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This is a 1979 Kazuo k. Yairi Leo-J10 (for sale on ebay right now...not from me

Has anyone here made a finish/stain schedule that yields a very vintage looking dark mild sunburst like the one in the pics other than 30 years of aging?

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Bro. Matthew A.
Oklahoma

definitely hand rubbed into the top .. thats why it has that uneven look vs a sprayed burst ... get some different strength brown stain/dye and have a go at a spare top ...

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

You could use transtint dyes, starting with tobacco (stain color) on the outside and moving to mahogany toward the center. Dissolve in water or alcohol. I'm pretty sure there's at least one video online demonstrating how to do a burst using transtint.

(edited) As Tony said...hand rubbed.

So, you just put on a rubber glove and wipe on the stain? Do you put anything like a couple of coats of shellac on first? I assume you rube more dark coats on the outer area and then do the same to the lighter stained area.

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Bro. Matthew A.
Oklahoma

I did one top that way using leather dye put into rubbing alcohol. I went straight into raw wood. It was quick and easy, sort of. It was very tricky to not let it get splotchy as you went. It dries very quickly so you need to blend it swiftly as you go. Also, it stains the bindings as well, requiring scraping afterward. At the time I thought it so hideous that I gave the guitar away in disgust. Now I see that guitar all the time on stage and I gotta say, with a little bit of practice it could look very nice...

Hey Matthew, I do a rubbed stain finish on some of my builds. I haven't done any that dark yet but one John How did caught my eye, kinda chocolate/tobacco brown. I use the TransTint dyes diluted with water, sand the top and rub a water wash coat, (just water on a piece of rag) on it a couple of times to raise the grain and then sand it back smooth, after you get it stained like you want you can't go back and sand without changing your stained surface. Then I rub on a light film of water so the stain doesn't grab too quick and rub in my lightest color, (with another piece of rag, usually old t-shirt) then go to a darker/different color and work it around the edges. Basically a rubbed in burst, going from lighter in the center to darker around the edges.

You can use water on a rag to blend your colors/tones, or rub areas to lighten, after it dries you can also sand areas that are too dark and try again. And more coats/darker tints to darken etc. You just have to play with it until you get something you like. After it dries you can rub on a shellac seal coat to protect it until finishing time.

Check out John How's website, he's a master of the rubbed vintage finish.

Nice to see another Okie on here,
Joe

Here's a vid about staining using the method Joe prescribes (athough the color isn't quite the same that you want ) it's a good way to control the finished stain effect as you can add more stain or lighten area's up with the water and you can blend the transition areas really nicely with hand rubbing.

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Nick Oliver

http://www.oliver-guitars.com