How do I dye plywood to look darker?

[Paul H (admin)]

I think there is a trick for dying plain plywood to be darker - roughly like Mahogany ply from the 60s.

Do I dye first then varnish, or dye first then add a coat of epoxy then varnish?

I guessing epoxy first seals the grain and makes dying difficult, depending how rough the grain is.

And are some dyes too oily for covering with epoxy?

-Paul

[LASER41420]

Hi Paul,
Would this do?
https://www.screwfix.com/p/colron-wood-dye-jacobean-dark-oak-250ml/17844
Or this?
https://www.rustins.ltd/rustins/our-products/wood-preparation/wood-dye-solvent-based-
Steve

[Paul H (admin)]

Steve,

Yep thats close but too dark. They have a Liberion light oak dye which I will try.

Ethanol based so when dry  (30 seconds today ha ha) should be ok with epoxy.

Cheers
Paul

[Jason Mayer]

Yes Paul, I used this with Eadie Mae.

https://www.feastwatson.com.au/products/flooring/prooftint

Apply to the timber, allow to cure, then varnish over it.

Jarrah was the colour I got and it turned out much darker than expected but the ply was hardwood so was darker than pine to begin with.

Ended up like this.

[Paul H (admin)]

Here is a quick test with light and dark Oak:



Light is a good start, next test is how well epoxy sticks. Should be ok as the wood grain is still open.

I'm tempted by the dark Oak colour though. I overpainted to clear the brush, but an even coat blends well with the red Mahogany king plank above; and it tends to hide defects in the ply.

-Paul

[Paul H (admin)]

Jason,

I checked your product and it seems similar to mine - spirit based. I don't trust my exterior ply enough to go straight to varnish, I'll seal it with epoxy.

Thanks to Steve and yourself.


I'm tempted to kick off a Bodge A Boat thread. Been so busy on our lovely new IKEA kitchen I've left myself 6 weeks to DCA Cobnor fortnight with no seats, no buoyancy and no foredeck; but I do have plan C.

-Paul

[Jason Mayer]

Paul do you have any photos of the end result?

[Jason Mayer]

Just a thought, can you blend the light and dark to get you closer to your goal colour?

[Paul H (admin)]

Jason,

On the left is the original ply. The long seat top is dyed alongside the side deck - not bad considering different wood and 55 years. It will be ok for Cobnor, will see how it looks with epoxy/varnish.



I used two coats of light dye, dark looked too dark. Damn difficult to apply evenly with a cloth, a bit easier with a brush but being spirit based it soaks in immediately and you cannot form an even layer.


If you look carefully the ply is marked by manufacturing lines, presumably when cutting the wafer thin veneer. Didn't notice them when I bought it. It's difficult to find a good ply supply locally - by local I mean within 5 miles to transport on a roof rack.

-P

PS: Next time I'll get the auto-focus on my Pentax central. A 6mb DSLR, old but the lens is superior to a phone.