Official Luthiers Forum!

On the advise of Marshall Brune, I bought some Behlen water based pore filler. We used it during the french polish class and it worked great! He told me to dye it, but I never asked with what. I've tried the blacks that I have here - namely solurlux, transtint, and graphite. Unless I use a huge amount of dye, the result is gray, not black. When I use a huge amount, the stuff ends up so runny it doesn't fill the pours easily, and it seems to be dyeing the wood black, too. I'm guessing I should be using some kind of pigment rather than a stain. Recommendations?

Marshall recommended to me part numbers M370-2241 (black) and M370-2291 (mahogany brown) from Mohawk Finishing. The part number for the Behlen waterbased filler is M607-0046, which is for the natural color since they no longer make the black filler.

[quote=Marshall]When the fillers and pigments come, be sure to use very little amounts of the colors and to mix them VERY well. I would even reccomend adding the water to the filler before adding the pigments, just to help them mix in even better.[/quote]

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Jonathan Kendall, Siloam Springs AR

Try mixing a small amount instead of trying to dye the whole can of pore filler. Also use a dye not pigment. Make sure the dye is soluble in water.

Robbie, I am dyeing only a small amount. Just a few tablespoons.

Marshall, I've ordered the Mohawk dyes, thanks for sharing the information!

I use pigments called Universal Tint Colorants (UTCs) that are available from paint suppliers. It doesn't take much to get the filler the color you want, including black. They work in both oil-based and water-based paste wood pore filler.