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I finished my guitar with light shellac FP. and am reasonably happy with it. Except the I realize now I don't, (did once) the colour of natural walnut. So can I do some more FP with tint to get more orange (hey halloween's coming up), red tones?Can someone give me a starting point & what kind of tints with shellac?
Mike

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Mike McNerney

Hi Mike. go to this link at stewmac. these stain are really nice. and should as is mentioned on stewmac work for shellac.
Get several and mix them until you get the color your want.

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Finishing_supplies/Colors,_tints,_and_stains/ColorTone_Concentrated_Liquid_Stain.html

Lars

You can add any of the universal tints that Stew Mac sells. Alcohol soluble dyes work too, but some of these will change color (dramatically) if they ever come in contact with super glue. Not fun for the repairman. Applying the color evenly can be a challenge, but this is mostly a problem working on very pale woods. A German spruce top with the bridge already in place is particularly difficult. Because French polish is such a thin finish, things can get blotchy in a hurry if you do any sanding between applications (or if you do a final wet sand and buff).
Everyone has their own preferences, but to my eye, tinted shellac always looks "artificial". There are a variety of different colors available in natural shellac. My favorite for a deeply tinted finish is Siam seedlac. You can work directly from the real seedlac available from Mosers, and elsewhere, or you can use the "Siam seedlac flake shellac" offered by shellacfinishes.biz. Both of these have a deep translucent reddish brown color that tinting can't duplicate.
Good luck.

Walnut tends to redden as it ages and loses that greyish tone. I would suggest you wait a year before you do something rash like tint your FP. Not only will scratches through the tint be quite obvious and inevitable, but you will also slow way down the complexity of color walnut takes on as it ages.

I really dislike walnut when it's fresh but am quite fond of it as it oxidizes. Yoiu might find you feel the same way.