Shellac on dyed cob

[Pelecabra]

I'm almost finished with a cool cob modification. I tried dying the rim red with fiebings leather pro dye, but it doesn't take very well, ends up much lighter/pastel looking. I was thinking that shellac would make it darker, so I tried putting on a thin layer, and it being suspended in alcohol just smeared the already pitiful dye around.

Any suggestions for how to get this shellac on without melting the rim dye, or how to make the rim look nicer? The dye and shellac took fine on the sides and bottom, not sure what's happening on the rim. Thanks!

 

[Briarcutter]

You may want to get a rag damp with alcohol and clean up the top and start over. If the cob is anything like wood, the end grain will take stain differently than the other section. Clean it up and stain it again. It may take more that one coat. Use a Q-tip to apply the stain then when you're satisfied with the color apply shellac.

 

[Pelecabra]

@Briarcutter Thanks for the reply. I did re-stain and instead of flooding with the pro dye, I used a rag with very little dye to dab it on with many many passes to prevent the alcohol from pulling dye back out. That worked to get the color a little darker, now its time to apply shellac, and i just have no reason to believe the shellac which is suspended in alcohol wont just dissolve and pull the dye out like it did last time and put me back at square one. I suppose ill try mixing dye with shellac and dabbing it on gently.

 

[Briarcutter]

@Briarcutter Thanks for the reply. I did re-stain and instead of flooding with the pro dye, I used a rag with very little dye to dab it on with many many passes to prevent the alcohol from pulling dye back out. That worked to get the color a little darker, now its time to apply shellac, and i just have no reason to believe the shellac which is suspended in alcohol wont just dissolve and pull the dye out like it did last time and put me back at square one. I suppose ill try mixing dye with shellac and dabbing it on gently.

It's a common practice to apply shellac over alcohol based stain. Brush it on quickly and don't fool around with it once its on. After it's dry you can sand it with 1500 grit or steel wool then polish it.