(03-29-2022, 08:09 PM)jteneyck Wrote: Do you have spray equipment?  If so, spray the dye on, just enough to wet the wood and not enough for any excess to accumulate and migrate or it will blotch.  If you don't have spray equipment, apply a coat of shellac to the bare wood.  Then add some dye to shellac, at low concentration, and brush on 2 or 3 light coats.  Brushing shellac isn't easy, be warned.  Practice on scrap.  

John

(03-30-2022, 05:26 PM)Bencuri Wrote: I am not an expert by far, but I think this pattern is not because of the colorant migrating. Some of the light sports were actually the sections where the water or alcohol survived the longest before evaporating. I noticed that until 180 grit, these blocks soak in the colorant quite well, so little surface unevenness doesn't affect the color that much, it seems to me these are the pores that soaks the dye in differently. On the other hand, I noticed, that when I sand to 180 grit, then wet the surface with water to raise the grain, then sand the hairs off with 220 grit paper, then repeat this raising the grain process 2 more times, I get a very smooth surface. In case I apply the dye for that surface, then comes the effect you talk about: the dye migration problems and differences due to how much dye was left in the bursh. Probably because at that smoothness the pores are unable to absorb the dye effectively, more of it remains on the surface and start causing the problems you mentioned. I guess that would be the situation when a spray gun was useful. Anyway, even if I apply the dye manually for that surface, I can see that the problems from the pore differences are gone, so I wondered what if I tried oil based stain to apply it manually, then I had time to spread it evenly, and wipe the excess, unlike with dye. This dye cures too fast, so on this mirror surface there is no chance to compensate the uneven brushing lines. This is what I observed.