Shopsmith Forums

Does anyone know how to achieve the black (stained or painted) finish that is common on furnature today. Alot of this "look" is at RCWilleys ect.
You can see through the finish and there is an "orange" look here and there to it.
I am trying to match a new pine shelf to bedroom furnature which has that finish to it.

Can you direct us to a specific picture? I poked around and wasn't sure which item represented the 'look' you're after.

When I go for a really dark look I've used General Finishes Java Gel stain. You can always put a coat of other highlight color underneath. Let it set up before adding the top layer of color.

Practice on the waste pieces of the correct stock until you get the look.

I've used India ink to die my pieces. This includes pieces for the black in federal work. Of course, you need to let the piece soak to get full penetration in thin material you will then cut. For a black piece though nothing beats it. Black stain and other dies will also work.

Interesting dying effects can be had with the fabric dyes you get at the grocery store or department store. Very strong and brilliant colors.

Minwax (and others) sells an "ebony" stain that you can use or you could thin some black enamel and use that as a stain, or use one of the dyes suggested earlier. Getting a good match with the existing piece then requires the appropriate and compatible top coat -- varnish, lacquer, polyurethane, shellac -- which is something you'll have to decide on. One possibility is a wipe on gloss polyurethane and then after it dries rub it out with steel wool to try to match your existing piece.

Thanks for the help everyone.
Will post a pic when its done.

Here is an article on ebonizing wood from the IAP library.

http://content.penturners.org/library/techniques/Ebonizing.pdf

You can use shoe dye. While I have only used it on a few small items you can buy it in 55 gallon drums if you like.
http://www.fiebing.com/Dyes.aspx


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mrhart wrote:Does anyone know how to achieve the black (stained or painted) finish that is common on furnature today. Alot of this "look" is at RCWilleys ect.
You can see through the finish and there is an "orange" look here and there to it.
I am trying to match a new pine shelf to bedroom furnature which has that finish to it.

It could be black shellac. Check out http://www.shellac.net, or call them. They are very helpful on the phone.