Finish that doesn't darken?

[Wuffles]

Ha ha I would put in a plastic bottle but the post office will probably think it's a bomb

I got some earlier, tried it out, I can see why they put in the instructions that on dark wood test it carefully. Very very white residue left on there that I managed to wipe off, but it's still coming up as red. Tried it on some oak I have been readying for a bench too, and that came up looking lovely without wiping off.

Here are some photos.

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

 

[tiralie]

Look at a color wheel, the complimentary colors opposite a color cancels the color. I'm not sure how it will work in your situation but it may be worth a try. Pick an area to put some green food coloring on also, not sure what will help the most here.

As Tom has mentioned, use green (color fast dye) a complimentary color to red to neutralize the pink/rid tones.
Test the amount of green you add to your clear coat to get the right tone, it will make the wood appear slightly darker but should be less red/pink depending on how much green you add.
Tim

 

[Wuffles]

Anyone in the UK recommend a clear coat, water based something I can mix in with some green dye?

And thanks everyone for your suggestions so far, I'm not ignoring any of them, just knocking them off in order of ease (ie. what's closest to hand).

 

[Nippychippy]

Ha ha I would put in a plastic bottle but the post office will probably think it's a bomb

I got some earlier, tried it out, I can see why they put in the instructions that on dark wood test it carefully. Very very white residue left on there that I managed to wipe off, but it's still coming up as red. Tried it on some oak I have been readying for a bench too, and that came up looking lovely without wiping off.

Here are some photos.

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

Your oak turned out better than they floor I did it's mad that the sample you did went red

 

[Wuffles]

I have no idea what kind of wood it is, but it's probably forin. The top is sanded back now and is more or less white in colour.

 

[SMJoinery]

Thinking out loud...I wonder if you apply sanding sealer first maybe couple of coats to see if that helps?

 

[Wuffles]

The problem seems to be that anything liquid makes it go red, there's a joke there somewhere I expect. Let's try the green colouring and see what happens on another inconspicuous piece (which I am quickly running out of).

 

[Wuffles]

I'm going to try the Liberon water based clear varnish and their accompanying green concentrated dye. Ordering tomorrow so expect me to get round to it in around December while this goes off the boil and something more important happens.

 

[Wuffles]

My recommendation would be to not try this by the way, unless you want your inconspicuous area to look like a fence that's been covered in Ronseal Green shed and fence treatment.

I'll take a photo later when my eyes have recovered.

Next stop liming wax - not my idea, the Wife's.

 

[Wuffles]

Here you go.

That's after wiping it back off again by the way, it was really offensive before that.

 

[tiralie]

You gotta save that for St. Patrick's day.
You mixed too much green into you top coat.
Start with 1-2% by volume of mixed dye to clear coat. The green dye should be barely detected when mixed. Apply to your furniture, if there is no visible change apply another layer to the first. This way you can control the amount of color or tone to your wood.
Tim

 

[Wuffles]

To have managed 1-2% dilution exactly I would have had to mix up almost the entire pot of varnish. I wasn't prepared to take that risk, and as the dye is some kind of super concentrate, what you are looking at there is a tiny un-measurable dash. And also, that's after I wiped it off, it was like a green paint before.

 

[CrazyLarry]

To have managed 1-2% dilution exactly I would have had to mix up almost the entire pot of varnish. I wasn't prepared to take that risk, and as the dye is some kind of super concentrate, what you are looking at there is a tiny un-measurable dash. And also, that's after I wiped it off, it was like a green paint before.

Is the varnish water or solvent based?

Either way dilute down the dye with solvent or water then use a tiny amount of the solution with an amount of varnish you can measure and use several times.

Then you can proceed as Tim suggests adding additional solution one step at a time until there is an effect.
(you actually need it so weak that you can't notice any change to start with)

 

[Wuffles]

Water based, so I should get Homeopathic?

 

[tjbnwi]

You're tiny measurable dash may have been 20% of the host product.

When you're mixing volumes as small as you did an eye dropper is necessary to control the amount of dye added to the base. I use a digital gram scale when mixing, this allows me to make larger batches of the same proportion once I get it right.

If you look at a mixing label (here) they read across the top 32  64  128, they represent 1/32 of and ounce, 1/64th of an ounce, 128th of an ounce. If there is a 1 under the 128th column that is the volume of colorant per gallon in that mix or 1-1/128th of an ounce of colorant. Due to the concentration the colorant the color shift can be pretty drastic.

Wash the color out with water or denatured alcohol. Then mix the dye in the alcohol, then apply it in layers with the alcohol as the carrier, not the varnish. Your trying to temper the red in the wood, not cover it.

Tom

 

[CrazyLarry]

Water based, so I should get Homeopathic?

Pretty much yes although unlike homeopathy the dye will still do something!

If you can't find an eye dropper you can get packs of syringes from those inkjet refill places.

 

[Wuffles]

You're tiny measurable dash may have been 20% of the host product.

When you're mixing volumes as small as you did an eye dropper is necessary to control the amount of dye added to the base. I use a digital gram scale when mixing, this allows me to make larger batches of the same proportion once I get it right.

If you look at a mixing label (here) they read across the top 32  64  128, they represent 1/32 of and ounce, 1/64th of an ounce, 128th of an ounce. If there is a 1 under the 128th column that is the volume of colorant per gallon in that mix or 1-1/128th of an ounce of colorant. Due to the concentration the colorant the color shift can be pretty drastic.

Was the color out with denatured alcohol. Then mix the dye in the alcohol, then apply it in layers with the alcohol as the carrier, not the varnish. Your trying to temper the red in the wood, not cover it.

Tom

The recommended mix (according to the packet) was 10%, I went waaay under that, by volume, judged in my head. It was obviously very green indeed when mixed, but I thought I'd give it a go on a small spot anyway. As a trial remember, this isn't the finished area.

I'll perhaps give it another go later on by mixing first into water then taking a partial amount of that and mixing that with the varnish - see how it pans out. If it seems to work I'll try a proper mix-up on the rest of the leg.

Water based, so I should get Homeopathic?

Pretty much yes although unlike homeopathy the dye will still do something!

If you can't find an eye dropper you can get packs of syringes from those inkjet refill places.

Perhaps it reacted with the homeopathic amount of William Shakespeare's urine that was in there. I've got some droppers somewhere, probably.

 

[ear3]

Haha.  So much for the cancellation effect.

Here you go.

That's after wiping it back off again by the way, it was really offensive before that.

 

[tjbnwi]

The 20% was to create a solid green color dye. You want a toner not a solid color.

Once you get the red to cancel, you do not have to mix the dye in the top coat, you'll only cause yourself more grief. Apply the cut dye directly to the wood. The mix should be so cut that the green is barely detectable to the eye.

Tom

 

[Wuffles]

The 20% was to create a solid green color dye. You want a toner not a solid color.

Once you get the red to cancel, you do not have to mix the dye in the top coat, you'll only cause yourself more grief. Apply the cut dye directly to the wood. The mix should be so cut that the green is barely detectable to the eye.

Tom

Roger. I think.

You mean once the top coat is working and is on then I won't be adding any more dye to the next coats yes? In which case that's what I was intending.