WIP - Coloring continued.....

Looking at what I had done so far, I wasn’t pleased with the colors. It was too “orangish” overall. So out came the sandpaper and stains. I sanded off some of the body color, and used a couple of different colored stains to make it browner. Touched up some of the other areas making them a little redder.

Making any wood “white” without painting it is difficult. I have some white leather dye I’ve used. Most leather dyes are pretty easy to use and mix together. Then there is the white! For some reason the white dye is totally different – which I found out the hard way.
The first time I was using the dyes I would pour them in small plastic disposable cups to mix and use. So I did the same with the white dye. The fact that the white dye is in a glass bottle where the others are in plastic bottles didn’t set off any red flags. But the flags went off when the white dye was all over the paper bag and the cup had melted!

So I use either a glass or aluminum foil to hold the dye now. This project I put all the little teeth in the aluminum foil and used a q-tip to dab white dye on the pieces. I left them to soak overnight.

Once I’m satisfied with the colors, it’s time to get the finish out – I use a tung oil (that’s what it says on the can anyway). The dyes will bleed a little with the addition of the oil, so you have to be careful in handling the pieces. You don’t want the blue to rub off on the white teeth!

The wood is dry, and the dyes make them even drier, so they will really soak up the oil. Let them sit about 15 minutes, then wipe the excess off.

Let these pieces dry overnight. Tomorrow we start gluing!