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Hi folks, couple of quick questions for you concerning stains and dyes. First of all, I'm looking for a good color recommendation. My current build has EIR back and sides and a mahogany neck, fairly light in color. I want to darken the neck and wanted to know if someone could recommend a good color. Is there a standard for such?

Secondly, does the stain/dye go on over bare wood, before a shellac clear coat and pore filling? What's the general consensus on steps to finish a neck if one is using a stain/dye?

Thanks very much!

hesh, your reminder to keep a supply of any custom mixed stain/dyes is well given. i forgot to do so once, and had been in a hurry and failed to document my mix as well. i'll leave the description of my frustration at my carelessness unsaid. suffice it to say that it was not one of my better moments.

lesson learned. now i set aside at least a small portion of the mix, labeled with the date, the job it was used on, and the mix recipe. has saved me more than once.

Here is a mahogany / EIR I did with straight SM “tobacco brown” aniline dye directly on the bare neck wood, the body is natural.



I have no idea what the water / dye ratio is, I’m not good at keeping track of these things, but keep in mind that actual tone of the color is one factor; how wet your rag is when you wipe it on, how many times you wipe and so on will also affect things. One is tone, the other is saturation. Hesh’es advice about avoiding sand troughs is also very good, so make sure you have enough clear coats on before you start levelling and polishing. I find it almost impossible to make invisible repairs if I sand through the color coats, down to bare wood.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

[QUOTE=Arnt] Here is a mahogany / EIR I did with straight SM “tobacco brown” aniline dye directly on the bare neck wood, the body is natural.



I have no idea what the water / dye ratio is, I’m not good at keeping track of these things, but keep in mind that actual tone of the color is one factor; how wet your rag is when you wipe it on, how many times you wipe and so on will also affect things. One is tone, the other is saturation. Hesh’es advice about avoiding sand troughs is also very good, so make sure you have enough clear coats on before you start levelling and polishing. I find it almost impossible to make invisible repairs if I sand through the color coats, down to bare wood.

[/QUOTE]

Yep, that is exactly what I'm aiming for. Thanks very much!

Might I ask, what kind of bindings are on that guitar -- looks very nice!

The bindings are koa.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

BEAUTIFUL work Arnt !

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CRAIG LAWRENCE of AUSTRALIA
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