Wood tinting. Wood stain: water-based colors, do-it-yourself white, photo oil and bleached oak, tinting. What types of wood oils are there?

Wood is a natural, environmentally friendly construction and finishing material. Wood products look beautiful, buildings made of natural wood always have clean air, it is warm in winter and cool in summer.

Wooden structures, in addition to their advantages, also have serious disadvantages, for example: susceptibility to destruction from moisture, rot, mold, insects, etc. Also, untreated dry wood, like no other material, is completely defenseless against fire. Most of these wood defects can be eliminated by using special protective paints and varnishes, fire retardants and fire retardants. In addition to the main protective properties, most of the coatings offered today also have a decorative effect, emphasizing the structure of the wood or giving it new shades, increasing the gloss of the coating or vice versa, creating a matte surface.

Below are examples of wood tinting using antiseptic protective and decorative impregnations, as well as the rules for using various dyes in practice.

Dyes for wood and rules for their use

Modern paint and varnish products include many materials for wood finishing in their range. In this article we will limit ourselves to a description of tinting compounds - dyes.

Wood dyeing is done to enhance the color, eliminate different shades of parts in the product, even out the overall color tone, give the wood a new color and imitate the color of valuable species.

Dyes are substances that are soluble in water, alcohol and other liquids and form transparent solutions that change the color of wood without veiling its texture.

Depending on their origin, dyes are divided into natural and synthetic.

From dyes of natural origin Walnut stain (stain) is widely used. The sources of humic acids for this dye are coal, peat, and soil. It colors oak, ash, walnut and other woods an even brown color.

Synthetic dyes- these are complex organic substances, the raw material for which is coal tar.

Natural and synthetic dyes, according to the principle of action, are divided into direct (dying wood fiber directly), acidic (dying wood in the presence of acids) and basic (dying wood containing tannins).

The preparation of working dye compositions involves dissolving them until there is a complete absence of insoluble residues. Based on solubility in various liquids, dyes are divided into water-soluble, alcohol-soluble, etc.

Water-soluble dyes are mixtures of direct and acid dyes, selected to obtain a specific shade. The concentration of dyes in an aqueous solution is 1-5%. The disadvantage of these materials is that they raise pile on the painted surface. It must be removed by sanding the surface with a fine-grained material, so that during subsequent finishing you do not get a rough coating.

Aqueous solutions of dyes are prepared as follows: weighed dye is dissolved in a small amount of hot (95 ° C) water and stirred until a homogeneous mixture free of lumps is formed. The resulting mass is again diluted with water. If the dye dissolves poorly, the solution can be heated without bringing it to a boil. After the dye has completely dissolved, the solution is filtered through 3-4 layers of gauze and cooled to 30-40 °C. Then, adding water, bring it to the desired volume. The water is first softened by boiling or 0.1-0.5% soda ash is added.

To obtain an even and deep tone of the painted surface, it is recommended to add 2-4% ammonia to the working solution. When working with water-soluble dyes No. 2, 3, 4, 15, 16, in order to paint the pores of wood, 5% acetic acid of 30% concentration is introduced into the solution. To avoid foaming, add 0.5% butanol.

Alcohol-soluble organic dyes are mixtures made up of different dyes. They are intended for painting wood, but are most often used for tinting furniture varnishes and polishes (mainly nitrocellulose and alcohol). In the working solution, the concentration of alcohol-soluble dyes is 1-3%.

Wood finishing varnishes are tinted using two methods. The first is that a solvent is added to the weighed amount of dye and left for 24 hours. Then the solution is filtered through 3-4 layers of gauze and added to the varnish. For example, to prepare a 1% solution of alcohol dye No. 33, 10 g of dye is dissolved in 350 g of alcohol or solvent No. 646, kept, filtered and added to 650 g of varnish. The second method involves introducing the dye directly into the varnish. After a day's exposure, the varnish is filtered.

Mixed dyes are often used for dyeing wood. However, only dyes of the same groups can be mixed, for example, acidic with acidic, etc.

