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Finishing Bubinga - 3 Questions

d_l_white's picture

Finishing Bubinga - 3 Questions (post #169616)

d_l_white on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 18:53
in

I'm working with bubinga for the first time finishing a table and have 3 questions:

(1) I plan on darkening the wood and muting some of the red with a TransTint NGR (TT) die stain . Do I need to worry about splotching on Bubinga?

(2) I like to spray and wipe TT die. I normally mix with water. If I use alcohol instead (I'm concerned about the wood swelling and stressing joints), how can I slow the evaporation?

(3) I'm told Bubinga should be wiped down with lacquer thinner to remove oils prior to sealing (I was going to apply a 1 lb cut of shellac before pore filling). If I do that, that will remove some of the die stain. Any suggestions?

Thanks

-A +A
SteveSchoene's picture

Lacquer thinner would (post #169616, reply #1 of 1)

by SteveSchoene in reply to d_l_white [original] on Tue, 01/17/2012 - 18:44

Lacquer thinner would certainly redissolve and move TransTint.  I wouldn't expect joint problems from water based dye--it evaporates in relatively short order--even if flooded on.  If sprayed, especially if wiped, it shouldn't be a problem at all.  But it doesn't matter what you dissolve Transtint in initially, it will still redissolve in any of the solvents in which it could be originally mixed.  You have several options:  You could mix it with shellac, creating a shellac binder or the dye.  If you can spray evenly you avoid wiping, which you couldn't do with shellac binder.   A light tint, with the expectation of 2 or 3 coats, of sub one pound shellac might do the trick and be easiest to get even coloration. 

The other alternative is to avoid TransTint or other dye that can be dissolved in multiple solvents.  Go with a powdered water soluble dye, such as TransFast or the W.D. Lockwood powdered dyes.  Then you can wipe with solvent and lose only a very little dye.  . 

Test your finish on scrap, FIRST, or risk having to scrap your finish.