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C A Colorant/Dye

M

Mort

Joined
May 21, 2004
Messages
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Location
Downeast, Maine
It struck me that a way to add sparkle to pieces with small checks/cracks would be to use CA tinted with a color. Grapefruit develops hairline checks if sanded too hot as a for instance.

Trouble is I can't find anything on the internet that even mentions the colorant. Artist supply places don't have a clue. I did locate a website that showed a bottle of some kind of colorant that was being used to color CA. The owner of that website has not responded to my request(s) for a brand name or source. That particular colorant container read that it could be used to color shellac and lacquer as well as CA. Paint companies and shellac suppliers have not helped either.

Anybody out there that can help me???

Thanks
 
I've tried all sorts of ways to color epoxy but never CA. You can by a rubber toughened CA glue that is black. This works great for filling in cracks. I don't have the website in front of me but will look it up tonight when I get home.
 
I have and use the black CA. When I say color I meant red, green, blue, yellow etc.
 
Get a small bottle of the cheapest cya you can find and experiment with some of the powdered RIT dye you find at the grocery. I dunno if it would mix, but sounds worth a shot.
 
Thanks for the thoughts

Redfish - I will try the Rit. It is water soluable and I get the idea that CA is an alcohol type of compound. Some of the web sites I have found refer to CA as 'methyl' or 'ethyl' CA.

Norm - I do use epoxy colored with linseed oil based artist paints. Which works well for me. The epoxy is not thin enough to get into the hairline cracks that I am having to contend with in 'fruit' woods (Apple, orange, grapefruit so far).

For what it is worth in my quest I have emailed two or three companies that manufacture/sell CA - Loctite, Elmers, Starbond. No answers yet.
 
Thinned epoxy?

Mort, I was just reading on another forum where someone thinned down their epoxy with acetone. I had been having the same problems getting epoxy (colored or not) into small cracks. Don't have the need right at the moment, but I will give it a try when I do. Please report back any results (from any of the above tips) when you can.
 
Pack the crack with the dye powder of choice and then add very thin CA glue. If it is a wide crack put tape on the back side to hold the powder in place. You may want to fill wide cracks in layers. I like to put on a coat of finish to the surrounding wood before filling cracks to prevent dying the surface of the piece.

Dave Smith

A little cracked myself in Longview, WA.
 
Thinning Epoxy

Rick Prevett said:
Mort, I was just reading on another forum where someone thinned down their epoxy with acetone. I had been having the same problems getting epoxy (colored or not) into small cracks. Don't have the need right at the moment, but I will give it a try when I do. Please report back any results (from any of the above tips) when you can.
Click to expand...

Rick,

Somewhere it sticks in my mind that epoxy is thinned with up to 20% alcohol rather than acetone. I looked to confirm that, but couldn't. Before you "thin" a batch of resin with the wrong stuff, would be good to ask a real resin-guy of some sort.

Mark
 
You are right Mark, denatured alcohol is routinely used to thin epoxy. I was going to mention that but didn't want to be labeled as an alcohol pusher. Thinned epoxy works well for stiffening rotten wood because it soaks in well but it does cause the wood to have a yellow cast. I mix the epoxy then add some alcohol to get the consistency I want. It really doesn't take a lot of alcohol to make the epoxy very runny. Be aware that the thinned epoxy will shrink while curing and may need several applications to fill deep voids.

Dave Smith

Better living through chemistry in Longview, WA.
 
thin epoxy

"The Epoxy Book" written by System Three mentions thinning their epoxy by up to 10% with acetone or MEK (methyl ethyl ketone). I got a copy of the book years ago at Woodcraft for $0.01 (yes 1 cent). The price is a little higher now, but still reasonable. The book is also available in PDF format at System Three's web site System Three . You have to become a member to download the files, but membership is free.

System Three's Clear Coat (not Mirror Coat) is a much lower viscosity (thinner) epoxy and they seem to recommend it for applications where better penetration is needed. I know that Woodcraft carries the Clear Coat (bought some last month but haven't used it yet). I'm not sure who else carries it.

