Pigments and Dyes
In coloring wood there are two striking differences. Above is the turquoise dyed pen.
PIGMENTS are large flat particles. They lay together on the surface of wood (or the wall) and completely cover whatever is underneath them. The best way to think about pigments is that they are scales on a fish or shingles on the roof. They cover. Paint uses pigments to re-color something. If the original "bleeds through" or the new color streaks this is considered poor quality.
DYES are much different than pigments. They are most often used in Stains to color without losing the variations in grain. Dyes are teeny tiny, itsy, bitsy and are translucent. You can see the grain and other differences in the wood and still have the color.
The RED block underneath the pen is an example of a dye applied to the surface. We can also use a DYE based in alcohol to permeate the wood under intense pressure. That looks very similar but we can turn the piece of wood that has been dyed and the color goes all the way through.
Exempalary pictures in tomorrow as they are on a different computer.
One of favorite types of wood to work with is a hardwood that has spalted. Through the natural processes of breaking down the tree, fungi create lines and different textures with the wood.
One of the challenges is when a piece comes out due to the fragile nature of this wood. Once the finish layers have been added, they are stable. We of course, if there is a problem would replace a pen that had trouble later.
The section highlighted in the oval is where some of the wood came out. In order to make a stable repair, we need to fill the void. I prefer a water based filler like Wunderfill which you can get through Rockler's catalog.
This fill like many others comes in predetermined wood colors. I have never had one that really matched well with whatever I was working on and end up modifying them in some way. With this fill material, one can add water to make a slurry or a consistency like really thick gravy. Once it is sloppy I had pigments to adjust the color to most closely resemble the area adjacent to it.
I work in the pigment and then press into the area that needs it. Pigments are available from many different sources. I get mine through a fine art supply company that way you have the most control over the color.
You can see on the right is a color called "Vine Black" and on the left is an "Ivory Black". Some where in the middle of these two blacks is the color with which to fill. I am balancing the darkest color of the spalt lines with the color of the surrounding wood which is a nice brown beige.
Now comes the waiting for the fill to dry. You can figure on 24 hours before being ready to sand down. It the patch feels cool in your hand then get it some more time. If you sand too early you will make mud on the sandpaper and have to re-do it. The patch also will dry faster in a low humidity environment. During a hot and humid summer it may take longer.
In the end, I enjoy working on having a great finish. A lot of people find it tedious and boring and try to get through it as quickly as possible. There are even those who finish their pens with CA glue as the finish. Which is fine for them but I prefer to finish like a piece of fine furniture one that will both wear well and last long.
