Traditional Victorian / Edwardian wood dye powder 50g

Cost effective wood dye - Dissolves in tap water

Non-toxic & Odourless

Adjust colour easily by changing the ratio of powder to water. 

Colour range - straw to almost black.

The image of wood with the bagged crystals was achieved using 15g of crystals to 250g of warm water - use less crystals for a lighter colour and more for a deeper colour. 

This dye is commonly used by Cabinetmakers, Antique restorers and for making reproduction furniture; now re discovered by Carpenters, Joiners and builders and extensively used on new floorboards, doors and staircases.

 In recent years the real benefits of Walnut Crystal wood dye has been re discovered, apart from being traditional, the crystals are totally natural, non toxic (made from Walnut husks) and because you mix it with water, there are no toxic solvents or fumes to worry about, which is great especially if you have children around, and it makes a very cost effective wood dye! The finished colour is not an exact science, because wood is a natural product and the colour of wood will always vary, but as a rough guide the building & restoration trade commonly add about 25g of this dye powder to 5 Litres of warm water to tone down the colour of new pine to make it look like the traditional Victorian Pitch Pine that was commonly used in all houses built before WW2.

Just for information, I am often asked the question, what is the difference between Pine and Pitch Pine? As I have always understood it "Technically" Pine and Pitch Pine come from basically from the type of tree. Pitch Pine got its name because the natural resin in the wood was used to make Pitch, hence Pine was traditionally called Pitch Pine. The actual difference between Pine and Pitch Pine is that the trees from which Pitch Pine was cut were allowed to grow slower and to their full size and then dried, whereas the Pine sold today is grown quicker and is harvested before the tree has reached full size and then kiln dried. Therefore the slower grown, larger and older tree had more natural resin that made it slightly darker in colour.

Cabinetmakers Walnut Crystal Wood dye is a trade secret, but it's one of the most widely used wood stains by the Antiques trade and by high class reproduction furniture makers, commonly used to colour Oak, Mahogany and Walnut, but it is equally suitable for use on Pine and other softwoods.

This dye is used to make the traditional wood stain colours used on Victorian & Edwardian period furniture, doors, architectural features and reproduction furniture. These Cabinetmakers Walnut Crystals are very light fast so they are also a good choice to stain your front door.

Walnut Crystals are very easy to use and can produce a wood dye colour that can range from a very light to dark brown, to almost Black (Jacobean / Tudor style) the colour shade is altered by simply changing the amount of Walnut Crystals added to the water - the image of wood with the bagged crystals was achieved using 15g of crystals to 250g of warm water - use less crystals for a lighter colour and more for an even deeper colour. The dye can also be made with cold water, simply put the crystals in a jar of water and leave it overnight, give the mixture the occasional stir or shake and it’s ready to use. The dye can be applied with either a brush, sponge, cloth or with a spray gun. Once applied, the dye will be touch dry in about 40 minutes, but allow to dry for a minimum of 4 hours (ideally 12 hours) before final finishing / wax polishing.

Dye Coverage: This will depend on the absorbency of the wood and density of the dye colour required, but as a rough guide 25 grams of Walnut Crystals will make approx 250ml of dye and this will cover an area between 2 - 4 square metres (approx). Also, if you want to make new pine look like Pitch Pine then use 25g of Walnut crystals to 5 litres of water, apply to the wood and leave it overnight to dry.

Quick trade repair tip: Use these Cabinetmaker’s Walnut Crystals to repair holes and cracks in furniture by mixing the crystals with an epoxy resin (Araldite) Epoxy resin is not included in this sale!

How to apply wood dye

Put some wood dye in a clean glass jar, ceramic dish or takeaway foil container. Whilst you can apply dyes with brushes or foam pads, I find the best method is to use a lint-free, clean cotton rag, fold the rag into a pad and dip the pad into the dye and wring out any excess dye. A lint- free cotton rag pad gives a better more even finish and does not leave brush marks, is more controllable, less messy and is a faster method than brushing. It’s a good idea to wear gloves to avoid staining your hands. We have cotton rags listed in our Ebay Shop. 

This product is posted to all locations with Royal Mail. Courier delivery is only available to mainland England and Wales 

Endless Green Group Ltd is an established family business, registered in England & Wales No 7836553.  We offer a range of products at competitive prices, combined with a fast and friendly service. Buy with confidence; check out our excellent customer feedback. A VAT invoice is available on request – please message us at time of purchase.