Homestead Dry Dyes, Dark Mission Brown

Dyes are the way to go on hard-to-stain woods like cherry, maple, birch and pine. I have used Transfast dyes for many years on dozens of projects with amazing results. I recently completed an entire room's worth of figured maple built-ins. Project included a wet bar and cabinets and an entertainment center, with many paneled doors and drawers, made of a mixture of solid maple and maple plywood. I sanded all surfaces to 220 grit. I mixed the dye with distilled water exactly per the instructions and sprayed it using a four-stage HVLP system and #3 needle set. I followed this with two coats of Zinsser Bullseye Sealcoat dewaxed shellac to seal the dye before applying a water-based topcoat. Water-based dyes will raise the grain slightly and must be sealed before applying a water-based topcoat. On the advice of a friend, rather than sand away any the raised grain before applying the shellac, I applied the shellac first, which stiffened the raised fibers and made them easier to sand without risking cutting through the dye. I applied a second coat of shellac followed by a water-based topcoat. The results are rich, even color with no blotching. For the record, you don't need to spray dye. Applying it with a rag or brush yields good results, too. I sprayed because it saves time on large projects. Bottom line: if you've never tried dye on tough-to-stain woods, try it. You'll never use anything else again. One caution: if spraying, make sure everything you don't want to dye is well-masked. Any overspray will be undetectable until you go to clean for the first time, as happened in a bathroom I recently did. The first time I ran water in the tub it bloomed pink from the mahogany dye overspray. It will clean up from porcelain and other sealed surfaces, but anything porous will be forever colored.

I never used dye to stain my woodwork before - but this was a great experience. I really like the way you can manage how much dye is applied to the wood. It gives a lot of control that I've never felt with regular wood atsin. Once the wood is dyed, I varnish as usual - and it's sealed. Dye also provides a lot of color choices not available in stain. All in all a very cool experience. I will continue to play with dyes going forward...

The best way to ruin a nice piece of furniture painstakingly made is to finish it poorly. If you want professional results, then use one of these dyes first and then use any oil base or water base stain as your next step. You will be amazedin the depth of your finish. Just about a foolproof way to bring out the beauty of the wood. I used the dark mission brown dye and after it dried, stained it with an oil base mahogany gel stain. This is the way to go for a beautiful finish.

End product turned out good, but it really is DARK.