You can apply the dye manually (with a swab or brush), spraying, dipping and other methods. The solution must be applied in excess so that the wood can freely absorb the dye. When painting birch and beech, the surface to be finished should be moistened with water. When dyeing by hand, the dye is applied along and then across the fibers, after which the excess is wiped off. On vertical surfaces, the dye is applied from bottom to top so that the excess flows down the already painted surface.

After spray painting, the surface is also wiped with a swab. When dyeing by dipping, wiping of parts is not performed. In this case, the dye solution is heated to a temperature of 40-50 ° C for deeper penetration into the wood.

When spraying, the dye can be applied “wet” and “dry” methods. When “wet” dyeing, the pressure on the solution is 0.25-0.35 MPa, the distance to the surface of the part is 250-300 mm, the diameter of the spray nozzle is 1.2 mm. The dye consumption in this case is 2-4 g/m2.

“Dry” dyeing is used when finishing coated surfaces of parts with adhesive stains and when it is necessary to veil the wood texture. The difference between this method is that most of the solvent evaporates before the jet reaches the surface to be painted, so there is no strong wetting of the wood. The dye forms a thick, brittle layer. This is achieved by using high pressure - 0.4-0.5 MPa. The distance to the surface to be finished is 400-500 mm, the diameter of the spray nozzle is 1.2-2 mm, the dye consumption is 1.5-2 g/m2. After “dry” dyeing, the pile on the wood does not rise (since the surface of the wood is not moistened), so the operations of grinding the pile and drying are eliminated.

After painting the parts by hand, they are dried for 3 hours at a temperature of 18-23 ° C or 10 minutes in a convective drying chamber at a temperature of 45-50 ° C. After painting using the “wet” method, the parts are dried for 2 hours at 18-23 ° C or 10 minutes in a drying chamber.

Visual examples of wood tinting

The samples offered to your attention are provided for informational purposes. Their perception may vary depending on the monitor settings.

It should be taken into account that various manufacturers of paints and varnishes and tinting impregnations for wood can produce products according to their own color standards, and therefore the same name of shade for different brands of paints and varnishes may differ significantly from each other.

Before polishing, the wood is tinted, which will enhance the natural color and texture in order to eliminate the color difference of the veneer strips and give the wood a darker, more pleasant tone. Imitating wood to match the color and texture of valuable wood, deep dyeing is used across the entire width of the part. As a rule, they use light-resistant dyes and try to create the deepest absorption of the dye into the wood. Simple surface painting is used in cases of finishing products that do not have high artistic value. High-quality imitation finishing is performed by deep and continuous dyeing by soaking the part in dye for a long time, impregnating the dye into the part under pressure or in another way. For imitation, choose wood that is suitable in structure and texture. Alder, elm, ash, cedar, cherry, birch are imitated under mahogany; for ebony - hornbeam, apple, cherry, for walnut - birch and beech; under rosewood and rosewood - maple. The simulated wood should not have knots, blue stains, or spots of putrefactive origin. Increased moisture in wood prevents dye from penetrating into it. The same obstacle is created by the presence of a significant amount of tannin and other substances in the wood. Before imitating the deep dyeing method, it is useful to leach the juices from the wood by steaming.

Imitation or tinting of wood in the usual way.

Dyeing is done in the same way as tinting wood yourself and dyeing before varnishing or before another type of transparent finish. When used, dye solutions are heated to 60-80° in order to penetrate deeper into the wood. The following solutions are used most often. To imitate and tint wood like mahogany, take a mixture of 4% solutions of acid brown dye, acid red and nigrosine (in equal doses). Imitation of maple and beech under ebony is made with a solution of nigrosin. To imitate walnut, use a solution containing 1 liter of water, 30 g of Epsom salt and 30 g of potassium permanganate. First, cover the surface of the wood completely with this solution and allow it to dry. After drying, the solution is applied in so-called veins, i.e., narrow stripes. The listed dyes are quite lightfast.

Imitation by surface painting with salt solutions and fumigation with ammonia and acid vapors.

