does anyone know where i might be able to find blue and green wood dyes.
also how do you go about using these??
Aniline wood dye (http://woodworker.com/w-s-lt-gold-oak-aniline-dye-mssu-843-924.asp) will work great. I use it on wood arrows all the time.
Here's the color chart (ftp://www.woodworker.com/clrcharth2o.pdf) .
Just follow the directions and you'll be good.
Guy
my daughter wants me to make her a bow using blue as the primary color and green as the ascent strip throught it (with white fiberglas on both sides of the asecnt strip. do you guys think i will be able to stain the green without it running over on to the blue.
you'll have to dye the wood separately . i would imagine you may have to touch up any areas that you remove material from once glued up.
you might be able to work up a tube that you can put the wood and dye into , cap it , and heat it up so there is pressure inside... obviously you want a pressure gauge with a safety valve , but with a little tinkering it would work similar to pressure treating.
others have actually used dye and will know for sure , im just speculating.
-hov
use rit dye. mix with alcohol instead of water. works great for dying wood bows. don
Don didn't mention it but if you use Rit dye with alcohol, use denatured alcohol from the hardware store, not rubbing alcohol from the pharmacy.
When I need a transparent effect on arrows I use either aniline dye or Rit dye, depending upon what color I want or other factors. Both dyes can give you a hairball trying to keep them from creeping in the wood. I sometimes have to do a longer than planned cresting to cover up dye that has gone further on the shaft than I wanted it to. If you dye your bow wood after glue-up you'll quite possibly have the same problem.
Guy
i am worried about the dye running onto other parts of the riser. i am going to have a ascent stirp running thougth the riser with fiber glass on both sides of the acent stip. do you guys think the fiber glass will keep the dye from bleeding over onto the other part of the riser.
robbie
if you are making a fiberglass bow , im pretty sure youre going to want to dye before glue up. theres no way youre not going to bleed into the other lams. the glue line is just minuscule...just my thoughts.
-hov
yeah thats what i thought too. i guess i will look foe some blue and green action wood blocks.
the dye will only be a surface treatment right. so if i dye the blocks before glue up, then cut the riser shape wont i cut off the dyied part?
Could you use a Sharpie pen on the limb edges? I have seen pics of green dymalux and blue dymalux, you can use it for risers but not limbs..
You're correct, the dye is just a surface treatment. If you cut or sand after dyeing you'll get through to un-dyed wood pretty quickly.
It does sound as if actionwood will be your best bet for this.
Guy
QuoteOriginally posted by Grey Taylor:
Don didn't mention it but if you use Rit dye with alcohol, use denatured alcohol from the hardware store, not rubbing alcohol from the pharmacy.
When I need a transparent effect on arrows I use either aniline dye or Rit dye, depending upon what color I want or other factors. Both dyes can give you a hairball trying to keep them from creeping in the wood. I sometimes have to do a longer than planned cresting to cover up dye that has gone further on the shaft than I wanted it to. If you dye your bow wood after glue-up you'll quite possibly have the same problem.
Guy
i used rubbing alcohol several times with no problems. the only reason to use alcohol is for a faster dry time than water and to keep the grain from raising. don
I sit corrected, Don.
All the references I've seen have noted denatured alcohol and that's all I've used with Rit dye. But if you're using rubbing alcohol with good results then I've learned something. Thanks.
Guy
Leather dye works good. I've gotten and used green from Tandy. Just pour a little on a rag and wipe it on.....oh yeah, I'd advise wearing rubber gloves, unless you really do want a green thumb. :laughing:
Grey, Easton Arrows states "NOTE: Rubbing alcohol should not be used. It
contains oils which may inhibit the adhesive
bond." This maybe why everyone references denatured alocohol. Easton recommends 91% isoproply in arrow making. I maybe just :deadhorse:
Jeez, who knows?
I use enough of it that it is easier for me to buy denatured alcohol by the gallon so I'll just stick with that.
You other guys are on your own :confused:
Guy
QuoteOriginally posted by Mad Dog:
Grey, Easton Arrows states "NOTE: Rubbing alcohol should not be used. It
contains oils which may inhibit the adhesive
bond." This maybe why everyone references denatured alocohol. Easton recommends 91% isoproply in arrow making. I maybe just :deadhorse:
may inhibit what adhesive? how does easton know what adhesive i'll be using? where are you reading this info? are you talking about when you are cleaning up an aluminum shaft? this is about mixing alcohol with rit dye to color wood to make a bow. i have mixed rubbing alcohol many times not only to dye arrows but also to dye the bow itself. none of my arrow points, nocks or fletching has come off. none of the bows that i dyed have come apart. the only reason to use the alcohol instead of water as a mix is it dries faster than water and it won't raise the grain like water will. if denatured alcohol works, use it. if rubbing alcohol works, use it. don
its been speculated that isopropyl alcchohol contains waxing agents , or that they leave a residue. no one can say for sure that one brand or bottle does or doesnt contain foreign material. i have seen waxy residue left by 91% iso , and i have seen clean 70% .
most people use denatured. i dont see anyone talking about using acetone or really anything but denatured or iso.
just use denatured , its way cheaper , and a much better solvent.
