EFECTIVENESS OF SAPPAN WOOD DYE MICROPARTICLES IN THE DYEING OF CANDLENUT AND GMELINA WOOD WITH ALUM AND SODA ASH MORDANTING PRETREATMENT

The aesthetic appearance of wood, especially for handicrafts, is greatly influenced by color. Dyeing is an important method to improve the aesthetics of wood. This research focuses on the effectiveness of wood staining using natural dyes from sappan wood, which has the color-giving compound brazilin. However, natural colorants are often less effective due to their low affinity to wood. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effectiveness of micro-particles of sappan wood natural dye on candlenut wood and gmelina wood. The pretreatment given during the dyeing process is mordanting using alum and soda ash to improve color absorption and durability. The results showed that mordanting pretreatment with a combination of alum and soda ash (5 g/l: 5 g/l) provided optimal dye penetration depth in both types of wood. FTIR analysis confirmed the interaction between the colorants and the wood components. Candlenut wood showed deeper dye penetration than gmelina wood, which is thought to be due to differences in the anatomical structure of the wood.