The first of these methods is that solutions of two different chemicals are applied sequentially to the surface to be finished. Quite often, solutions of brown dye are used for fur, wool, cotton, linen and other fibrous materials; they are also quite suitable for wood (first application), a mixture of solutions of acidic orange dye and potassium chromate (second application). Hornbeam is imitated as ebony by vapors of nitric acid. Wood containing tannic acid or impregnated with a solution of this acid becomes brown under the influence of ammonia vapor (ammonia). This is used to imitate walnut wood. Wood, simulated by the method of fumigation with vapors and gases, is placed in a closed chamber, where an open container with ammonia or an appropriate acid is placed, or sulfur is burned in the chamber.
Wood intended to imitate lemon, olive or rosewood is bleached with sulfur dioxide (produced by burning sulfur). Imitation with salt solutions and fumigation method is characterized by high light resistance.

Imitation by prolonged soaking in dye solutions.

Soaking lasts up to 5 days or more, so this method of wood tinting is used relatively rarely. Small parts, in particular planed plywood, are subjected to soaking; a solution of any water-soluble synthetic dye, as well as mixtures of solutions, are suitable for soaking. Alcohol solutions are rarely used due to the rapid evaporation of alcohol.
Dyes of plant origin are also used for soaking, mainly in the form of decoctions. An imitation of mahogany is produced by a decoction of moraine roots, as well as a decoction of mahogany shavings and sawdust (10 parts by weight per 100 parts of water) with the addition of an aqueous solution of ammonia. The decoction should have a distinct smell of ammonia. Imitation for walnut is made with a decoction of green walnut peel or apple tree bark, for bog oak and ebony - with a decoction of alder, willow bark or ink oak nuts.
Imitation of such a decoction is characterized by high light resistance.
When imitating walnut by soaking, as well as surface dyeing, a solution of humic dye is widely used, known in enterprises as “walnut stain”.

Imitation by impregnation using pressure.

Pressure impregnation is carried out in autoclaves. The parts loaded into the autoclave are steamed for 30 minutes, after which the steam is released and a dye solution heated to 75-80° is pumped into the autoclave. The pressure is brought to 8 atm. The duration of exposure of parts under pressure depends on their size and wood density, but does not exceed one and a half hours. At the end of the exposure, the solution is drained from the autoclave and the parts are unloaded for drying. Dried parts are sent for further processing. After steaming, i.e. before pumping the dye into the autoclave, it is advisable to keep the parts in a vacuum for a short time. Using the described method, you can tint wood in parts, boards and in the form of planed plywood.

Imitation by impregnation with enriched texture.

This method of execution is no different from the previous one - only special dyes are used. Impregnation is carried out with a mixture of acid and direct dye solutions with the addition of a small amount of calcined resin. The acid dye completely saturates the entire wood, while the direct dye penetrates only into the vessels.
As a result, on the general background of wood painted with acid dye, strokes and dots are formed that differ in color (the color of the direct dye) from the background color. This enriches the texture. Birch, imitated in the described way to look like mahogany, is difficult to distinguish from natural mahogany.

Antique (and not so old) furniture has always served as decoration for any interior. But man is characterized by inconstancy and a desire for the new, even if this new is just a not very well forgotten old.

Wood of any species has a beautiful natural appearance, but after treatment with special compounds using modern technologies, any wooden surface can sparkle with a new, bright, sometimes uncharacteristic pattern for a given type of wood. This wood processing technology is called tinting.

Furniture tinting is a relatively simple operation, the implementation of which does not require special skills and knowledge from the performer. Having the necessary set of materials, desire and enough free time, it is quite easy to do the tinting of furniture yourself.

Choosing a tint product

To tint wooden furniture, in most cases, one of the following materials is used:

• Acrylic paint. This material is characterized by good penetrating ability - it is able to penetrate deeply into the pores of wood. A significant disadvantage of acrylic paints is a direct consequence of its advantages. If wood is capable of absorbing a large amount of tinting composition, then the use of acrylic paints can lead to lifting of the fibers of the structure of the material being processed. This will negatively affect the tinting results. To avoid this, acrylic paints are used in combination with other decorative substances (molding or glaze);
• Mordant. This is a powder that can be diluted with plain water. The main advantage of this dye is that it does not penetrate the structure of the wood, but colors its surface, closing the pores of the material. Tinting wood with this composition allows you to get a flat and smooth surface. The mordant gives the surface brightness, but to preserve it, it is necessary, immediately after tinting, to apply a layer (or several layers) of varnish to the surface;
• Stain. The optimal and most common material. It combines the advantages of the two previously mentioned materials and is free from their inherent disadvantages. A more modern version of stain - patination allows you to adjust the saturation of shades.

