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I shot Dr.Bones`s 5 string Bass yesterday....
here are few shots of the process I went through. the Doctor, wanted to try a hand rubbed dye job, so I encouraged him to give it a shot.

here is what it ended up looking like... I have the sequence backwards, so start at the bottom and work up ^ sorry about that.

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Having fun building guitars

Looks cool Matt! It's always surprising to see what a little stain will do when you add something different. The craziest colors often create the most pleasant final color. I like it!!

Matt that is awesome!

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Matt bro cool paint job is an understatement but what about the VERY cool shape of this guitar - WOW!!!!

INCREDIBLE.....UNIQUE!!!! I like it!!!!

I agree. Totally cool.

Great stuff Matt! I'm increasingly convinced that's the way to go with high figure.
Can you explain your procedure with the dye (pre-moisten? ..saturate & wipe off excess?....)?

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Dave
Milton, ON

Excellent job Matt! That is some nice figure in that bass. How does Dr. Bones like the finish?

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Joe Breault
Merrimack, NH
Perpetual novice

Great Job, someone is going to love that bass. Doing an electric now and then is a great change of pace. These colors are incredible. Nearly time for some soap bars!

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http://www.dickeyguitars.com

Great work, Matt. You did such a good job keeping the blue and the mahogany (well, it looks like mahog in the neck) separate.
The color looks fine, but I'll second the question--does the good Dr. like it?

Steve

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From Nacogdoches...the oldest town in Texas.

http://www.stephenkinnaird.com

I like the blue, but not crazy about how it works with the natural wood tones. The shape is nice.

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Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/

Thanks guys, The doctor loves it...

to answer Daves question, we just mixed the dye in denatured alchohol, and wiped it onto the bare dry wood with a rag. the wood will absorb it`s maximum amount of color quickly and the dye will "pile up" on the surface so, we then wipe it off with a clean rag moistened with denatured alchohol.

we ended up with a nice baby blue, but we wanted darker so I switched to spraying the dye mixed with the gloss lacquer. I could have stayed with hand rubbing a darker color mix, but i feel like i have more controll over the shading when i spray it.

I`ll admit that the blue on natural wood is unusual, but it has grown on me and i like it... plus the Doctor likes it and thats all that matters.... the blue is doing a good job of hiding some spalted looking grain that was in the maple, on the top.... Natural would have looked like doo doo.

Matt

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Having fun building guitars

Thanks Matt.

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Dave
Milton, ON