Ink As A Wood Stain (Pictures!)

[Honeybadgers]

Wife wanted me to build some shelving. I was going to use simple pine tops with danish oil, but I was curious about coloring them with inks, and she loved the idea.

 

Got out a few bottles that I thought would be neat, and here's my samples on pine.

 

 

From top to bottom, we have apache sunset, baystate blue, noodlers polar blue, sailor grey, diamine oxblood, wancher green, noodlers heart of darkness, and pilot blue/black

 

 

Followed by mont blanc lavender purple, Bril turquoise blue, noodlers kiowa pecan, pilot iroshizuku grey, pilot iroshizuku yama budo, Siailor yama-dori, and lamy blue black.

 

She decided that she wanted the three shelves to be in oxblood, lamy BB, and sailor grey.

 

The grey turned out a lot more purple than expected, I suspect because I did 3 fairly heavy coats. The others turned out very true to color.

 

To mix up a stain, I went with 10ml of ink in about 40ml of water, applied with a saturated paper towel, allowed to dry, then gone over again, then one final time with 5ml of ink added to the remaining stain for a final dark pass.

 

They definitely bleed onto wet items, so if I was going to use them anywhere with moisture, I'd have used a few coats of clear urethane, but since this is on a dry shelf, it's fine as-is.

 

 

 

 

If you want to use ink as a stain, about 35mL would safely do both sides of a 10 foot by 11 3/4in by 3/4 in board. so a bottle of noodlers ink could stain a respectable amount.

[lapis]

A good idea of course, especially if I didn't know how to get rid of the inks otherwise, but pretty expensive in the end (e.g. using a MB or Iroshi ink).

[Honeybadgers]

approximately $8-15 for enough to stain a couple tables is genuinely not terrible. Sure, it's more expensive than professional stain, but most people tend to buy stain for one and only one project, which costs the same, if not more.

 

The board with lamy blue/black really turned out nice, with deep colors and really makes the grain pop on a simple piece of pine. Which is great for me, since I hate that ink.

Edited August 13, 2018 by Honeybadgers

[JulieParadise]

But, eh, lightfastness could be an issue.

[inkstainedruth]

But, eh, lightfastness could be an issue.

 

I was just thinking the same thing -- especially since I just got back from going camping, and only took pens with relatively water resistant inks in them.

Still, it's kind of a neat idea.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[Astronymus]

I would have used some matte acrylic coating anyway. The place might be dry but I wonder how friction resistent the ink is. Great colouring though. The blue and red ones look great.

Edited August 13, 2018 by Astron

[crahptacular]

approximately $8-15 for enough to stain a couple tables is genuinely not terrible. Sure, it's more expensive than professional stain, but most people tend to buy stain for one and only one project, which costs the same, if not more.

 

The board with lamy blue/black really turned out nice, with deep colors and really makes the grain pop on a simple piece of pine. Which is great for me, since I hate that ink.

This is definitely a very efficient way to use up an ink you dislike

[Honeybadgers]

I would have used some matte acrylic coating anyway. The place might be dry but I wonder how friction resistent the ink is. Great colouring though. The blue and red ones look great.

 

I did some simple rubbing tests with towels and they stayed solid. But even then, I mostly didn't do it because I didn't have any on hand.

 

I can't speak for lightfastness, but there are light-fast inks out there, and especially noodlers inks that bond to cellulose, which is what wood is. Basically, if it's permanent and lightfast on paper, it will be on wood. Also, if it's in a closet, who the heck cares? These are in a walk-in closet that never sees sunlight.

[pajaro]

The stuff should probably end up not in direct sunlight. I try to keep all my furniture out of direct sun, because stains will be affected, and fabrics will fade and suffer. So, who cares?

 

I have read some books about furniture finishing. Staining is one of the steps, and a poly or other topcoat is another. Why half do it? Of course there's sanding, staining, sanding, poly or oil, etc., sanding, top coat . . .

 

Some interesting colored stains are ones in green or yellow. The blue here is very nice. I wouldn't worry so much about lightfastness. If it's not in direct sunlight, any other than a fugitive color like carmine from cochineal will last for scores of years.

[Astronymus]

Also, if it's in a closet, who the heck cares? These are in a walk-in closet that never sees sunlight.

Wait till a tornado rips your roof off. What then?

[Corona688]

Have you considered an old-fashioned iron stain? It essentially creates iron gall ink inside the plank from the wood's own natural tannins. A modern recipe with ferrous sulfate is probably better than the old messy recipes dissolving iron nails in vinegar...

[amberleadavis]

I used inks and they are so pretty.

 

http://heismylawyer.com/2018-2/Potions/slides/2018-06-02_Potions_Cabinet-35.jpg

[Honeybadgers]

Wait till a tornado rips your roof off. What then?

 

If a tornado comes through seattle, we all better start praying.