"Operation Toning"

To apply tint you will need the following tools:

• Roller or paint brush for woodwork;
• A rag or swab made of lint-free fabric.

When choosing a paint brush, you should give preference to those whose bristles are made of natural bristles. It is acceptable to use brushes with polyester or nylon bristles.

There are several ways to tint:

• Hand painting;
• Spray paint;
• Immersion of the product in a paint solution.

For doing it yourself, the manual painting method is better than others.

The technological process of tinting furniture consists of the following operations:

• Preparing furniture for tinting;
• Application of material;
• Drying of the material;
• Applying varnish.

Preparing the furniture surface

The video shows how to tint furniture with your own hands:

At this stage it is necessary to clean the surface from dirt and old paint. You can use coarse sandpaper for this. Before applying stain, the surface should be as smooth and even as possible. To do this, it must be sanded using fine-grained sandpaper. During this processing, a large amount of dust is generated. It must be removed with a vacuum cleaner. It is unacceptable to use a damp cloth because in this case the dust will not be removed from the surface, but will get clogged into the porous structure of the wood and, thereby, significantly deteriorate the characteristics of the surface, which, in turn, will negatively affect the results of tinting.

Application of material

Using a roller or brush, evenly distribute the tinting material over the wood along the grain. Simply wipe off any excess remaining on the surface with a dry swab or rag. By performing this operation “inventively”, for example, by rubbing the tinting material with multidirectional movements, you can achieve an additional decorative effect by adding unique touches to the structural pattern of the facade surface.

Drying the material

It is no coincidence that this operation, which is essentially passive waiting, has been awarded the right to proudly be called a technological operation. The fact is that the assessment of the final result of the work depends on how well the product dries. Therefore, it is very important to provide appropriate conditions for drying the product. Otherwise there is a wrong decision being made. For example, if the product has not dried out enough, the resulting surface shade may seem insufficiently saturated. As a result, a decision may be made to repeat the tinting procedure.

Applying varnish

If stain or patination is used as a material for tinting, this operation is not necessary. But it should be remembered that correctly selected and applied in several layers (at least three) varnish can give the surface new rich shades and significantly extend its service life. Suitable for tinted furniture facades. It should only be taken into account that the varnish must be colorless and well resistant to abrasion and other mechanical stress.

Tinting veneer furniture

The technology of tinting furniture facades finished with veneer - thin wood sheets or plates - differs little from tinting those made of wood. A significant distinguishing feature of veneer is its thickness. Due to the fact that the thickness of veneer plates and sheets can be several millimeters, care must be taken when working with this material. This primarily applies to surface preparation work.

