black / dress finish

[PapaDuke]

I keep seeing bits a pieces of using Markers on pipes to help color them.
What's the whole story on this?

Can You?
Dare You?
Do You?

I must admit I cheated on this pipe.

Since I had seen using markers here and there on this forum and since I had no black for the rustification…
I took a sharpie and touched it a few times on a Q-Tip then applies the droplets of my stain on the Q-tip which dissolved the marker very well.

Personally I hate the smell of cheap permanent markers but found that a Sharpie does not have that same smell.

So...
Can you use a Sharpie and what's good to use it on?

[PapaDuke]

Very interesting idea of heating the wood!
Would you suggest the oven and if so what temp?
Do you have to reheat often between applications?

Great Idea
Tell me more? ? ?

[KurtHuhn]

Very interesting idea of heating the wood!
Would you suggest the oven and if so what temp?
Do you have to reheat often between applications?

Great Idea
Tell me more? ? ?

I just hit the pipe lightly with either the propane torch or the heat gun - whichever is withing easy reach. I just hit it enough to heat it up, not enough to actually singe the wood.

I have heard some pipe makers heat their wood in an oven before applying stain, and some even have little stummel heating rig involving a box and a low wattage lgiht bulb so they don't have to take up space in the oven. I prefer the heat gun myself, and I like to heat before applying stain.

[PapaDuke]

Great
Thanks Kurt.
I like the box and bulb idea.
Wonder if a hair drier would work?

[alexanderfrese]

Though physically the idea of wood expanding by heat and thus sucking up the stain better seems common sense, there still is some faint idea in the back of my mind that woodworkers do moisten the wood before applying the stain.
Does that remind someone of something real or am I just mixing up something?
:dunno:

[KurtHuhn]

I know that moistening leather results in a much more even stain. You can do the same trick with wood if you have a very porous substrate, just to help even out the absorbtion a little. I've only ever done that with pine furniture though.

[ASB]

Finally something I can chime in on and actually know for sure what I'm talking about. You all keep talking about leather dyes, why not use dyes made for wood. They are chemically designed to penetrate deep into the wood's fibers and I haven't experienced one bleeding back out. I work in a wood coatings R&D lab so have access to "free" stuff. I have used black NGR stain (non grain raising=alcohol stain) followed by black wiping stain (oil based) for a very successful black traeatment for blasts I have made. I have then sanded the high areas and either left them natural or dyed them another color for a two-tone pipe. I've not tried a solid black pipe, I personally like to see the grain and be able to tell the pipe is wood.

Here's a shameless plug for my company to find a distributor:
http://mohawkfinishing.com/dist_lookup.asp
for Mohawk and:
http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=7234
for Behlen (our sister company)

The NGR stains are called Ultra Penetrating Stains, product codes M520-XXXX (X's represent color codes) for Mohawk and B503-XXXX for Behlen. The wiping stains are M545-XXXX. Someone mentioned markers, we also offer dye markers (Pro Marks) that may work, although I've not tried them on a pipe. They have a small percentage of binder, but not so much that it will build on the surface. I may give them a try in the near future. I'll report back on that.

We also offer rubbing compounds that work well for polishing stems. I am currently wroking on development of the NGR stains in aerosol form that is super easy to control color strength with (I have been using the "experimental" cans at home for my pipes for about 8 months now).

Enough advertising. I have been thinking of ways to emulsify carnauba to eliminate the need for a buffer altogether, but still have some kinks to iron out. We offer a paste wax, but it is a bit high on the beeswax side and dulls when the pipe is being smoked, I may be able to tweak it. If any of you guys have ideas as to other finishing or coloring products wanted but not available please send me an email and I will see what I can do.

Hope this has helped.
Aaron
ASB Pipes (no, you've not heard of them unless you were at Raleigh or Richmond this year)

[Nick]

Too neat. Arosol stain would be excelent. Hmmmm, you know, I wonder if you could use a spray bottle?

[ASB]

spray bottle would have to carefully choosen, they may "spit" - if I may use a technical aerosol term - globs of stain instead of atomizing it well. It wouldn't hurt to try though. You can also purchase pressure units that are basically an aerosol filled with just propellant with a tube in the front that dips into the stain, I haven't checked atomization with one of those. I'll update when we are ready for release of the aerosols, until then I'll have the advantage

Aaron