Tinted Varnish

[mdaspit]

Has anyone had any experience with custom tinting varnish?

[Kev43V]

no but I have tinted layers of lacquer and poly to make the differences in wood grain (stain absorption) not so obvious.
My father has used this method when staining desks, tables etc.
it is very helpful in getting a uniform color when the piece is built from lumber that while is the same species of wood it is not from the same tree(or even different part of the tree) due to different growth rates (size of wood cells)the wood does not except stain the same. so the stain has different shades and tones on the different pieces.
we put the stain on the first coat(s) of clear to darken the light areas to match the rest of the piece.
Keep in mind that stain applied to the clear will generally look darker than the same stain applied to the wood. The clear coat will "take" only so much. so usually if there is a large discrepancy in tone:
stain, clear coat, touch up problem areas, clear coat, retouch up problem areas. repeat until satisfied with color. put the number of coats of clear on top that you originally planed on.
PS use a q-tip or something similar to control your application at the edges of the differences.
I used this technique on a floor I refinished in an old home for a customer.
it had a mishmash of wood. Ash, Oak, riff sawn oak, quartersawn oak, flat sawn oak.(it had burr oak,red oak , white oak) along with the different cuts. they were very happy with the final result. they were very woried after the first application of stain. (thanks Dad glad you taught me that! )
is this the kind of info you are after? LOL I hope so after all this typing

[Kev43V]

Addendum:
when in doubt start with 2 coats of clear first! that gives you a little buffer to sand the stain out of the top coat of clear to start over if you miss on the color! (without getting clear down to the wood!) since the tone of a stain(applied) is a combination of the stain and the color of the wood. the same stain applied to the clear will not always be satisfactory.

[mdaspit]

Varnish

Thanks Kev.
This is what I want to accomplish... I bought a beautiful new Wagner built MJR, and I want to give it a bit deeper, glassier finish. At the same time I was wondering if I could give it a little more "color"... more like a mahogany, less like Okume.

I saw a beautiful runabout at Pineville, I think his name was Joe... from Florida, Yellow and wood...flawless he said he had a pro do it,
stained the wood, and sprayed on Clear Coat...beautiful. I want to do this myself, (could be a big mistake) but my boat is already epoxied, and with a few coats of varnish.

I dont want to spray it, sooo I'm looking for a way to
give a couple more coats of varnish, and hopefully have a "red-ish" tint to it to give a slightly different look than the standard Okume.

[Kev43V]

go for it!
But if it were me I would add several coats of clear on top of what is there so you have the option to sand and remove what you do on top. If you are not satisfied with the result (the fine scratches from sanding go way with a new coat of clear) or wet sand and then buff out
if I had no experience with this technique I would start "playing" on the bottom so the learning curve is not as obvious.
Besides different clears take the stain different also.
one of these days I am going to use coffee extracts to "stain" a boat
differant parts of the boat will be stained with different roasts
I hope it is not a falure LOL
Gene can I try this on one of "your" boats you built?

[Kev43V]

one other point use, high quality stains.

[mdaspit]

I think I will do my testing on the inside underneath my kneeling pad.....

I read on the Wooden Boat forum that you can add tinting pigment directly to the Varnish....slowly.

[Kev43V]

with what you are trying to do, That may very well be the best course of action, I do not know.
with the situations that I have needed to do this. it would not be a wise.
But remember I use this to correct problem areas in a larger piece. I have not tried to completely re-tint a piece (other than a complete board in a floor or a board in a table etc.)
if you go with the technique you mentioned. Keep in mind if you do do not get your clear applied rather evenly you may very well see a difference in amount of tint applied also. (more applied will be more tint)
It would probably be a great way to add fade to the end result.

[Dave M]

I tried It Once

There is a wood working catalog, can't think of the name... but at any rate, they sold pigments you could add to stains and clears. It was made by Boehr, pronounced Bear I think. I bought several pigments and one base. Results varied, but I had talked a lot to the tech folks and wanted to try and darken up the West System used. My samples turned out decent enough. West was great for this tech help. Boehr was the only stain that did not have oil base.

So do a search on that brand stain, I bet you might find what you are looking for. I think the catalog was simply called Woodworker.

[wagner-racing16-s]

I think the best thing to do befor even trying it on the boat itself would be just to get a scrap piece of okume plywood and just start going at it from there. Then when you get the results you when, start on the boat itself.

[Kev43V]

I think the best thing to do befor even trying it on the boat itself would be just to get a scrap piece of okume plywood and just start going at it from there. Then when you get the results you when, start on the boat itself.

As long as you do everything to the scrap piece, that was done to the boat. it is a good idea

[mdaspit]

Just did a test, and it worked out really well...I was afraid it would look fakey, but it looked good. I used glossy Spar Varnish and got some tinting pigment, red and raw umber. little dabs untill the right ratio of red to brown.

I may do the boat deck, but I do have other issues I should be dealing with right now...
Like how to become a decent driver.

[Dennis Crews]

Nothing wrong with looking good while you learn to go faster Mark. Besides that, I think you might be playing 'possum'. I have a feeling your a bit more capable on the water than you are letting on.

Dennis

[MN1]

Many times at work I use an ALCOHOL Soluble Dye.
You are supposed to spray it but many times I'm in a hurry and use a cloth. I can use the dye, then put the stain over it and follow with two coats of pre-cat lacquer and deliver the same day. This would be on cabinet projects but I would think the dye would work for boats too.
Mark N

[mdaspit]

I'm Sooo Slow....

I think you might be playing 'possum'. I have a feeling your a bit more capable on the water than you are letting on.

Dennis

No, no... I'm sooo slow..that the only reason to put an X on the back of my helmet is so that the drivers who are lapping me can see it.

I'm sooo slow...that the driver who slammed the door on me in turn #1,
was yo Momma...and in turn #2, yo Momma's Momma.

I'm soo slow...that Rick Wagner who built my boat wants to buy it back for more, so that I don't ruin his reputation.....