Chris Pytlick: Dyed Woods
If you have never seen Chris's work you are missing some beautiful pieces of art. He calls his technique "desert varnish" after the stains that are found on the southern Utah desert sandstone formations.
Chris uses mostly soft woods like a soft maple, box elder and willow. After he has turned his vessel he likes to bleach it 2 to 3 times to be sure it is white so it will accept the dyes correctly. Box elder is the exception as this wood is usually very white to begin with.
He likes to turn his vessels to about ¼" or thinner. This lessens the chance of the piece cracking and it allows the dye to wick through better. He does not use water-based dyes as the pieces tend to crack more, but likes to use alcohol or acetone based dyes and they dry more quickly.
Chris has found that when pieces do crack, letting them sit for two-three days will see them come back together and not show through the dye.
Chris uses metal complex dyes, as they are more stable. He likes to buy dyes from Sherwin Williams and Transtint from Woodcraft.
He experiments with different colors from different suppliers until reaching the desired result. He makes use of syringes and little plastic pipettes from hobby shops to apply the dyes.
Chris showed us the process he uses to make his pieces. He starts the process by introducing the stain from the inside of the vessel or bowl letting it wick through to the outside. He rotates the vessel, adding color to the inside when necessary in order to bleed through to the outside. He repeats this process as needed until he gets the results that he is after. Sometimes he will resand a piece if the colors are not right or to create a different look.
He will also introduce different colors and let them work together to get different shades and colors.
To do the outside of the piece he will use straight dye without the acetone, usually the same colors as on the inside. He will put this around the opening at the top and let it drip down the piece, rotating it to get a particular visual effect.
Then he introduces acetone a drop at a time around the edges and lets it flow down the piece, controlling the darkness of the color by the amount of acetone.
When the colors are fresh they are at their brightest and give you an idea of what they will look like with a gloss finish, which seems to be the best finish for this work.
Chris may also introduce images, like petroglyphs, onto some of his pieces. This is done by cutting out images from clear plastic and placing them on the outside of the piece before they are dyed thereby limiting the amount of dye that soaks into the wood. The plastic is then removed before finishing with lacquer. This gives coloration of the piece a ghostly effect.
Chris uses a high build lacquer to finish his pieces. After five coats of the lacquer he sands with 320- or 400-grit sandpaper, then adds five more coats of lacquer. Next, he applies 600-grit wet automotive paper. Then he lets the finish sit for 3 weeks before buffing.
The Beal buffing system works very well as long as caution is exercised to prevent getting the finish too hot or buffing through the finish at the edges. He has also used this process with natural edge bowls—a very striking effect indeed!
Caution: Whenever using dyes, acetone or lacquer, work in a well ventilated area.