: I used to know a guy who tinted his varnish with coffee ... it
: worked quite well ... looked very nice.

: The problem with pigments ... either artists oils or dry powders
: ... is that their color is composed of a mixture of other
: pigments that have their own color. When you mix artists oils or
: dry powders into varnish ... you're making a translucent wash,
: not an opaque paint ... the different pigments separate and the
: constituent with the strongest color will determine the final
: color of the wash. As an example ... mixing earth toned artists
: oils into varnish yields a wash that tends heavily toward orange
: ... and that orange is VERY difficult to control. Complicating
: issues are the quality (purity) of the pigments, ratio control,
: the number of coats, settling (common with dry powders) etc. Ya
: also have to be careful in mixing two or more different colored
: pigments to get a wash because the mix will tend toward gray and
: dull depending on the pigments and the color you're going after
: ... and some mixes are very touchy in that small changes in
: pigment ratios can yield big changes in the final color of the
: wash.

: Ken Blanton

Yep, pretty easy to gross greens and icky browns too :)

Bill H.