Hope that helps.

p.s. Had trouble posting this apparently because Dave was posting at the same time. Per Dave's comment, I've found that rubbing alcohol is the best solvent for removing un-cured epoxy. 😀
 
So many things can be used to color epoxy. Soot, graphite, toner ink from a copier cartridge, acrylic artiest paint, model airplane dope, etc. A very small amount of alcohol will thin the epoxy a lot. Likewise a very small amount of additive well be enough to provide the desired color. I have used Rit fabric dye however it does not dissolve well in the epoxy. The results is a grainy look. You can color ordinary backing power with food coloring and allow the power to dry out. Than pack the crack and apply thin CA. The power will wick up the CA.
I have also added airplane dope to thinset CA and it will harden but work quickly.

Have fun

Bob Edwards, San Antonio
 
maybe i'm running on 'slow' here...but can't the dry dye (alcohol or water based) be used dry to fill the voids, then THEN the CA glue applied? probably an expensive fill and not very healthy.

also, i've been using espresso grounds to fill small voids -- works very well with CA glue and the grounds have a sand-like consistency so the filled voids are very smooth once finished. you could definitely color the grounds to anything that goes with brown!

as far as using epoxy, i love West Systems for larger voids -- using their silver or black powders. the epoxy moves with the wood so you don't get any pull-away from the edges. the powders do have a problem in that they will bleed when sanding onto some woods.

i have a successful example using the West Systems with a large Valley Oak bowl that tore itself apart after rough-turning. I filled the large voids with graphite-dyed epoxy and finished turned the bowl when dry. The bowl spent some time in different galleries and shows, and was a popular piece. After 3 years that the bowl remained in great condition, I felt confident enough to sell it.
 
Smoking CA

In using CA to fill a void, the activator caused the CA to bubble and smoke. Am I using too much activator or am I using the wrong activator or too much glue?
 
activator

Don't use activator when trying to fill voids. It will almost always cause bubbling. Just use it without it and wait a little while before turning. If you turn too soon the CA under the surface is still liquid and will be thrown back at you when you cut into it.
 
unidave said:
In using CA to fill a void, the activator caused the CA to bubble and smoke. Am I using too much activator or am I using the wrong activator or too much glue?
Click to expand...
Some of that (I think) is based on humidity and temp, but also I have noticed the pump activators will bubble and turn white more often than the aerosol canned activator.
 
I did some experimenting using epoxy thinned with alcohol and tinted black with alcohol-soluble dye. As previously reported, a little alcohol really thins the consistency of the epoxy. I applied the mixture to samples of hickory, pine, and birch. I found that the black color bled considerably, even in the hickory. I believe this was due to the alcohol in the mixture. The alcohol also extended the curing time of the mixture to several hours. I repeated the experiment without using alcohol and found that the color did not bleed into the wood. It also appears that the dye may not have dissolved quite as well, but it wasn't bad. One suggestion that I have for adding color to epoxy is to mix it with the resin and allow time to get a good even color mixture before adding the hardener.

Bill
 
Just for interest I tried coloring CA glue with everything I had in the shop. None of it worked. Everything either didn't mix at all or made the CA harden instantly into a lump. There are many things you can pack a crack with and then apply CA to color the crack but so far nothing I've found will let you mix it in the CA to color it before use.
If you are getting white foam and smoke when you apply the accelorator use less or wait a minute or so before spraying. I try to stay away from it whenever I have any thickness involved because it's too easy to get a weak area or white foam. If I'm using it to stabilize punky wood then I do spray it on because I will be cutting the top surface off anyway.
 
Cyanoacrylates
Common name "Super Glue"

As you can see from this thread, all sorts of types available and all sorts of uses.

Bob Edwards, San Antonio
 
A lot of people fill the holes with crushed turquoise and then fill it with CA glue. This works well for small holes. For larger holes I prefer Clear Inlace with the plastic turquoise chunks.
 
Answer?

So Mort,

You go lots of good info on epoxy and its colorants, inlay materials, and sources, but did you ever find an answer to your original question about actually coloring CA? 😕
 
Mark Mandell said:
So Mort,

You go lots of good info on epoxy and its colorants, inlay materials, and sources, but did you ever find an answer to your original question about actually coloring CA? 😕
Click to expand...

Thanks to everyone for the posts

Mark - the short answer is No!!!!!

Krazy Glue - Elmer's brand name - makes for industrial applications CA in blue, red, yellow, black and white. Industrial means gallons and 5 gallon minimum purchase - no free samples. The sales folks at Elmers don't know the coloring agent and won't find out. Also tried a few PhD in chemistry web sites. No joy there either.

I did try Rit and some other alcohol based dyes - no joy :mad:

This blind hog has not found this particular acorn yet 😛
 
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