TransTint Dyes, Reddish Brown, 2 oz

I’m making a Telecaster from scratch and wanted a butterscotch blonde look so that it resembled Micawber (Keith Richards’ famous Tele). I used TransTint honey amber and got surprisingly close, although not exact. This was my first go at getting this color so I’m sure after more experimentation, I can more closely produce the color. Anyway, I got close enough to be happy, although probably a little too dark. The directions say to mix with denatured alcohol OR WATER! I used water since I don’t have a proper respirator to deal with the nasty fumes from denatured alcohol. I also don’t have any spray equipment, so I simply mixed it with water in a red solo cup. I filled water up to that line (the circumferential indentation in the cup) you can see above the liquid and the used maybe 1/8th of the dye mixed in. See the picture of the TransTint bottle I included. This is what’s left in the bottle. The bottle was brand new and full before. If you didn’t know, the creator of TransTint is Jeff Jewitt, who is not only a master of finishing, but also a master luthier and makes beautiful custom acoustic guitars. Check him out. Anyway, since I used water, it raised the grain, but that is fine and lightly sanding the grain back down (I used 1000 grit), it creates a super smooth surface. Note that the guitar as pictured is after 3 coats of TransTint honey amber. It also has 5 coats of Tru Oil already as seen in the picture. I think I will do 4 or 5 more coats. Before doing Tru Oil, it did look closer to banana yellow, but Tru Oil has a nice amber color which helped to bring that to what you see in the pictures.

Absolutely a saving grace when it came to color matching a refinish on an old sideboard. I had to fabricate a new solid walnut top to the piece, so it was that typical purple-hue initially, but with the dye, you wouldn't even be able to tell now. Super easy to apply with spray bottle then wiping, and then it dries within minutes. Mixed with distilled water well with a good shake. No smell really, and looks fantastic as a quick glimpse of what it'll look like after finish. They provide a rubber band now since the cap tends to fall off - worked fine for me.

Works well, a little goes a long way. No smell and works well with water based dyes

I used the purple dye on a 335 guitar kit that I bought from Leo Jaymz (also on Amazon). It's very easy to use and it has a really nice color, but the little red cap that sits on top of the white lid was cracked. It was sealed and there was a rubber band around it to keep it all together, but it might leak if I doubt keep the cap and rubber band on, and keep it in the bag. Worked fine on a maple veneer. There are some before and after pictures on here. It isnt finished yet. I just sanded it it with 400, wiped a coat on, waited an hour, and put another coat on. I mixed it with water, so im going to let it sit for about 2 days to completely dry before I finish it with Tru-Oil. I would recommend wearing gloves because it stains skin and nothing helps it come off. It also recommend using those lint free blue shop towels because the absorb a lot, so it doesn't puddle up, and they don't tear up and leave lint as easily as rags or paper towels. I made some extra dye just in case, and used less than half of the bottle for the entire body and neck. I feel like it's a bit over priced for the amount you get, but it's great quality.

The only reason I gave the dye 4 stars instead of 5 is because I think its a little 2 expensive for what it is. Do not get me wrong this is a great dye, but I have used other dyes that performed the same way for half the price. I just wanted to try this because it seems this is what a lot of the more experienced wood craftsman that I watch online use. One thing I really like about these dyes is that I can mix it up in a Mason jar and keep what ever I do not use. I actually had some of this in a mason jar for about 6 months. I took it out shook it up and it was ready to use. Now I don't know if there are any warnings against doing this but it has worked great for me. Transtint also makes these dyes in a lot of different colors which is quite nice and they can be mixed together to create your own custom colors. You may have to do some serious online searching to find all of their colors though, as some of the colors seem a little hard to get your hands on. I have also used this to tint some clear shellac and it worked well for that. All and all the dye works great on hard woods. As with any water based dye or stain on blotch prone woods like, birch or poplar. I recommend spraying the dye on with an HVLP gun to get a nice even absorption. Sand your wood good with a 120. Then wipe it down with a fairly wet cloth. Let it dry completely and sand it again with a 220 before you stain or dye. Though I have applied this to pine with a phone brush and got really nice results.

Some liquid tints gloss over whether they are suitable for shellac. Perhaps they are with prepared shellacs, but I am working on an antique that's finished using alcohol soluble tinted shellac. That means starting with flake shellac dissolving it in Ethanol (usually denatured with Butanol and Isopropanol alcohols to preserve the Ethanol's quality as a solvent and not a beverage), and applying the shellac using brush or French rub methods. One of the beauties of this kind of alcohol based shellac is that it dissolves into an existing finish and saves you the hassles of blending in spot repairs -- but you need to get the shellac tint at least close to the right shade. When you are working with dark colors you also need a bit more tinting agent. The catch is that water based tints can also effect the alcohol solvent enough that freshly tinted shellac no longer smoothly dissolves into the existing shellac. In my case it's a 1940's dark red Mahogany on probably beech or birch veneer. The Transtint 6010 dark red mahogany I normally use has a bit too much red so I needed to tone down the red. Alas, my vial of Transtint 6008 Brown Mahogany dye was down to one drop -- if I was lucky. In the last minute I had to order this brown Mahogany stain to dampen the reddishness. Which brings me to an important point. Woodcraft Supply didn't wait the obligatory five days before shipping (the absence of that delay is the value added for only premium members). Instead, Woodcraft Supply promptly shipped the dye and, to my delight, it arrived within Washington DC within three days. Thank you, Woodcraft Supply (picture is of the dye on the Shellac mixing/tinting machine with the four poster bed back board project in the background).

Turned out well. Will be better after poly

This is a great woodworking dye. It dries quick, almost too quick, but if you make sure the wood surface stays moist, you're good. Make sure you are wearing gloves because if you make a mess, and need to wipe it up, you're hands will be stained.

Works as intended! Solid.

Top quality wood dye Versatile Guitar top quality Best colors

Good results

TransTint makes some pretty effective dyes. I use it on wood and it does the job well when mixed as directed and wood is prepped properly. However, the price is no longer justifiable as other equally good dyeing agents are available from Lee Valley and other places so I will no longer be using it for that reason. If cost is no barrier to you,then buy it as it works well.

Worked perfectly!