So the dyes arrived from America this week. They are ~15grams each, which makes 1-2 litres of dye. However, I didn’t have any scales which could measure tiny quantities, so I had to do the test mixes with guess work (and I got it wrong!). The dye looks very strong in the water, however it goes on a lot lighter, it then dries to a different colour again.
The bottom one is actually blue dye! It was far too weak and when combined with the yellow of the wood ended up not quite as I hoped. I’ll consider this a prewash, sand it back and then do another coat of a stronger solution.
The top is purple as a stronger solution. The dried colour is a lot more blue than the wet colour (which was a stronger purple). Against the wood grain has a big effect on the end colour. The purple dye has lots of little bits in it, I should of filtered it before applying it. I’ve picked up some coffee filter papers for the next go. I’m still struggling to get the dye into the grain. I’ll probably leave the purple one as it is and try applying the sealer over the top.
I need to hunt for some more bits of ash in the house and try a water based one with black, then colour, then sealer and tru-oil.