Using aniline dyes on limb edges

[mlsthmpsn]

I am working on mixing aniline dyes and am getting close to matching the color of natural curly maple under fiberglass. Which isn't easy starting with just red, yellow, two blues, and black powders.

Before I move onto the bow, I was wondering how you guys have dyed bows in the past....specifically, what do you do along the core lamination edges, and along the limb edges?

Does the dye seep into the veneers, underneath the glass? Do I need to tape off the glass so the dye doesn't stain the face of it?

I have searched the archives here, and all over the web and youtube and haven't found much of anything for tutorials on proper usage of dyes. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

[Bowjunkie]

I've done it. I used alcohol based aniline dyes. It isn't going to sit around and continue to try to soak in or under because it evaporates so fast.

Also, fold over and just wet the edge of a patch of cotton cloth, and ring out all excess. You just want it damp. That way it won't drip or run on the glass. I never bothered taping it off. I noticed some on the glass one time, but immediately wiped it off with a clean cloth and a bit of alcohol.

The damp cloth will tint the edge of the lams without seeping into the veneers. I've never seen that happen. But like I said, the cloth isn't very wet. Wipe it up and down down the length of the limb, and by the time you look back to see what happened, it's practically dry already. If it isn't dark enough, re-wet, wring it out again, and go back over it.

[Roy from Pa]

Yup and a Q-tip will work also, just dab off the excess like Jeff said.

[mlsthmpsn]

I've been mixing dyes with water for my testing. And I was imagining using a q-tip for the edges, but just wasn't sure if I needed to worry about the veneers at all.

I'm trying to get a dye mix that will match with just one application. So far it's needed 4-6 or its way too dark. It's my first time messing with dyes and it's been a lot of trial and error.

Believe it or not, the best instructional videos for color mixing are the watercolor painters on Youtube. They are a wealth of knowledge for any shade of brown!

[Roy from Pa]

You want aniline dye that you mix with Denatured alcohol, Not water.

[mlsthmpsn]

The water-based dye is all I have...a guy from trad league gave them to me to mess with. I have to swing by Woodcraft on Friday and will look for some alcohol-based dyes then.

[Roy from Pa]

There are two different dye powders. One is water soluble and the other is alcohol soluble.

Alcohol is the best because it evaporates almost instantly, so it doesn't bleed over like the water soluble and doesn't raise the grain of the wood.

 https://woodworker.com/alcohol-soluble-brt-yellow-golden-oak-aniline-dye-mssu-845-541.asp?search=aniline%20dye&searchmode=2

[mlsthmpsn]

I was getting close with the water-based dyes, but the red always seemed to leach out and leave a green tint with red edges on the curly maple....I ended up getting some Transtint after trying some other oils and finishes and a bunch of combinations.

I got really close with that, but just enough off to make it look bad or off or faded. So I ended up splitting the difference between the color of natural maple under glass and the Sapele under glass with the Transtint (in alcohol-cut dewaxed shellac) and then a top coat of some dye/pigment honey oak stain to highlight the grain a bit more. It looks like it was supposed to be that way now. It had no effect on the glass and drips were easy enough to wipe off with an alcohol-soaked cloth I had on hand for the purpose.

I need to get finished pics up in the build thread and will throw one in here.