Coloring Grout and Thinset

I have been a big fan of coloring grout or thinset (for ungrouted mosaics) to enhance the design of a mosaic for as long as I can remember. I began with just a single, solid color that I thought would go best with the majority of the tesserae, but I began to want more from my grout. If you can match (which is a word I use loosely here) the color of each section, they become much more distinct. And there is also the ability to add shading by using different values of the same color in each section. I thought some of you readers who also make mosaics might be interested in this journey.

Some reasons for changing grout colorants over the years is that the supply chain has changed, I found better colorants, and recently I found that the better colorants have their own issues and can be difficult to find. So about a month ago I found myself searching for other options.

I first began by using powdered grout colorants that I purchased from a supplier (I think it was Maryland Mosaics, but they no longer carry these anyway).

The charcoal was the only one that I thought produced a color I was happy with. The others were just a little funky - colors that don't quite exist in nature. That's not necessarily a problem if you like them anyway, unless of course most of your subject matter is nature based.

I also tried ordering pre-colored grout from Home Depot in super rich, dark colors: Lipstick, Mallard Green, Midnight - you get the idea.  Problem #1 - you end up with a shit load of strong colored grout that will eventually harden and get gravelly. Problem #2 - for some reason, those uber-tinted grouts don't accept the water quickly like light colors. It's kind of like pouring milk on powdered sugar. It requires stirring for a very long time to get it to mix, and then you have about 2.5 seconds to stop mixing or you get a bizarre foamy texture.

I then discovered Tints All which I purchased from Maryland Mosaics in tubes. I wanted the smaller size in lots of colors to try them out - they do come in larger bottles. The colors are fantastic and nicely concentrated, and with the exception of a couple of the red shades, they won't fade and are appropriate for outdoor use.

My biggest problem with these is that the colorants in the tube separate so you have to massage the tube thoroughly to recombine it before using, and with time they become nearly solid and difficult to remove from the tube. As concentrated as they are, you use very little and the small tube would last a long time - if you could get the stuff out of it. I did purchase the larger bottle size of the black, and it seems thinner and I haven't had a problem with it. So maybe that's the answer - only use the bottles. However, two of the shades I use most were out of stock for a long time, so I needed another solution.

I ended up buying a few powdered pigments from Gamblin - these are artist quality pigments for people who are nerdy enough to make their own paint. (Sorry! no offense intended. I love nerds.) They are expensive, but they color grout and thinset beautifully! I really love the look of these.

I know that some of these colors won't have the lightfast qualities of the Tints All colorants, but for indoor use, that's not an issue. I will probably restock some of the Tints All in larger bottles for things I think I might use outdoors.

Anyone have another suggestion?