-hov
You CAN stain after the glue up.
you CAN follow a nice sharp glue line with the stain.
It just takes time, a small brush ( bout the smallest artist brush you can find), and lots of patience.
I've done it.
The problem you might run into is if some of the glue has penetrated into the wood you want to stain.
The stain doesn't like to stain the glue.
You just let the stain bleed to the line.
Started like this...
(http://i748.photobucket.com/albums/xx121/Zradix/Sythian%20bow/Mybow.jpg)
turned out like this...
(http://i748.photobucket.com/albums/xx121/Zradix/Sythian%20bow/LeftWeb.jpg)
With all that said, I think it would be WAAAYY easier, and most likely look better to use blue spectraply..or whatever "ply" wood.
QuoteOriginally posted by hova:
its been speculated that isopropyl alcchohol contains waxing agents , or that they leave a residue. no one can say for sure that one brand or bottle does or doesnt contain foreign material. i have seen waxy residue left by 91% iso , and i have seen clean 70% .
most people use denatured. i dont see anyone talking about using acetone or really anything but denatured or iso.
just use denatured , its way cheaper , and a much better solvent.
-hov
this is about using alcohol as a mix with dye. not as a solvent or cleaner. how can you see a waxy residue on a wood arrow, riser or limb? also, it costs about two bucks for a bottle and we always keep a bottle on hand for medical purposes. don
btw. zradix, that is one cool looking riser and a great stain job. don
QuoteOriginally posted by Zradix:
You CAN stain after the glue up.
you CAN follow a nice sharp glue line with the stain.
It just takes time, a small brush ( bout the smallest artist brush you can find), and lots of patience.
I've done it.
The problem you might run into is if some of the glue has penetrated into the wood you want to stain.
The stain doesn't like to stain the glue.
You just let the stain bleed to the line.
Started like this...
(http://i748.photobucket.com/albums/xx121/Zradix/Sythian%20bow/Mybow.jpg)
turned out like this...
(http://i748.photobucket.com/albums/xx121/Zradix/Sythian%20bow/LeftWeb.jpg)
With all that said, I think it would be WAAAYY easier, and most likely look better to use blue spectraply..or whatever "ply" wood.
how hard was it to keep the dye from bleeding over onto the other parts of the riser.
thats one wild looking riser... i like it
Your right MAD DOG I've tryed rubbing alcohol with RIT dye on arrows. I used denatured alot on bows and arrows. Water works fine also but like someone said it dose raise the grain.
You can use a small pointy brush at the seam lines. But your glue lines won't dye. I should be dyed before glue up. But with the brush you can make it look all right and it won't bleed just take your time.
vth0kie12 ...
I used a small artist brush. It was a lot like the brushes kids get in water paint kits...just smaller.
A stain always bleeds. I just kept the brush away from the line I wanted to stain to.
You just have to let the stain bleed to the line and no farther. You can do it. Just have to be careful and go slow. You'll get the feel for it very quickly.
The glue line will help stop the stain from going farther. But..it shouldn't be counted on.
How hard was it?..
It took about 1.5-2 hrs to stain the entire bow. I did the side of the limbs too. Those took a while cause I didn't want the stain to run down the glass.
Just have to take your time and be careful.
1 drop of stain too close to the line and you're
bolted. So..you don't do that...lol.
BTW..If using an alcohol based stain make sure you use a natural hair brush. Depending on the make up of a plastic brush it might dissolve in some types of alcohol.
QuoteOriginally posted by joekeith:
Leather dye works good. I've gotten and used green from Tandy. Just pour a little on a rag and wipe it on.....oh yeah, I'd advise wearing rubber gloves, unless you really do want a green thumb. :laughing:
Don't like to be the contrarian here, but here are some pics of limb edge and riser of a bow I dyed with green leather dye about 14 years ago. This fading set in about five years after the build. This bow has spent the most of it's life in a dark storage room! Wood is maple cores and actionwood riser.
(http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/ac170/longcruise/Archery/Limbedggefade.jpg)
(http://i896.photobucket.com/albums/ac170/longcruise/Archery/riserfade.jpg)
monterey ....
Did you dye the action wood too?
Also, what did you use to seal the bow?
That's interesting
Thanks
Yes, the riser block was action wood natural. You can see it in the pic that shows part of the grip. No sealer that I can recall, and myabe that would have made a difference.
Isn't actionwood already resin impregnated? If it is then the dye would have a very difficult time penetrating into the material and would just sit on the surface. That and no finish would combine to give shot life to the dye.
Guy
The riser and the limb edges absorbed the dye readily, so I'm not sure about your question.
The leather dye works great on Osage.....