Coloring/Staining Pens

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Most of the really fancy pens are dyed and stabilized blanks. I really like the pen stand you have.

So other than the dyed and stabilized blanks, I have had some fun with alcohol inks. They stain the surface but allow the grain to show through nicely. The problem is you have to lock the ink in before putting CA glue on for the finish.

You could use the gel you have, and once it's dry, add a CA glue finish and then polish it to a high gloss. If you want to make them really shine, get micro mesh pads and wet sand the clear coat up to at least 1000 grit. The higher you go, the glassier it looks.

But that red pen does look pretty sweet. I think it stands out because it's not super glossy. Welcome to the addiction.

Alcohol ink/dye is the way to go.Most of my pieces are decorative so an oil ( which can take the dye off) then a wax keep mine pieces stable but for a pen I'd say a sanding sealer then a coat of poly will stop the colour bleeding.

You can dilute or use as is, start light shades and blend in darker colours or stain black or a dark shade then sand back and add colours, blend or a lot of other effects.

Here are a few I've done https://www.reddit.com/r/turning/s/qAlKk18fJS

https://www.reddit.com/r/turning/s/zBJZ0KUqoh

https://www.reddit.com/r/turning/s/XWMPtbV9UF

https://www.reddit.com/r/turning/s/u0cR0QjynE

https://www.reddit.com/r/turning/s/MipG2gSsll