# Making my own wood mulch colorant



## concretemasonry (Oct 10, 2006)

Have you tried without the "binder"?

Good fine synthetic red iron oxide (99%+ pure) is a very strong pigment and durable, since ultraviolet light and moisture do not affect it. It is not cheap, but a little goes a long way. Natural oxides are cheaper, not as strong or durable and contain some impurities. The good oxides are not cheap, and harder to get unless you deal in very large amounts (over 10 tons). - Same pigments are used in some magnetic tapes and in some paints. Playing with them is like playing with colored dynamite, so you have to be very accurate

We used synthetic oxides (red, yellow and some tans/browns) to color concrete products. After a week or two of production our employees would throw away every bit of clothes they wore to work and hope the pigment would wear off the skin in a few weeks. That is not the same pigment that is sold to tint mortar.

I suspect the problem is getting the wood dry enough to absorb the pigment because the pigment is too permanent to fade.

Dick


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