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Stains for Baskets
Walnut Stain:
- Place 20 to 25 green walnut
hulls in a cloth or nylon bag. The bag needs to be absorbent to permit the
hulls to soak. An old pillow case or old pair of stockings will do. Tie bag
tightly shut with a piece of rope. Place the bag with hulls in two quarts of
water. Let stand for one to two weeks. Or, you can simmer the hulls outdoors on
a gas grill for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. The stain can be stored in a tightly closed
container or frozen. The hulls can be frozen and used again. Walnut stain
will produce a brown color. Try using pecan hulls for a red/orange color. Or,
Sunflower hulls for gray.
- Another method to make
walnut stain is to put walnut hulls in household ammonia for about an hour,
strain and use. This method should be done in a
well ventilated room or outdoors. When the baskets dry, they smell fresh
and clean. You can add more ammonia to the used hulls several times
before all color is taken out of them. (1/2 cup ammonia to 1 gallon of
dye) You can add water if too dark
Tea Stain:
- Dissolve 7 tablespoons of
instant tea in 1 cup of boiling water. Pour, spray or spoon over basket.
- Mix 1 jar instant tea and 1
quart of clear ammonia. Additional ammonia can be added to lighten the stain.
This stain will not sour or go bad. Note: Because of the ammonia,
work outside with this mixture.
Water Based Wood Stain:
- For a custom color stain,
mix Minwax® Water-Based Wood Stain with a small amount of craft acrylic
paint. The amount and proportions depend on the basket size and color
depth desired. Test color and absorbency on scrap materials. Apply
to your basket with a foam brush and wipe any excess off. Let dry.
Your basket will have a rich even stain color and long lasting beauty.
Unused stain can be saved in a sealed jar.
Oil Wood Based Stain:
- Stain recipe: ¼
cup Minwax® (fruitwood), ¾ cup Paint Thinner (Turpentine or Mineral
Spirits), 2 T Linseed oil.
- Stain Recipe: ½ cup
Cherry wood Stain, 1 cup Golden Oak Minwax® wood Stain, 1 ½ cup paint thinner
(turpentine or mineral spirits) -- Mix all together in a glass jar. Apply
stain with a foam brush. The golden oak tones down the red of the cherry
stain.
- Stain Recipe: 1 part
wood stain to 2 parts mineral spirits. Brush on stain and wipe off any
excess. Reapply if a darker color is desired.
- A paint thinner is necessary
when using chemical stains. Used alone, oil based wood stains are too
thick and will be too dark. Dry reed is like a sponge and will absorb the
color rapidly. Dab up and down so that the color will run into the
crevices and cracks. Be sure to go over your basket visually so you won’t
miss any spots.
Stain Ideas:
- For an interesting look try
staining the handle much darker than the basket. Do this by staining the
handle first before inserting it in the basket, then stain the basket and
handle.
- A gray over stain gives the
basket a weathered look. This looks especially nice if you have some dyed
blue, green or mauve reed in it.
- For a washed look, try using
a small amount of acrylic water base paint and water for dipping or spraying on
the basket. When dry, the finished basket can be stained or sprayed with
Scott's Liquid Gold® Wood Cleaner & Preservative. Use a test piece of
reed to see the color and stain effects.
Miscellaneous Stains and
Finishes:
- For a lighter stain that is
more of an oak color, use one plug of any kind of chewing tobacco to one quart
of household ammonia. Strain mixture to remove tobacco before use. This method should be done in a well ventilated room or
outdoors.
- Scott's Liquid Gold® Wood
Cleaner & Preservative or Liquid Scott’s using a foam brush is especially
good to condition the reed in your basket or when a lot of dyed reed is
used. Make sure the basket is thoroughly dry before applying 2 thin coats
of Liquid Gold to your basket.
Tips
and Tricks listed on this page have been pasted from weaver to
weaver over the past years. MBG does NOT claim originality
but provides a
forum for sharing those deemed beneficial to new and experienced
weavers.
MBG welcomes the submission of additional tips and tricks.
Please send
your tips to
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