How to "seal" wood after dyeing wood

Cherry has a tendency to “blotch” when stained and I would guess when it is dyed as well although I have never tried to dye it personally. To minimize the blotchy nature of cherry, you can put down a thinned coat of shellac as your first coat of finish. I thin a dewaxed, sanding sealer shellac in half with alcohol. Then use your stain/dye as your second coat. That should limit the blotching. I would finish the piece with shellac as well. You can even use the thinned shellac you mixed for step one. I apply thin coats, let it dry, sand with 400 grit and lay on another coat. The coats dry in an hour or less so you can apply numerous coats rather quickly. After about 5-6 coats, I usually stop and apply a wax with 0000 steel wool and it’s done.

Thank you GoPhillies, excuse my ignorance but I have already applied the dye. Is there any other options since I did not put a shellac as a first coat? Is there any other finishes I can use at the point I am at now or do I need to sand everything and start over?

All ideas appreciated…Anyone else???

-- wrtnaz

Wrtnaz – I have a dumb question. Why did you dye the cherry?

-- *Arachnoleptic*: The frantic dance performed just after you've accidently walked through a spider web.

I’ve dyed maple, and had good luck with the TransTint dye. I noticed that you went with 400 grit. You cna also sand back with something coarser, and remove more dye, and then dye again, to add more contrast to the grain. The dye will have a dull muddy look to it before finishing it, I was a little worried when I first used it, but it came out well.

This is the before and after, using TransTint Dark Walnut (2 coats) on maple, finished with amber shellac, then blonde on top, to match some existing store-bought furniture. You can see how drastic the change is when you apply the finish, the second picture was taken before the last coat or two two, but you can get a nice gloss with shellac. The first few thin layers of shellac didn’t look good until it got built up. If you have a small surface to do, you could do some research on the french polishing technique. If you’re looking for something quicker, you can put pretty much any topcoat over shellac, or just don’t put on on at all.

-- - The mightiest oak in the forest is just a little nut that held its ground.

rosebudjim, its not a stupid question. I am new to woodworking and really had no clue what to do with the wood after cutting and sanding. So, i was watching a woodworking show and they were talking about dyeing wood instead of staining and that it would enhance the grain. I like the color of the cherry but it really doesnt have much character on the grain side of the house and thats what i was hoping to get with the dye. I probably should have used a different wood if i wanted more character, but i was short of time and the cherry is the only block of wood that i could find the size i needed.

Bing, thanks for the info and pics. Really does make a difference after the shellac. I now see what you mean with a muddy finish after sanding and before finishing.

I have resanded everything down to get a more consistent color now and reapplied a coat of the Transtint. The first time i used a foam brush and this time i used a rag and wiped it on. Definately made a better consistent color. After drying and sanding lightly for the last time it looks muddy. But i am getting close to finishing. I will let you know what i end up doing after all of this and will definately post some pics from thru out the process. Hopefully someone will learn from all the dumb mistakes i am making. Thanks again for all your info and help

-- wrtnaz

Good luck, can’t wait to see the pictures. I was a little intimidated using the dye at first, I didn’t know whaty to expect. I really like that it soaked in enough to allow you to leave it fully colored (as I did) or sand down through it to your liking to bring the grain out.

-- - The mightiest oak in the forest is just a little nut that held its ground.

Thanks again for all of your help with this. I finally finished and got some pics up. Its at this link…

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/64855

Thanks again for all of your help!

-- wrtnaz

-- wrtnaz