Dark Vintage Maple TransTint® Dye

Works well. I use this on cherry to bring out the grain with a deep hint of red. Looks so much better than the usual coat of stain. The dye is absorbed into the wood so the color is deeper. I was first taught about using dye by a master cabinet maker 50 years ago. Applies easily, be cautious about the fumes of the alcohol used as the carrier. Dries quickly.

Great for dyeing walnut sapwood to match the heartwood. They will still look slightly different but it’s very subtle and much better than the natural contrast.

The best method for wood coloring. It's super concentrated so only a couple drops is sufficient to dye most DIY projects. Store bought off yhe shelf stain is for armatures. Once you realize the possibilities of transtint, you'll never buy a can of stain again

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).

This stuff is expensive because it works! I had a damaged headstock on a warmoth guitar that had their satin vintage tint nitro finish. I had to sand the face of the headstock down to the maple. I was able to dilute a few drops of amber trans tint in rubbing alcohol and stain the wood to a perfect match. After that I clear coated over it with shellac. Now you can’t tell anything was ever altered. Just buy it!

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.