Home made Stain

Can anyone help? I live in Thailand & I can't seem to get stains anywhere. In England I used to stain first then polish after, but here it's all 2 in 1, which I can't use at all, plus even though I screw the top on tight, after a week or 2 it has gone solid.

I would prefer to use water stain, even though it needs extra sanding, so I either import it, expensive, or make my own, that is where you come in. Does anyone know how i can make water stains, mainly red & brown Mahogany, also oak or any other colours.I will be staining mainlyM.D.F.Thanks hope you can help

G'day sprog1 - You should have pretty easy access to material dye over there. It's available here in supermarkets and chemist shops. I'm sure you would be able to find some without too much trouble. Ask around they must surely use it for Thai dying. :rofl:

Sorry about that, couldn't help my self. Honestly it shouldn't be too hard to find if you look.

Cheers - Neil :U

Thanks Neil, I will have a look round, I don't know what colour make what, so I will have to experiment. Thanks

Sprog1

Not water based - Turps and Artist Oils

woodcutta

Mix vinegar and steel wool (or even brads) and let it sit; it will give you a kind of black.

This is interesting
http://www.woodworking.org/WC/Garchi...colorants.html

US but most of the stuff should be available as it is normal houshold gear.

Thanks everyone, there are some interesting recipes, but will they work on M.D.F. & are they colour fast. Don't forget it's mainly red & brown Mahogany stain I want for M.D.F. also PLY. It's not very often I get the chance to work with real wood anymore.

For colour fastness, if using a water-based stain, seal with shellac. I'm not sure about oil-based stains though.

cheers
Wendy

Coffee makes a good stain but don't know if it would work on MDF

Artists oil based colours will do it. I suppose water based acrylics might be ok
The main Colours you need are
burnt umber
yellow oxide
raw umber
raw sienna
and the smallest tin of royal blue oil paint

You can also use paint as a stain by thinning it.
Indian red makes a reasonable red mahogany stain

One of these two article is on dyes, the other article is on pigmented stains.

http://www.iswonline.com/ArticleLand...ContentID=1381

http://iswonline.com/ArticleLanding/...ContentID=1326

Good Luck

MacS