or water soluble dye and also wanted to know where to get it at.  The wood I am going to dye is going to be birch, maple, poplar, all light colored wood.   Looking for some tips and pointers if someone wouldnt care.

Thanks
Ben

[merocustomcalls]

Ben I've used "Transtint" to dye some birdseye maple trumpets in several colors.  It is expensive dye and is diluted with alcohol but is well worth the price when you see the result.  Before I started dying my trumpets I inquired with Glen Marrer from New York on how do dye wood.  If you've seen Glens calls you will know why I asked him for advice.  His dyed calls are drop dead gorgeous.  He suggested Trans Tint.

[870BkWht]

Brian, where do you get the TransTint and can you purchase it in smaller quantities or can you only buy enough to dye 100 pieces of wood or something crazy like that?

[merocustomcalls]

Yes you can only buy enough to color a ton of wood, I also mixed it with alcohol.  I found a sale online. 

http://www.woodfinishersstore.com/products/transtint-dyes.html

Yes it is expensive and I have two bottles that have done nothing but sit on the shelf since I used it but the results are great.  Here's a purple birdseye trumpet.

[lightsoutcalls]

I have used Transtint dyes as well as W.E. Moser powdered annaline dyes.  I have mixed both with denature alcohol.  They are about the same price, but there are more/different colors available in the powdered dyes. 

http://woodworker.com/c-Finishes/stains-colorants/

Scroll down the page and click on the alcohol soluble dyes and then scroll down to the PDF color chart.

If you are working with smaller projects, I would suggest dipping the piece rather than wiping the stain on.  I would also suggest that you sand down to at least 400 grit before applying the dye.  It tends to highlight any scratches you leave in the wood.

[870BkWht]

Brian, Wendell, thanks much for your help so far.  Another question though.  If the color Im not looking for isnt available, could I just mix the colors of dye to achieve my desired color?  Also, I know both of you mentioned using alcohol, but what makes it better than water soluble?  penetration?

[merocustomcalls]

I believe you can mix with water but mixing with alcohol does penetrate better.  You can mix colors to get the desired effect but make sure you test it on scrap wood. 

[lightsoutcalls]

I have mixed several combinations to get the color I wanted.  I have a call that I will either post here or on ebay that used a mix of a peacock blue/green color and a pewter gray. The blue/green color was too bright, but the gray muted the color nicely without making it too gray. 
The alcohol will not raise the grain of the wood like water will.  Even with the alcohol based dye, I sand with a very fine sanding pad after dying.  I suspect that using water as a base, you would likely have more sanding to do after dying.  The dye doesn't penetrate all the way through the wood, so you might risk sanding through the dyed wood.