Go to most any "Arts & Crafts" or "Artist's Supply" store and get "dry pigments", available in a wide range of colors. These are ground to a very fine powder, and unless you work in a totally draft-free environment, a dust mask would be good to use. Mix the pigment(s) in thinner and stir/shake/agitate thoroughly, and then add the colored thinner to the clear dope. The Dry Pigments can be expensive, but a little goes a l-o-n-n-g way, so add sparingly. FWIW, these pigments also work well with epoxy and polyester resins.

When fuel-proofing engine/tank compartments, I always add a bit of tint to the epoxy so I can see missed spots or where I've overdone it. The color change is quite revealing. 1/8 teaspoon of pigment added to 1 ounce of epoxy is very noticeable!

I have also heard/read that Aniline Dyes will work to color clear dope, but I have not used them, and cannot make promises.

Ralph

I have used Alumilinte dye that is used for casting plastics. It is available at Hobby Lobby or google it as they do have a website. I used the orange on this plane and found it mixes with laquer thinner just fine. Then just add to clear dope. It is very intense and only requires a few drops. Don't even get it near anything you don't want dyed. I would recomend spraying it on and covering that with clear, and until you get several coats of clear on it do not sand. If you do break through the clear into the tinted dope it will get on everything and is hard to remove. This is a liquid dye, but in the bottle I got it was almost dried out. Just added thinner and it was fine.

Aniline dyes are the old standard for dope dyes from my old days.  They were available from FAI Model Supply as a partially pre-mixed liquid.   They used to be available in powder form, but not readily found today.  Mix as noted, dissolve in thinner.   To get a very even color, brush the dyed thinner directly to the wood before any other finish, then clear on top.   Just like staining, gives a really deep finish.   A couple of dyed dope coats on silk or tissue really makes a see-thru finish stand out.

One thing I noticed is that you can't use too much in the thinner.  It just won't dissolve if there's too much, just sort of congeals in the bottom, add thinner until it fully dissolves. 

The best solution for a "dyed silkspan look" has been shown by Ed Ruane and Mike Haverly. About 10% pigmented dope/clear dope gives a great look. Just spray it on right over the clear base. Much less likely to fade with exposure to sunlight, too. To me, this is the only way to go. I did free flight for a lot of years, and colored tissue always looks cool when new, but quickly fades to ugly.    Steve

Thanks for all the info. chaps. 
Sorry I didn't get back to you earlier, been away all week, and didn't have a laptop, or access to a PC.
What I want to do, is just tint the dope for a translucent effect, have any of you done this from the first coat??

Cheers  Neville

Tinting the wood before covering will accent the framing and make it show up better.  Just brush on some dyed thinner BEFORE any other finish.

I've never dyed the covering itself, but tinted dope the color of the covering will accent the colors.

GEORGE...Have you tried them? Can you let us know how they worked? I'm very interested! 

Scott,

I have not tried them. I was just answering Neville's request for sources. If I do try them I will come back and post.

George