Dying wood

Jumpingtadpoles · Apr 9, 2014

I'm trying to dye some wood blocks to use on Rico's toys, but they dye isn't taking.

I've used Wilson's gel food colouring and alcohol. I don't know why it's not taking. I have two jars. A red, and a teal. The red is light pink and the teal is very light, too.

MonicaMc · Apr 10, 2014

I don't know why the dye isn't holding.... but I have heard that VitaCritter dye is great for dying wood and rope.

Sorry I'm not of much help!

getwozzy · Apr 10, 2014

When I tried using the gel dye the coloring didn't mix very well- if you use the liquid food coloring it should work better

Jumpingtadpoles · Apr 12, 2014

They been soaking for days, and barely have any color, darn it. I will try regular food colouring next. I want to give him more toys. He NEVER plays with anything. I was so excited to see a piece of wood missing off of a toy made for small birds this week. The only thing he chews is a bridge I bought from bosleys.
Here I thought I'd be going through more toys then I could keep up with.

tlfisher · Apr 12, 2014

Just plain old food coloring mixed with a bit of water to cover the wood and soak til desired color worked for me. I love making toys

BirdyMomma · Apr 12, 2014

I've had great success with regular old food coloring & alcohol.

Where is the wood from. Could it be treated with something, or have a clear coat on it?

Mariahh0721 · Apr 12, 2014

Try using more of the dye also, when i was trying to dye pine i had to use a ton of the actual colorant to make it stay, if you add more you should be able to see a noticeable difference.

the red in mine took the best, but that was also the one i had most coloring in, i used what i had left in the bottle for the red

Jumpingtadpoles · Apr 13, 2014

Not treated, I got it from a lumber store

my wood looks pretty much like yours,Mariah. But I seen someone... I think birdymomma or maybe momtopercy dye wood that took amazing. I know she was using the stuff made for bird toys, but I tried to find some, and couldn't. Then I read Wilson's food dye worked just as well for someone, so I went that route...
The gel is supposed to more concentrated.
It was food colouring and alcohol :-/
I'm a little disappointed. I don't mind the plain toys, but I thought Rico would like brighter toys.

tlfisher · Apr 13, 2014

I just used water to dilute the food coloring and then soak the blocks over night and the next morning they were beautiful.

jenphilly · Apr 13, 2014

If you have a white bird, just be careful of misting them around the blocks.... Ivory had a blue block on the outside of her cage and when Victoria sprayed her, we noticed a blue streak down her chest. She had been swinging upside down from her hoops and had rubbed against the block. Thankfully she was still wet and I was able to get the blue off of her, but we joked we could start a new trend of tie dye cockatoos

MonicaMc · Apr 14, 2014

This is the stuff used for birds (and other pets - although I don't see where you can order it)
VitaCritter Info.

And I found a "how to" thread using food dyes....
http://www.parrotforums.com/do-yourself/40852-how-make-your-own-wood-dyes-tutorial.html

Dying wood

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