Tinting or coloring epoxy

[Beaverman]

OK Gents, did a search and found nothing here on the new forum, I have a stock repair to make in a darker brown walnut stock, have been looking for brown epoxy at all the usual places and even at 2 old school REAL hardware stores locally, cant find any,my question, have any of you clored or tinted modern clear epoxy to match stcok color and if so, what the process? Thanks, beav

[Loudy]

I use various dry pigments to get the color I'm trying to achieve.  Red iron oxide, yellow iron oxide, black iron oxide and burnt umber are the pigments I use mostly.  Unlike some dyes, these pigments provide permanent colors that don't fade.  I dry blend the pigments directly into the catalyzed epoxy.  I make up a couple trial mixes to make sure the color is right.  A little pigment goes a long way.  I got the pigments from a friend that works in the paint industry.  I'm not sure where you can get small quantities commercially?

Mark Loudenslager   

[Jim Filipski]

Brownell's Accra Glas "Gel" with the old Brownell's brown tint ( The new stuff sucks) Pretty much can tint any brown tone with patience.

[Rich]

You can try West Marine. Maybe the tints they have for gel coat can be used with epoxy as well as with polyester resin. The brownell's accuraglas used to come with brown and black tint.

[Bob Rearley]

Try an artist supply store for pigments.  I have used LMF stain to color Acra Gel with good success.
Bob

[jerrywh]

I use powdered tempra paint. Get brown and red, mix to suit. It doesn't take very much powder to color the epoxy. Too much makes it weak.  Brownells has some colors for epoxy also but never tried them. Slow epoxy work better than the quick kind.

[Lucky R A]

For years I have been using J.E. Moser's Fresco colors to tint epoxy.  They are available from WoodWorkers supply, and possibly other places.  These are powdered colors designed to mix in a solvent based medium.  The most useful color is Umber or Burnt Umber, followed by burnt Sienna (to give more red)  English Drop Black (for darkening)  If you need a slightly yellow cast try Golden Ochre.   A little goes a very long way.  I have used this with the 5 minute epoxy, two hour apoxy and Acra Glas.  If you are making a big repair that needs as much strength as possible, use the Acra Glas not the quick setting stuff.   

[Tim Crosby]

 I use a drop or two, it doesn't take much, of Fibing's oil based leather dye. I have never had a problem with it not sticking or not hardening. Then again I have only used it as a filler for small cracks or voids.

Tim C.

[Acer Saccharum]

If the gap or repair is large, make a mash of walnut fibers, soak them thoroughly in the epoxy, also put a touch of color in the epoxy, lay the fibers in parallel with the grain and clamp or bind with tape until set.

You can pre-stain the walnut fibers to match the existing stock.

[Long John]

You can purchase iron oxides from the chemical supply house your local high school uses for the chemistry class.  Ferrous oxide (FeO) is black.  Ferric oxide (Fe₂O₃) is reddish brown.  Ferrosoferric oxide (Fe₃O₄) is brown.  I don't remember the formula for the yellow iron oxide but I think it is a ferric oxide hydrate.

Best Regards,

John Cholin

[rick landes]

I repaired a walnut stock with 24 hour 2 part epoxy, then stained the dried stock with walnut LMF stain. The epoxy took a darker tint than the wood, but it really looked like a marble figure in the wood. My customer was thrilled with the result...

[Roger Fisher]

Yes, Brownells!

Just an idea (Chust an idea vonst) - If your gap is i.e. a long side the barrel tang or the lock mortise or some such area - a sliver of your stock wood epoxied in with coloured epoxy then worked back down works for me (too darn often in fact)

[HistoricalArmsMaker]

Here is two replies in one. First, there are two products out there you can use in epoxy based repair kits. One is AcraGlass in the margarine-like consistency, and the other is called Pro-Bed which is also same in workability. Both have a brown pigment supplied with them, but Acra Glass also includes a black pigment. If you need the pigment a little darker, add a TINY amount of black to it. It doesn't take much to darken it and I actually recommend you mix up, divide it and then add a little black and use the other to bring it to where you want the color to go. Takes a little practice, but you can even go so far as make it streaky to get grain. You can get either from MuzzleloaderBuildersSupply.com
Now for part two:  There is the old-world art of cold working called plannishing. You can use a small peening hammer and depending on whether you piece is thick or thin for which side to peen on, move the metal to the outside and re-file. This fills your gap. Thick steel, like the tang, peen with the flat end of the hammer along the outer edge, then dress up with a file. Original piece show the cold forging.
Susie

[t.caster]

I've had great success with artists oil paint for many years. It takes such a tiny smear to do the tinting that it has no affect on stickyness or hardness once cured. It has stood the test of time for me. It works the same as  Brownells Acra-glas tint. They don't say, but I think that's what they supply, or very close to it.

[George F.]

I ordered a set of colored dyes from Brownells. I just played with them till i thought I "got it"

[robert gene]

I went to the"Big ugly Store" and asked for a couple of squirts of their paint pigment. It has colored Accuglas fine and lasted for years. And it was free.

[jerrywh]

T Caster.
 I must confess that I only asuumed any oil based stain would weaken the Apoxy.  Probably a big mistake to asuume anything. I take your word for the fact that oil stains work and will try that myself next time along with the leather die. I am going to delete the part of my post about oil based stains. Since I never tried them.
   Jerry h,.

