Coloring? (Help, I'm a noob)

Isakowitch · Post by **Isakowitch** » Fri Nov 10, 2017 8:42 am

Hello honored great pipemakers!

I was wondering about staining, and i have several questions!

1. How do i blend colors and stain with different colors to get shaded looks?

2. Can i use any sort of leather dye, or does it have to be ROC or Fiebings?

3. I mainly wanna make rusticated pipes, is it possible to contrast stain those, without having to grind on them with sandpaper? (I've heard that lighting it on fire if it's rusticated, should have a bad effect on it.)

sandahlpipe · Post by **sandahlpipe** » Fri Nov 10, 2017 9:18 am

1. If you’re looking to stain part with one color and the other part with another and blend the two, I’d just say experiment and see what works.

2. Alcohol-based dyes tend to deliver the best results. Some stains just don’t sink in at all. That’s why we tend to use leather dye. Some also mix anilin dyes with denatured alcohol.

3. Contrast depends on how deeply the dyes penetrate and/or how much is removed. I suggest applying the stain to a heated block and sanding back to the desired result. You can also try wiping off the base coat with water or denatured alcohol. Experiment and see what works.

DocAitch · Post by **DocAitch** » Fri Nov 10, 2017 10:27 am

What Jeremiah said.
It’s really a matter of experimentation. Save your briar scraps and failures to try out various techniques.
Feibing’s stains are convenient, but there are many other alcohol and water based stains that you could use. Mix them, dilute them, flash burn, heat or what ever, but keep a record of your techniques so that you can recreate them.
It’s been two years since I started modern pipe making and I am still experimenting with almost every pipe that I’ve finished.
DocAitch

Sasquatch · Post by **Sasquatch** » Sat Nov 11, 2017 3:26 pm

DocAitch wrote:What Jeremiah said.
It’s really a matter of experimentation. Save your briar scraps and failures to try out various techniques.
Feibing’s stains are convenient, but there are many other alcohol and water based stains that you could use. Mix them, dilute them, flash burn, heat or what ever, but keep a record of your techniques so that you can recreate them.
It’s been two years since I started modern pipe making and I am still experimenting with almost every pipe that I’ve finished.
DocAitch

It’s been ten years since I started pipe making and I am still experimenting with almost every pipe that I’ve finished

Charl · Post by **Charl** » Sun Nov 12, 2017 1:10 pm

Oh yes! Ten for you as well, Todd!

Same re the staining here. I don't think I'll ever get satisfied!

caskwith · Post by **caskwith** » Sun Nov 12, 2017 2:48 pm

Just passed the 10 year mark for me too and while there are some finishes that I know exactly what I am doing, quite a lot of the time I am winging it lol.

Charl · Post by **Charl** » Sun Nov 12, 2017 3:01 pm

Know what you mean!

Charl · Post by **Charl** » Sun Nov 12, 2017 3:03 pm

And the weird thing is that I still learn something with every pipe I make. It's a never ending story!

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