Mix stain with water or alcohol????

[bluspwr]

I am wanting to stain a flamed/figured maple "top" purple and wasn't sure how exactly to best go about doing it.
I found some information on Transtint liquid dye/stain that looks promising, but I am not sure what the best medium is to use and how to go about doing it.
What ratio do you mix the dye? Do I need to treat the raw wood with a "base" before applying the dye?
Do I sand between coats?
What is the best clear coat to go on top after it is finished?
Etc.
Any thoughts or suggestions?

[AS193]

Alc will evaporate faster than the water, meaning you have to work very fast in order to avoid lap marks in the stain. The water will stay wet longer, allowing you to get an even coat of stain.

However, the water will raise the grain much more so than the alc, so you need to do all your finish sanding ahead of time, wet the wood with plain water(before you satin) and let it dry. After that, you can go over it one last time with a fine paper and remove the fuzz, and then stain.

[Mike9]

Water will give you a deeper stain than alcohol. Water soluble aniline dye will give you the strongest color. If you stain then sand back then stain again you will highlight the figure more. You'll have to fine sand after second staining so don't sand too hard - let the paper do the work. Any clear coat will work - nitro, acrylic, or urethane.

Are you going to tape off a natural binding? If so you can seal the side of the top so it doesn't absorb stain. Or stain then sand the sides and edge of the top back to contrast. Good luck with your project and don't forget to post pics.

[bluspwr]

Thanks for the suggestions

[Quarter]

Here is a video from FineWoodWorking.com that covers using water based dyes to do a burst that you may find helpful.
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/SkillsAndTechniques/SkillsAndTechniquesArticle.aspx?id=30182

[Bob V]

Transtint is a fantastic product. They are "metallized" dyes that are supposed to be more lightfast or resistant to fading compared to older types of alcohol soluble or water soluble dyes. Transtint can be diluted with alcohol or with water. Diluting it with alcohol yields what is sometimes prepackaged as an NGR (non grain raising, a misnomer) stains that are meant to be sprayed since they flash off so fast they're hard to wipe on without lap marks. I prefer Transtint diluted in water and wiped on. Sponge the wood with a wet rag first, let it dry, and lightly sand again by hand with 220 or 320 to eliminate the fuzz. For figured maple, I like to put on a coat of dye stain and when it dries, sand it back to eliminate all the stain except where it penetrated deeply into the swirling grain. Then apply another coat of stain, maybe a different color (yellow first, sand back, then amber) before sealing and topcoating. You can also put a few drops of transtint into most topcoats to get a translucent shader. If you want a burst, I would stain the ground first, seal it, and shoot a toner/shader coat of color mixed into a layer of lacquer for the red and brown bursts, then scrape back your bindings and topcoat it all with many many coats of clear.

take a look at Homestead Finishing for information and supplies, and Target Coatings for a water-based lacquer manufacturer's information.

[bluspwr]

Awesome video and great suggestions!
I think I am dangerous now.
Thanks again