[Jim Filipski]

I may be dating myself but I have a bunch of the foil packs "Tiniting dyes" that brownells sold. Now when I opened a new bacth of Accra Glass "Gel" (green Box) it contains plastic tubes of brown & black and I don't like the brown it is too dead brown. The old foil packs brown color was a dark rich brown with redish hue. Didn't need anything else for AF maple stocks through out the gamut of walnuts. I can't get the new stuff to match anywhere as good as the old stuff ( which appears to be an oil pigment!) Glad I have a bunch of those packets left . Now I just wish I still had the old Accra Glas Gel formula stock piled. The new stuff has a terrible consistancy almost granular... the old formula was like firm butter

[boman]

  here's a source for mineral pigments I have used to tint epoxies, oil finishes, stains etc

    http://www.earthpigments.com/products/index.cfm?SubCat_Id=2&product_id=21

[T*O*F]

I must confess that I only asuumed any oil based stain would weaken the Apoxy.  Probably a big mistake to asuume anything.

Jerry,
What you assumed, I found to be true......contrary to what others have posted.  I've tried artist's oil paints, alcohol based stains, and powdered tempura water colors all turn the epoxy into rubber.  While they are OK for minor filling, they have no bond strength if used structurally.  One of the above (I forget which) in deep brown actually turned pink when it dried.  I have to fake it over with permanent magic marker before applying the finish.

[Dphariss]

OK Gents, did a search and found nothing here on the new forum, I have a stock repair to make in a darker brown walnut stock, have been looking for brown epoxy at all the usual places and even at 2 old school REAL hardware stores locally, cant find any,my question, have any of you clored or tinted modern clear epoxy to match stcok color and if so, what the process? Thanks, beav

Brownells sells an array of dyes for epoxies.

Dan

[Dphariss]

OK Gents, did a search and found nothing here on the new forum, I have a stock repair to make in a darker brown walnut stock, have been looking for brown epoxy at all the usual places and even at 2 old school REAL hardware stores locally, cant find any,my question, have any of you clored or tinted modern clear epoxy to match stcok color and if so, what the process? Thanks, beav

If you do gun work you need to at least have a Brownells catalog around some place.
I don't use it much anymore but they have things you seldom find anywhere else. When I start looking for something in gunsmithing  that is "uncommon" I pick up the Brownells catalog. Midway has gotten into gunsmithing supplies but they lack the experience Brownells has. They have been doing this for decades.
I could not get by without MSC and Brownells catalogs.

Dan
Dan

[t.caster]

What you assumed, I found to be true......contrary to what others have posted.  I've tried artist's oil paints, alcohol based stains, and powdered tempura water colors all turn the epoxy into rubber.  While they are OK for minor filling, they have no bond strength if used structurally. 

TOF, You admit they are Ok for minor filling, so don't dismiss them entirely. Thats all I have used them for. Have never a had a "structural" repair so I'm not sure what you mean , but I've not had a problem with bond strength or hardness for what I am doing.  Of course my oil paint tubes are at least 43 years old (got them in high school). Maybe todays oil paints are made different. And I don't know what brand of "epoxy" you are using.

[Beaverman]

Thanks for all the ideas and input gents, i posted this question on another site and got mostly the same ideas, one was interesting, using powder artists charcoal sticks, hmmmmm, I also did a little snooping around on the net and found these at Woodcraft, have any of you had any experience with this product?

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=5522

[T*O*F]

Tom,

TOF, You admit they are Ok for minor filling, so don't dismiss them entirely. Thats all I have used them for.

Didn't dismiss them...that's why I said OK for minor filling.  To me, that is a small nick in the wood or an inlay gap.

Have never a had a "structural" repair so I'm not sure what you mean , but I've not had a problem with bond strength or hardness for what I am doing.

 

He said he had to make a "stock repair" in a walnut stock.  That indicated to me that it was more than a small ginker in the wood and could be a large crack, split, etc.  Something where bond strength is needed for a permanent repair.

Of course my oil paint tubes are at least 43 years old (got them in high school). Maybe todays oil paints are made different.

I got mine back in the 70's, so I don't think they differ from yours much.

And I don't know what brand of "epoxy" you are using.

I've used epoxies by Duro, 3M, Acraglas, and the cheapo, clear 5 minute stuff.  My experience with the clear stuff is that it remains flexible even after it has reacted and adding anything to it just makes it more flexible.

As far as I know, only lacquer thinner is a suitable solvent for common epoxies.  Alcohol carried stains or oil based ones will mix with, but not dissolve in epoxy.  The alcohol must evaporate from the mix to leave its dye behind.  Oil based ones will contain trapped oil.  Neither of these is desireable for strength.

Bondo is merely epoxy resin with talcum powder mixed into it.  It remains relatively flexible and soft because of this.  Many use the tempura powders in the same manner and it works well if you can get the color you want without using a lot.  This is possible with black, but the brown's are a b..tch to get dark enough and the more you add, the softer the result.

I pretty much use Acraglas these days for most things.  For filling things like knotholes and such, I made pitch glue by heating pine pitch to drive off the volatiles and then mixing powdered charcoal into it.  Less frequently, I use shellac sticks in conjuction with a heated pallet knife to fill things.  Both are period and permanent and require being melted before application.  I would use these instead of epoxy for restorations.

Every time a thread like this gets started people are quick to rush in to provide a solution before the real problem is known.  Perhaps asking questions before providing solutions would be more apropos.  However, human nature being what it is, people rush in to tell how THEY do it regardless of what is being done.  There seems to be a lack of problem solving skills developed because it is much easier to just log on and ask a question rather than experiment and figure out how to do something yourself.