Colouring Wood Using Spirit Stains

Any timber is suitable, tight grained woods such as Yew, Laburnum and most fruit woods produce very interesting patterns.

Sand and prepare your work using abrasives and NyWeb pads for a silky smooth finish, then apply stain to the unsealed wood; the use of Safety Cloth is highly recommended as a safe and ideal way to achieve your desired effect.
Choose which colours you want to use to give the pattern/design you want, applying each colour to the specific area you want to stain.
There are no rules on the order of colour but going from dark to light shades works well. The stains will blend together on the wood if you overlap them.

Once dry (usually within a minute) apply a Sanding Sealer; Cellulose or Acrylic are best for this work, especially the aerosol versions.
Lightly sand back the sealer once it has dried.

Next apply the gloss coat suitable to the sealer you have used. 2-3 coats should give a high gloss finish. Acrylic Gloss Lacquer or Melamine Gloss Lacquer in aerosols will give excellent results.

When working on the lathe you can increase the sheen further by using Burnishing Cream once the lacquer has dried. For extra depth and lustre apply Friction Polish then finally another coat of Burnishing Cream.