Not a tip, but looking for tips on this....

[CharlesDearing]

Has anyone ever made a grey stain?  I've had occasions where I wanted to use a grey stain (for a raccoon, some deer, some tree trunks and limbs).  Does anyone have a tip on how to make some...pictures would be nice too.  P.S.- It would most often be going on baltic birch ply

[julief]

Charles, make a wash with acrylic paint.  It will have the same effect as a stain but you will have more control over the coverage.

[CharlesDearing]

you mean like grey or black paint with lots of water?

[pddesertrat]

I do not know. but there is a gentleman over on the Family Woodworking forum that is an absolute master at restoring, finishing and probably one of the finest wildlife artists in the world.  I'll ask him, he is a great person.

[Rapid Roger]

You could try putting some steel wool in a jar with some vinegar in it. I'm not sure how long to leave it, it gets darker with age but, that is probably what you would want it to do to get various shades.
I also don't know how it works on Baltic birch ply either but, it works great on white oak! The tannins in oak cause it to turn BLACK!
May not work at all but, that is what I would try first...on some scrap of course. 

Rog

[pddesertrat]

Using "ebonizer:"of vinegar and steel wool works great on wood, will have different affect on different woods.  It's made by pouring some vinegar in a shallow pan and soaking some steel wool in it.  Leave the steel wool in it for a day or two until most of the steel wood dissolves.  Strain it into a jar.  You can brush it on the wood and let it sit to see what color it produces on the wood.  I just tried some I had mixed up on some BB, this is what I came up with.  My mix has been sitting in the shelf for a couple months and may have lost some of it's pa-zas but it did come out grayish. 

[spirithorse]

Hi, Charles,
Minwax and Olympic both make Gray Stains.
I have used a mixture of Minwax Ebony and Driftwood stains to adjust the color of gray that I wanted.
There was also a tip given that you can use an acrylic craft paint thinned down for a wash but, on Baltic Birch I would use a top coat first so that it doesn't raise the grain.
The project I used the Ebony and Driftwood on was Bruce Worthington's Big Horn Sheep but, I don't seem to have a photo of it on my computer.
If you think a photo of that would be useful, I can scan it and e-mail the image to you.
Good luck and God Bless! Spirithorse

[julief]

Yes Charles, a wash is a mixture of acrylic paint and water or alcohol.  If you are worried about raising the grain - use the alcohol.  I use the water and finish sand the project with brown paper.  I don't flood the project, I just apply the wash with a rag or brush and dab off the excess.  I've seen your stained tiger over at Alex's and with what you are doing, the water would work fine.  You don't have to kill yourself with the brown paper.  Just a light buffing usually does the trick without removing the stain.

[WynnD]

Transparent not opaque acrylic paint that you can find for airbrushing will allow the grain to show and can be tailored to the grey you want