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Staining roof shingles an easy way?


anne1

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I am working on my first dollhouse. Is there an easy way to stain the shingles. I was wondering if putting them in a ziplock back with stain might be a good way to do it then laying them out on white paper to dry? Does this sound like a good idea or is there a better way?

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Hi Anne

I am just getting to the very same thing myself. I read that some members stained after they put the shingles on. I would have to really cover the house taping up all the exposed areas before I tried that.

The instructions for my RGT farm house said to put the shingles in a container to dye them. That sounds awful messy to me. I am a big chicken so I am going to leave my shingles natural and just seal them with acrylic sealer. Would love to know how others with more experience handle it.

Welcome to the forum :yes:

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There's a site called the Dollhouse Workshop and Builder's forum that shows you techniques when building a dollhouse. They have a great tutorial on how to dye shingles using a plastic milk gallon container, gloves, and cardboard. I've done it once on a dollhouse someone else was working on (offered to help with painting and staining), and it was through him that I learned of this technique. It's a bit messy and time consuming, but it offers great results.

http://gr123.powweb.com/Dollhouse%20Worksh...album&id=16

Am sure lots of folks here have other recommendations as well. :yes:

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I don't like to stain them once they are up because I have a tendency to create a mess...so, I have a large plastic pan about 8-10 inches wide and I use a pair of old tongs......from from kitchen that are now with my miniature tools...I grab a bunch of the shingles with the tongs, dip them into the stain in the container and lay them on paper towells that are placed over an old cookie sheet that I now use for my miniature projects. It works out well. I usually dry off the top with another paper towell and they are ready to glue. Have fun...........

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Another way is to use two tin foil pans. Punch lots of holes in the one that sits in the bottom one. The bottom one you put your stain in. Place your shingles in the holey pan and set it in the bottom pan with the stain. Lift up and the stain drains back into the bottom pan. Take them out and put on newspaper or waxed paper to dry.

Have fun whichever way you choose.

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I didn't want all that mess either, so I just covered my house completely with hefty bags taped to the eaves of the house:

gallery_3692_2556_14731.jpg

Then I got out my brush and brushed minwax stain on it. lots of speckles on the bags but not a one on the house and the finish was great!

gallery_3692_2556_51479.jpg

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I use a soft rag to apply the stain to the shingles while they're still in sheets. The two foil pan method was described in an old post on Small Stuff Digest and I always thought that was a good idea. I would spread them on waxed paper over newspapers, rather than white paper, so they won't stick.

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Your roof came out beautiful Sherry! You are a brave woman to stain after all that work on the house!

The RGT shingles come in a bag already cut and separated so it would take a year to stain them one by one.

I don't have that kind of patience! lol

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These are all great suggestions...I really like the one about staining while still in the sheet. ( The Orchid shingles come that way) I got a question...are there other things that can be used to dye the shingles? I have a couple bottles of Walnut ink...will this work?

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...are there other things that can be used to dye the shingles?
I have used latex paint diluted to a wash and I've read about using tinned wax-type shoe polish and Rit dye. Remember the properties of wood, it will absorb liquid. I would dilute the ink with isopropyl alcohol or mineral spirits to thin out the color, and by all means test whatever you use on scraps to get the finished look you want.
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I think I will go ahead and try to carefully glue them on the roof first and then stain them after that like shown. They are all individual shingle pieces, so that seems like a quicker way to try for me. I am a painter also so hopefully can do a neat job of it. Thank you for all the suggestions!

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I just wanted to quickly post that I used Danish Oil, purchased at Lowe's. I soaked them with a liberal amount in a bowl, and dried them on newspaper. It was fast, easy, and worked well. I used Liquid Nails (in a caulk gun) to attach. My kiddo is sick, so I'll formally intoduce myself later.post-4942-1260152840_thumb.jpg

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I have tried the two tins method and it didn't work well for me. Not sure what I was doing wrong. Instead I do use those disposable foil trails, pour in the stain into one and put the shingles in to dye, and then remove them, wipe them off with a cloth or paper towel, and place on newspaper or a paper bag to dry. It's messy and takes a while but I always end up doing it this way. I wear gloves and do it outdoors to keep from making too big of a mess.

My most recent shingling project was the puzzle house and I made my own shingles out of Greenleaf siding strips. That was easy because I could stain the strips, and then cut them into shingle-sized pieces. Same concept of dying the shingles when they're still in sheets, if your shingles come that way.

I would be nervous about staining after gluing. I make too much of a mess with glue.

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I put a bunch of singles into a bowl with stain, waited a few mintues and with gloves on I started taking them out, drying them off and laying them on a piece of newspaper to dry. I let them dry over night flipped them over and let the second side dry. I took 2 or 3 out of the bowl at a time.

post-2300-1260189101_thumb.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

Hi Roxxie,

I'm working on my first dollhouse, and just finished working with the shingles. I purchased #4 Brown Dye and dyed them rather than staining. It was very easy and not that messy at all. I used an old spaghetti sauce jar and mixed the dye, then used an old plastic sherbet container to hold them. I poured the dye over the shingles and let it sit until I had the desired color. Then I used a second sherbet container (to catch the dye) and a regular kitchen strainer (you know the kind, small, metal mesh..the kind you might strain tea with.) I strained the shingles over the second container (catching the dye for reuse) and spread the singles out on craft paper to dry. It was very easy. The dye instructions reccomended that I let them "steep" in a pile for at least an hour, and then "stir" them and spread them out over the paper. The shingles dried much quicker than I expected, with no warping and very little cleanup (just the craft paper). I also used the dye to darken my floors, both floors and shingles came out beautifully.

Hi Anne

I am just getting to the very same thing myself. I read that some members stained after they put the shingles on. I would have to really cover the house taping up all the exposed areas before I tried that.

The instructions for my RGT farm house said to put the shingles in a container to dye them. That sounds awful messy to me. I am a big chicken so I am going to leave my shingles natural and just seal them with acrylic sealer. Would love to know how others with more experience handle it.

Welcome to the forum :)

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  • 13 years later...
On 12/5/2009 at 6:16 PM, havanaholly said:

I use a soft rag to apply the stain to the shingles while they're still in sheets. The two foil pan method was described in an old post on Small Stuff Digest and I always thought that was a good idea. I would spread them on waxed paper over newspapers, rather than white paper, so they won't stick.

A lot of the sides remain unstained using this technique.

 

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