# Transtint Wood Dyes vs. Rit Fabric Dyes



## johnhutchinson (Dec 9, 2013)

Other a substantial difference in price, is there any real difference between Transtint Liquid Wood Dyes and Rit Liquid Fabric Dyes?


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## emart (Mar 16, 2011)

I just started using wood dyes this seems like an interesting option


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## tefinn (Sep 23, 2011)

I've read about some people using Rit black for ebonizing wood. Haven't tried it myself, but the cost savings over Transtint might be worth some experimenting. And think of the colors you'ld have to choose from!


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## Mike67 (Apr 7, 2009)

I've played a little with rit and - for me anyway - it acts a little like a pigment stain, getting into the pores but not really penetrating well into the grain if that makes any sense. This was on figured maple and I was looking for something to pop the figure. Rit doesn't do it anywhere near as well as transtint or the mosers powered water based dye I've tried. I also found it hard to get an even look with rit. It comes out a bit streaky but for ebonizing you could do several coats and it would probably look good. The liquid version seems a little better than the powder.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Rit fabric dyes are not color fast long term when used on wood.


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## dawsonbob (Aug 5, 2013)

A pity, that. It would have been nice to just be able to go to the grocery store, or wherever they sell fabric dyes, and pick up some neat colors for almost nothing.


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## tefinn (Sep 23, 2011)

Jim, when you say they "are not color fast long term", do you mean they fade even when top coated?


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## johnhutchinson (Dec 9, 2013)

I asked the question because I wondered if others have tried it.
I've found that Rit dyes *ARE* colorfast when encapsulated with a clear spray topcoat. I've used Krylon Satin Finish 1323.
Rit has an extensive section on their website devoted to dyeing wood.
http://www.ritdye.com/dyeing-techniques/wood-wicker
I needed a bright orange for one of my frog boxes, and it worked like a champ!

Where have you used it, Jim?


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## dawsonbob (Aug 5, 2013)

Hey, John, thanks for the link. I've bookmarked it for future reference. Going to have to give that a try. Now if I could just get some of the colors from Dr. Martins dyes, that would be trippy.


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## fge (Sep 8, 2008)

I have never even heard of this stuff…


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## dawsonbob (Aug 5, 2013)

Rit fabric dye has been around for a long, long time. I remember my mother using it when I was just a wee lad…and that was a very, very long time ago.


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## TheDane (May 15, 2008)

You might want to take a look at Keda Dyes ( http://kedadyeinc.com/ ). Their dyes are designed to dye wood and mix with either water or alcohol.

They sell a kit that yields five quarts of wood stain dye for less than $12 (that includes S&H).


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## JAAune (Jan 22, 2012)

Transtint dyes are dissolved in a universal solvent (ethylene glycol I think) which makes them convenient to add to a variety of mediums. I don't know how effectively Rit dyes will go into lacquer, shellac or alcohol but if making toners is your thing, this could be an important consideration.


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## wseand (Jan 27, 2010)

If all else fails.


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## GnarlyErik (Jul 22, 2012)

Lumberjocker Paul Miller is a very talented man who is exceedingly generous in sharing his knowledge. He has shared much information about coloring and ebonizing wood:

http://lumberjocks.com/shipwright/blog/19521
http://prmdesigns.com/page29.html

And, here us some tried and true information on a traditional old school ebonizing method:

http://lumberjocks.com/Allison/blog/5831

I often think Lumberjocks needs a "topics" index as a place to aggregate information. It sure would save a lot of search time - and you wouldn't need to count on memory alone!


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## johnhutchinson (Dec 9, 2013)

All I can report is what worked for me on another of my rotary-head frog boxes.

Rit Scarlet Liquid Fabric Dye on the tongue and India ink on the ebonized eyes.

Krylon Satin Finish 1323 over the dye and ink, and Minwax Clear Satin Polyurethane on the naturally-finished wood.


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