using alcohol to tie wood

[MattieGirl]

using alcohol to dye wood

One of the links from here about making toys said that one option for dying the wood was to use alcohol and that it is safe because the alcohol evaporates. Has anyone used this method? Is it really safe?

I used food coloring the first time and let them soak overnight and the colors were still so pale, not worth even taking the time to dye them.

Any other ideas?

 

[azdesertrhino]

We've used this process with no problems. We allow the died wood to sit for a week or so.

There have been some threads on here regarding the process.

 

[MattieGirl]

Thank you.

 

[Kalidasa]

Try beet and/or pomegranate juice, from the vegetable itself, it's really strong

 

[crimson]

Try beet and/or pomegranate juice, from the vegetable itself, it's really strong

that's what I was thinking of doing. the toys colours get so washed out after being cleaned.

I guess you could try blueberries for blue, beet/pomegranate for red, can you use oranges for orange?

what about yellow, any thing come to mind? I don't think lemons would cut it.

 

[Kalidasa]

Turmeric maybe? Turmeric is very healthy, I use it in her rice.

 

[Kalidasa]

How do you get the colors out? And where do you get indigo?

 

[azdesertrhino]

Something to think about, it seems I read this somewhere.

If "flavors" are used as a dye, there is a potential for the bird to ingest pieces of the wood causing health issues.

There are more knowledgeable bird owners on here than me so maybe they can expound on this possibility.

 

[triordan]

I use wilton's icing dye (no flavor) 1 cup boiling water and 3 cups of alcohol, just one dip and your are done, let them dry and you can use right away

 

[crimson]

Something to think about, it seems I read this somewhere.

If "flavors" are used as a dye, there is a potential for the bird to ingest pieces of the wood causing health issues.

There are more knowledgeable bird owners on here than me so maybe they can expound on this possibility.

that's what I was thinking, what if it smells good, then they will try and eat it.

 

[tortoisekeeper]

I use wilton's icing dye (no flavor) 1 cup boiling water and 3 cups of alcohol, just one dip and your are done, let them dry and you can use right away

How much of the wilton's icing dye do you use?

 

[Dacombe]

Why not just use natural food colouring? It's bright, comes in little bottles and it's supposedly okay for birds.