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Hi All,

I'd like to stain my next mahogany guitar (neck, back & sides), and need some help. My Martin D18's mahogany back & sides are darker than any of the mahogany guitars I've made and the necks are WAY darker. Can't find much in the stores that looks right. Suggestions? Thanks!

Dave

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Dave -

Qualifier here.......... I don't build them, I just fix them....... but I've had decent luck matching Martin's stain with Deft products. I do not mix the stains prior to application, I use a base coat of walnut, let it dry completely, then use several very light coats of Red Mahogany until I get a match....... or at least close enough for me.

Sometimes application of Red Mahogany involves wiping a good bit of it off shortly after it goes on to get it right. Probably best to try it out on a few test pieces before you make a run on the guitar.

Good luck.

Jay

Personally I didn't use deft but I used minwax. The proper procedure is a brown mahogany first then red on top. The walnut stain should work pretty well. I will steer you away from Deft lacquer . There are additives in it , that are designed for furniture not a guitar. I used that on some of my first guitars and they all cracked in the finish. Products like Behlen , Mowhawk and MacFaddens are designed for guitars. They have higher solids content but to start you use what you gotta.
Martin finish schedule is stain seal fill seal then the lacquer process is 1 coat of lacquer per hour for 8 hours. let set 3 weeks to cure , level sand 3 coats of finish let cure wet sand buff and polish. The key is to build about .016 thick , then work this down to .006 to .008 . With lacquer it isn't what you put on as much as what you let on.
john hall

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

Ive been using the trans-tint liquid dyes a combination of red mahogany and dark brown.
I use a shot glass (hard rock cafe) fill up with alcohol to the bottom of the letters (about 1/2 a shot). Then put in 25 drops of red mahogany and 5 drops of dark mission brown. rub directly on the wood before finishing.
For necks ive used straight red mahogany 22 - 25 drops.
I'm still experimenting with color combinations, but I always fill the shot glass to the same amount and count the drops of tint so I can recreate my mixtures. I apply on scrap and write the number of drops/combination under the color sample, also once sprayed with laquer they "brighten" up.

Always check color in sunlight...

I was afraid to say i used minwax on musical instruments for some repairs and builds because i thought i would take some heat for that here. I have used quite a few minwax stains to achieve color matches on some old banjo instruments and mando's. I did a mando banjo with brown mohogany base then with a golden oak stain over it to achive the color i was going for. the golden oak looks great over mohogany by itself.

I dunno, I rather love minwax stain products...

I think special walnut mixed 1:1 with red mahogany gives a pretty nice effect...I find their stains to give a nice deep appearance, though in general I eschew the use of stains....of course since its an oil based penetrating stain one has to wait at least a day before applying any top coats over it....