Black Ash Look...

[mgrabow]

Re: Black Ash Look...

some of the woodworking forums show several coats and the clear coat will darken it up. They also say to use some die as well. Some sites say india ink works very well.

[rogoll]

Re: Black Ash Look...

I find stains never come out black. I am going to try the steel wool and vinigar ebonizing trick...

MrkCrwly tried this, and while it was wet it looked really nice, but as it dried it lightened up and became pretty uneven. He ended up using Minwax Onyx to finish the project he was working on. However, I understand that a lot of the results depend upon the "chemistry", so maybe you'll have better luck. It's all a learning process, but forturnately we have this forum to share and learn from one another.

[mgrabow]

Re: Black Ash Look...

I find stains never come out black. I am going to try the steel wool and vinigar ebonizing trick...

[rogoll]

Re: Black Ash Look...

How do you use plywood w/o veneer and pull this off? Oak face w/ locking miters, roundover/bevel? I know oak is cheap as faced ply in <1/4". When you say black ash I think black sheen w/ an ash grain pattern. Is that what you mean?

Well, the Sony speakers I have from the big box store (BB) have a "Black Ash" finish. To me, it looks a lot like regular B-C plywood that is colored black. The texture and grain of the plywood look very similar to the Sony speakers. I figured I would just sand it lightly to smooth it out a little, but still leave enough texture to mimic the Black Ash of the Sony speakers. Then use the Minwax Onyx stain followed by either satin or semigloss poly.

Anyone see any major problems with this approach?

[Starkiller4299]

Re: Black Ash Look...

Minwax has a new classic black Polyshade color, I might try it on my oak veneer Singularities, if I don't do gray.

I have a love/hate with Polyshades...It was a pain to apply, as each coat barely added any color at all. As a result, I ended up doing 7-8 coats with the Mahogany variety to get to the color I wanted (that's a lot of brushes, not to mention stain!). Huge PITA for a non-gloss surface. Buuuut....It did come out damn sexy!

[djg]

Re: Black Ash Look...

Well, I just put a coat of Minwax Ebony stain over oak veneer ply on my Singularities. Still plenty of oak color and grain showing through. I like it, but it is not dark, dark black.

[relder]

Re: Black Ash Look...

How do you use plywood w/o veneer and pull this off? Oak face w/ locking miters, roundover/bevel? I know oak is cheap as faced ply in <1/4". When you say black ash I think black sheen w/ an ash grain pattern. Is that what you mean?

FWIW the "black ash" china cabinet I built for the wife was 3/4" oak ply (classic core) with a 3/4" solid oak face frame. Ply was joined together with 45deg miter joints with buiscuits for alignment (slightly tricky) followed by a couple coats of black paint, but not too much as you don't want to fill the grain too much since the open pore grain makes the finish. A speaker would be different, but I thought I'd throw that out there.

[gabel87]

Re: Black Ash Look...

How do you use plywood w/o veneer and pull this off? Oak face w/ locking miters, roundover/bevel? I know oak is cheap as faced ply in <1/4". When you say black ash I think black sheen w/ an ash grain pattern. Is that what you mean?

[bobbarkto]

Re: Black Ash Look...

You need tannic acid rich wood for this to work.
Veneers typically don't have enough acid to work well, sometimes, it depends. I've had mixed results doing it on veneer but never a problem on solid stock.

Oak and Walnut qualify as tannin rich.
Birch, Fir, Pine do not.
You can pre-treat the wood with a tannic solution and it will work and can give an incredibly transparent and incredibly dark, even black.
Stinks like h*** tho.

http://techtalk.parts-express.com/sh...d.php?t=223516

I wonder if multiple coats of vinegar / steel wool solution would be able to get you the effect you'd want. The link above goes to MrkCrwly's thread where he used it on some veneer with mixed results but I wonder what it would do on plywood. You might want to shoot him a PM to see what he thinks.

Take it easy
Jay

[MrkCrwly]

Re: Black Ash Look...

Yes, now that you mentioned it I remember him doing this. Unfortunately, later on down the thread he ended up changing things:
Unfortunately after it had dried it was not as uniform as I had hoped, nor was it as dark as my daughter wanted, so I put on a coat of Minwax Onyx oil based stain.

I already have some Minwaz Onyx on hand, so I will probably try going that route.

Thanks,
Leonard

Probably a wise choice. Commercial stains/dyes would be the safe choice.

[rogoll]

Re: Black Ash Look...

http://techtalk.parts-express.com/sh...d.php?t=223516

I wonder if multiple coats of vinegar / steel wool solution would be able to get you the effect you'd want. The link above goes to MrkCrwly's thread where he used it on some veneer with mixed results but I wonder what it would do on plywood. You might want to shoot him a PM to see what he thinks.

Take it easy
Jay

Yes, now that you mentioned it I remember him doing this. Unfortunately, later on down the thread he ended up changing things:
Unfortunately after it had dried it was not as uniform as I had hoped, nor was it as dark as my daughter wanted, so I put on a coat of Minwax Onyx oil based stain.

I already have some Minwaz Onyx on hand, so I will probably try going that route.

Thanks,
Leonard

[bobhowell]

Re: Black Ash Look...

I agree with this. Unless the grain is very high, paint will cover it unless the paint is thinned substantially and very light coats used. The only true black I have seen available is the transtint dye. Others have a bluish hue.

Cool thing is the transtint can also be used to tint nearly any finish, I have used it on shellac and lacquer recently with exceptional results. The transtint dyes are very potent and everyone I have heard from that used them loves the results.

Water or denatured alcohol with the dye is what you are looking for to get that nice grain look.

Transtint will give you unexpected results, so I use it dilute and sneak up on the desired color. Also, mix the colors. On figured wood use a dark color like black heavily and then sand MOST of it off. It will penetrate deeper into the figure, will remain there than the flat/normal grain. Then put a coat of red,brown, yellow, or what ever you want on. The dark in the grain will pop it out.

You can get transtint to go through a lot of finishes by using Alcohol as ths solvent. One of the danish oil finishes is sort of a half-way finish that alcohol will easily penetrate.

Get the wood the color you think you want.
Put on Danish oil finish and see what the final results will be.
If you don't like it adjust will transtint/alcohol.
If you like it put on a more lasting finish or just leave it.

[djg]

Re: Black Ash Look...

Minwax has a new classic black Polyshade color, I might try it on my oak veneer Singularities, if I don't do gray.

[Brewski]

Re: Black Ash Look...

http://techtalk.parts-express.com/showthread.php?t=223516

I wonder if multiple coats of vinegar / steel wool solution would be able to get you the effect you'd want. The link above goes to MrkCrwly's thread where he used it on some veneer with mixed results but I wonder what it would do on plywood. You might want to shoot him a PM to see what he thinks.

Take it easy
Jay

[lamski]

Re: Black Ash Look...

Put BLACK stain, or dye, on oak plywood and you will have your black ash look. Paint will fill in a lot of the grain. Water down black latex paint and you might be happy. Black TRANSTINT, a dye, I have used a lot and is the best produt I know of for the effect you want. Might have to use several coats.

I looked for black stain and never found it.

I agree with this. Unless the grain is very high, paint will cover it unless the paint is thinned substantially and very light coats used. The only true black I have seen available is the transtint dye. Others have a bluish hue.

Cool thing is the transtint can also be used to tint nearly any finish, I have used it on shellac and lacquer recently with exceptional results. The transtint dyes are very potent and everyone I have heard from that used them loves the results.

Water or denatured alcohol with the dye is what you are looking for to get that nice grain look.