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Got ready to mix some dye up with some transfast. Its alcohol or water soluble. I prefer the alcohol as it doesn't raise the grain (I already wet and sanded it though so not a problem).
Trouble is, I only have about a cup+ of denatured and that's enough to spray with. Went to the local hardware store and they were completely out and when they have it, a quart is eight bucks.
Can I use rubbing alcohol that seventy-five cents a pint or could I use the rubbing alcohol for clean up in a Critter spray rig?
Its a furr piece to the next store and the price will be about the same. My alternative is go with water but the alcohol goes on real well on mahogany. What to do. What to do.
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I hate to point this out but TransFast ¹ is water only do you mean TransTint? The term "rubbing alcohol" has become a general non-specific term for either isopropyl alcohol or ethyl alcohol (ethanol) rubbing-alcohol products. Either should work fine with TransTint. ¹ Read the label carefully as some things on the same shelf have Witch Hazel (Hamamelis virginiana et al) and I have no idea how that will affect TransTint.
homo homini lupus
"The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity." Yeats
Si vis pacem, para bellum
Quodcumque potest manus tua facere instaner opere Ecclesiastes
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Tint is what I'm using. I have quite a few of the trans-fast aniline powders but in this instance its trans-tint.
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I'm quite sure Jeff Jewitt says it's fine in his finishing book. I have never used isopropyl alcohol with TT but I have used lacquer thinner with it....and boy does it dry quickly when sprayed.
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The kind of alcohol (ethyl, methyl, or isopropyl) does not matter for your purpose. Rubbing alcohol is usually 70% alcohol in water, denatured alcohol is usually 99% +
Transtint dissolves in both water and alcohol so the % strength should not matter.
Rubbing alcohol may raise the grain a bit more that pure alcohol.
I recommend that you put a drop of your rubbing alcohol on a piece of white paper and let it dry. If you see or smell any residue on the paper then beware of the effect that the residue may have when you finish the piece.
Doug
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Rubbing alcohol must be 70%. DNA can have as little as 30% ethyl alcohol; the rest being stuff and methanol (much more toxic). Further the total alcohol can be less than 60%. More water and stuff. If you are looking for a bargain DO NOT use E85. It will work, probably, but it is far more: toxic, flammable and explosive than the alternatives. Do not go there!
BTW the best results I have seen with TransTint are using it in water.
BTW IMHO grain rising is bunk.
homo homini lupus
"The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity." Yeats
Si vis pacem, para bellum
Quodcumque potest manus tua facere instaner opere Ecclesiastes
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Just another comment: you don't need alcohol to clean your spray equipment. Household ammonia does a better job (absolutely destroys shellac), is faster, and cheaper. The only downside might be it can stain aluminum, but it doesn't seem to damage it...just a discoloration. One other comment, I don't concern myself about raised grain from water in dyes. After the first coat of film finish, you sand it smooth and your done. The finish locks the fibers and allows you easily smooth them out....then you move on to whatever is next. Try it on a piece of scrap, I think you'll like the results.
I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.
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According to the EPA "The denatured ethanol group standard covers solutions of more than 90 per cent ethanol that have been denatured to render them unsuitable for human consumption, and includes methylated spirits." (Methylated spirits is an old name for methyl alcohol.) Methyl, ethyl and isopropyl alcohol all have very similar solvent properties, volatility, etc.
The practical issue is not how much ethanol DNA contains but rather that rubbing alcohol is diluted with water (70% alcohol in water) and DNA is not, usually containing only a trace of water. E85 is motor fuel! and is a mixture of ethanol and gasoline. I agree that it is out of the question for this purpose since it represents a much higher danger of fire and could contain who knows what impurities/additives.
Doug
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Slight tangent, so please forgive me. Fred, your comment about not worrying about WB dye raising the grain, that it will be covered over by the first coat of finish, etc., works OK on close grain woods, but it can be a nightmare with open grain woods like white oak unless you finish sand to 325 grit or finer. I had a white oak project that I had sanded to my usual 180 grit. It had terrible raised grain, so much so that even 2 or 3 topcoats wasn't going to cover it. Rob Millard recommended I sand to at least 325 grit. What a difference.
John
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Well, we all have different experiences and wood itself is a huge variable in any statement like I made. Nothing in finishing is ever 100%. But most of my stuff is white oak, and that's the way I've always done it with no problems. Not saying that what you said can't/won't happen, just that it's never a given (nor is my suggestion). Anyway, on the dressers in the pic I used that dye routine, once I sealed it and smoothed the sealer (shellac) I applied a glaze (a darler color), then an alkyd resin varnish. I rolled them out into the sun for the pic to get better lighting. 
I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.
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