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Question

What chemical is used to stabilize berry juices used as wood stains?

Aim & tries

I am trying to make a stain for a snowboard design and coloration of the wood. I used pure pokeberry juice, but almost all of the color vanished after sending through the heat compressor. Now I need to find a way to stabilize the berry substance and I am unsure of where to start.

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  • $\begingroup$ If someone could please comment and help me out I would highly appreciate it. I tried to ask my Chemistry teacher in high school but she would not help me due to her "not having time to delve into my question". So if anyone has anything helpful, please share it with me. $\endgroup$
    – Beth Wagner
    Commented Dec 7, 2016 at 21:20

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You're looking for a mordant or fixative, such as potassium alum, $\ce{KAl(SO4)2·12H2O}$.

Though I do not know how well this will work on wood, mordants are often used on textiles. Check for cotton and linen mordants in particular, since they are cellulosic material, like wood (though wood also has lignin, which may inhibit uptake of the stain).

You might ask your teacher if she thought you are too young to dye.

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  • $\begingroup$ I will ask her. And thank you this is very helpful and I plan to run as many tests as possible with as many different solutions as possible. Your comment is appreciated. $\endgroup$
    – Beth Wagner
    Commented Dec 8, 2016 at 4:17

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