Stain or Dye?

[hillmarket]

Just finished stripping white paint from my Pine door liners in advance of having new Oak Architraves fitted on some doors and Pine Architraves on others.Question is, is it best to Stain the liners or to Dye them?What in any case is the difference? Not sure if this should be on this Forum or the Decorating one!

 

[JohnD]

A stain us usually understood to mean a sort of tinted varnish with a colour to it

A wood dye is like ink, and it soaks into the surface leaving a colour, but has no protective layer. It is just colour dissolved in solvent.

In my opinion, you get a better result by using a dye on the bare wood, and a farly colourless finish. If you use a Stain finish, then where you have brushed it thin, it will be paler than where the coating is thick.

BTW new door liners might cost about £25-£30 each, and less trouble than stripping and sanding your old ones.

 

[hillmarket]

very kind of you to reply John d and your words of advice are appreaciated.Was going to replace the liners as the cost was not the issue-just the amount of work & disruption-all stripped now anyway so hard work behind me-now to the dye finish.

 

[foxhole]

Note dye only works with bare timber any traces of paint will not take a dye.

 

[hillmarket]

Thanks for your input Foxhole-I sort of deduced that and ensured all traces of the old paint has been very definately removed.-quite unexpectly nice grain revealed after my serious sanding.Thanks again.

 

[foxhole]

If you intend to oil after, the dye can be added to danish oil and applied in one go, also has advantage of giving even finish as dye cannot concentrate on any area , dye alone needs more care to get even finish.

 

[hillmarket]

Thanks again Foxhole,I was indeed thinking of oiling after the dye process.what would be the best ratio dye to oil?I was thinking of trying on a small area some Osmo Wax Oil-would that mix satisfactorly or is it better to stick with just the straight Danish Oil?

Rgds,

H'market