Dyeing or tinting is the process of changing the color of wood with dyes that do not cover its texture in order to prepare it for a transparent finish. All other names for this operation - staining, etching, staining - should be considered obsolete.
Purposes of toning:
1) enhance the natural color and texture of valuable wood;
2) even out the color of non-uniform parts of the product;
3) give light wood a darker tone and at the same time hide minor surface defects;
4) give the wood of simple species the color and appearance of valuable wood (imitation);
5) give the wood a color that is not natural to it (blue, green, gray).
Dyes. For many years, wood tinting was carried out only with natural dyes, mainly of plant origin, with high light resistance. Some of these dyes are still used today. They are prepared in the form of decoctions, for example, from sawdust and mahogany shavings or from moraine roots (red dye), green walnut peel or apple bark (brown dye), alder bark, willow and ink oak nuts (black dye), etc.
Currently, artificial aniline dyes of various colors and shades are mainly used for dyeing various fibrous materials, including wood. These dyes are quite light-resistant and easily dissolve in hot water (from 10 to 30 g per 1 liter).
Aqueous solutions of certain chemicals - salts, acids, tannins - are also used for tinting. As a result of the action of chemicals on wood or their interaction, colored salts are formed in wood fibers, coloring the wood or giving it a certain tone.
Along with chemicals, our industry produces a significant amount of ready-made compounds in dry form, solutions of which are prepared at enterprises.
Dyes are dissolved in clean, soft water in enamel or tinned, absolutely clean dishes; hard water is softened by dissolving a small amount of baking soda or ammonia in it. It is useful to boil the prepared solution. If the dye is a mixture of several solutions, then each solution is prepared separately and then the solutions are mixed; Dyes cannot be mixed in powders.
The color of the solution is determined on a test board. Solutions should be stored in sealed containers.
Wood dyeing methods. The dye is applied to the surface to be finished with a soft (hair) brush, sponge, swab, or soft rag, which are first dipped into the solution. The tampon or rag removed from the solution is wrung out a little. It is better to position the surface to be painted horizontally: then the painting will be more uniform. Painting vertical surfaces begins from the bottom so that the dye does not spread over the unpainted part of the surface. Dye drips leave permanent marks on the wood.
Before painting, the entire surface to be finished is evenly moistened with clean water using a slightly wrung-out sponge or rag; this promotes more uniform coloring. Open ends are moistened more strongly, otherwise more dye will be absorbed into them, and the ends will appear as dark spots against the general background.
Dyeing is done two to three times with a weak dye solution with five-minute exposures. This dyeing gives a better result than one-time dyeing with a strong solution, i.e., a solution of high concentration. Temperature is of great importance. When working in a warm room with a heated solution, the dye penetrates deeper into the wood.
Dyeing is carried out at a fast pace, with almost no pressure on the swab or rag, mainly along the fibers. You cannot make passes, you cannot pass the tampon several times over one place or hold it in one place. It is unacceptable to leave the surface partially painted. Drips are immediately removed with a wrung-out swab. After painting, the surface is lightly wiped with a well-wrung out cloth.
In large enterprises, the dyeing process is completely mechanized. The method of dipping products into a dye solution is widely used.
The painted products are allowed to dry thoroughly. In a workshop environment, drying lasts at least 2 hours. With increased movement of heated air, the drying time is reduced to 20 minutes.
When painting, you should wear rubber gloves to avoid staining your hands. If chemicals are used for dyeing, the use of gloves becomes mandatory, as otherwise it is easy to get burned.
Sanding a tinted surface. By sanding after dyeing, the fine lint raised during the dyeing process that accidentally remains on the surface to be finished is removed, and the surface is finally smoothed.
Sanding begins after the tinted surface has completely dried. Coarse wool cloth, horsehair, sea grass, bast (bast) or dry thin non-resinous shavings are used as grinding agents. The skin, even the finest grain (No. 170-200), is consumed much less frequently.
Grinding is carried out with light pressure - carefully and carefully. With careless work, it is easy to sand a thin layer of stained wood, especially on the edges of the product.
Requirements for tinted surfaces. The surface painted with a transparent dye should not contain:
1) dark spots and stripes from dye runs or other origins;
2) unpainted places (gaps);
3) sanded areas.
The color tone should be even, the surface should have a low gloss.

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Ceiling - home decoration

When a question arises what stain to choose, then it turns out that not everyone understands what stain is. So, stain is a liquid for tinting wood materials, such as wood itself, fiberboard, chipboard, MDF, plywood and some others. Sometimes stain is also called “stain”, this is its popular name. Stains can be divided according to purpose; they can be for external (facade) or internal work. A special feature of stains for outdoor use is the presence of a special pigment in its composition, which protects the composition from exposure to ultraviolet radiation and, consequently, fading. There are practically no other differences.

In addition to differences in purpose, stains can differ in composition; they can be alcohol-based, oil-based, wax-based, solvent-based, nitro, or water-based.

There are stain compositions for application with a brush and compositions for application with a spray gun, there are factory-made compositions or compositions in powder form, which are simply diluted with water before use.

