Arrowsmith question

[n8vtxn1]

Has anybody ever tried thinning water base paint and using like a stain?

[Green]

I use water based air brush paints from Createx for stains. Don't thin it down...it'll take a couple of coats with most colors as it soaks into the wood. One coat....steel wool off the fuzzies an hour later, then recoat. The florescent colors (orange, yellow, lime) work very well. After two coats, you have brilliant color, but can still see the wood grain. Darker colors like blue, red, green will cover in one coat and it'll be hard to see the grain.
Good luck!

[Chunky]

I have thinned other paints, not water based for a transparent/stained look.

[n8vtxn1]

Thanks for the ideas. I like the to be able to see the grain through the color. Thanks again, Durk.

[n8vtxn1]

For others who may interested. I received a phone call from Mark Watts about this post. He's uses powdered die but instead of mixing with water he's mixed it with alcohol so his shafts won't soak up the moisture.

[Green]

It mostly depends on the colors that you're trying to achieve. Water based paints give you a wider variety of colors, including the fluorescents, and are available locally at Wally World or Hobby Lobby, etc. Dyes like RIT, Mixol, etc. mixed with Denatured Alcohol give you a more subtle, stain like color. Just depends on the look you're going for.