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Hey all -

Building an OM with a light mahogany neck and grenadillo/spruce for back/sides and top. Grenadillo is somewhat rose-woody. i want to stain the neck a bit darker so it doesn't stand out as much, but can't stomach the thought of springing $17.50 for a little bottle of stain concentrate just to use a few drops.

Can anyone recommend something off the shelf I could use that would go on easily and be compatible with a nitro finish?

Bonus points if it can also be mixed with waterbase pore filler...

thanks,
adam

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"Everyone wants to BE something, but nobody wants to BECOME something" - William Cumpiano

Odds ar you would need a combination of more than on stain color to achive the tint you realy want. LMI has a good MEK baseddey at $6 a 2oz bottle. It is nasty stuff to work with so wear PPE. Stewmacs translucent stain is good stuff and safer than MEK based stain. Powered aniline dye is a bit cheaper but requires pre desolving.

Some people use that oxidizing stuff. I can't remember the chemical. It turns HOG to a nice dark brown. Or you could just seal it with some Brown Shellac.

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Waddy

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Do you mean vinegar with a steel wool pad dissolved in it? I have tried that with oak before and it dyes it almost black. Might be worth testing on a scrap to see...

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"Everyone wants to BE something, but nobody wants to BECOME something" - William Cumpiano

i think he is refering to potasiumcloride to oxidize the mahogany

From a thread I posted ages ago



In another place the filler is described as dark walnut grain filler

Never done this but will try an my next rosewood guitar

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Formerly JJH

I learn more from my mistakes than my successes

Potassium Dichromate. It does darken mahogany nicely.

where would i get that?

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"Everyone wants to BE something, but nobody wants to BECOME something" - William Cumpiano

You could get a small tube of raw umber in an artist oil and thin it down to whatever shade you want. Let it dry though for a couple days before you seal it with lacquer.

Jim McCarthy

I use Potassium Dichromate. Easy to change the dilution strength with water. The color is a bit reddish and if you want darker go over it again. Although I have never used it, I hear Potassium permagnate works well and is a bit more on the brown side. Both are oxidizers and both are nasty to work with, so wear good gloves and ventilation. The dichromate was given to me by a local builder and the permagnate is used to treat well water.

Good luck