To make the right choice of stain, you need to decide on its purpose. If you need to tint a crib or, for example, a dining table, then the priority will be types of stains on wax or oil bases or water-based ones. These types of stains contain no or minimal amounts of volatile compounds. Regardless of the composition of the stain, you can apply a layer of varnish on top, you can use oil with added wax or pure wax. Different layers do not conflict.

Alcohol-based stains are also available both in finished form and in powder form. Alcohol stains have their own specific uses; they are good for tinting furniture or doors, but for or better choose a different type of stain. If someone interferes with you and the application turns out to be uneven, the result will be a rather unsightly stain. It's okay, but the stain will have to be removed with sandpaper and the stain applied again. To reduce the risk of uneven coverage, it is better to apply alcohol stains with a spray gun, after making sure that you can finish the job without interference.

And one more tip regarding alcohol stains. The fact is that powdered alcohol stains should be diluted only with 96% alcohol, but there is no guarantee that the alcohol you purchase will be exactly 96%, so it is better to opt for a ready-made composition.

Nitro stains are also designed to be applied using a spray gun. With these stains, uneven application when using a brush leads to the formation of various stains, differences in tones and other undesirable results.

But oil- and wax-based stains are applicable in any case, and they can be applied with any tools convenient for a particular case. These stains have the advantage of being easy to use, but they are more expensive. Another advantage of oil and wax stains is that they are completely environmentally safe. These stains are suitable not only for basic tinting work, but also for restoration or correction of tinting of individual areas of the treated surface.

The natural color of wood materials is very attractive in itself and does not require tinting or painting. However, sometimes, for example, to create harmony of design or to emphasize a certain line in the interior of a room, you want to change the color scheme or decor of the furniture. This can be easily done by using a special colored stain.

Before applying stain, the surface must be prepared in a certain way. The main condition: the surface should not have any coating. The ideal option is to apply stain to a fresh surface. If there is a coating, it should be removed with sandpaper and the surface thoroughly sanded. Sandpaper No. 180-230 is suitable for sanding; it will open the pores of the wood, the pores will be open for about half an hour. It is during this half hour that the stain should be applied, in which case it will penetrate the material to its maximum depth. Wood is always sanded along the grain.

A layer of stain is applied along the fibers, liberally. Try to make it as even as possible. Significant unevenness can cause unsightly stains, although if you treated the wood with water, an even layer will be easier to obtain. The drying time of one layer of stain is about 3 hours, after this time the second layer can be applied. By the way, the second layer will smooth out possible unevenness of the first. If the color of the second layer is different from the color of the first, the effect may be unique. As mentioned above, the stain can be ready-to-use or in powder form. In the second case, the colored solution should be prepared strictly according to the instructions. The solution itself is prepared very simply - mix hot water and powder, stir again after a couple of minutes, and the solution is ready for use. Moisten the wood with water before applying the stain using a sponge or napkin and sand again. Now you can apply the stain with a brush. Round brushes with Chinese bristles are well suited for this purpose, but before using the brush you should make sure that the hairs do not come out of it, otherwise they may remain on the surface.

If you give preference to the quality of the purchased stain rather than its low cost, and purchase products from a well-known manufacturer, the result may exceed all your expectations. By following the instructions for using stain and carefully preparing the surface, you will get a wood texture that is indistinguishable from natural wood, and you are almost guaranteed to free the final result from possible stains and drips.

Rustic stain is one of the latest developments, which takes into account modern design features of the arrangement and processing of parquet. Want to achieve a rustic aesthetic using everyday materials? Rustic stain or stain will highlight the natural wood structure; a particularly impressive result will be achieved when applying stain to oak parquet. Color shades when using rustic stain can be very different.

Rustic stain is sold ready-to-use; no additional preparation is required. After sanding the surface, shake the contents of the container with the solution, open it and apply the stain using a brush. It is highly desirable that the pile be natural. This stain is of the highest quality, it will easily pass through all wood pores and channels, the composition applies smoothly, without stains or sagging. Still, we recommend treating the parquet in two layers, this will make it easier for you to care for the floor in the future.

Now about the price of the issue. Which stain you choose is up to you, but you shouldn’t skimp on quality, since a well-processed and painted item will delight you for many years.

Good luck! See you in the next articles 😉