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Dyeing guitars?
http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=35334		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  Phillip Patton [ Thu Feb 09, 2012 12:07 pm ]
Post subject:  Dyeing guitars?
I'm about start building an all mahogany SJ, and I'd like to dye it. I'm using aniline dyes. My questions are:

How do you dye the wood without affecting the bindings/purflings/rosette?

Should the dye be used before or after using pore filler?

Thanks,
Author:  DannyV [ Thu Feb 09, 2012 12:25 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Dyeing guitars?
I think there are basically 2 ways to use dye. You can use it with alcohol or water to make a penetrating dye or stain. This will tend to enhance the grain in some wood. It does tend to have a bit of a muddy affect on others. I personally don't think there would be any benefit to using that technique on Mahogany and it doesn't tend to look great on spruce. The other way to use dye is add it to your first coats, shellac or lacquer, whatever you're using. I think most do it after they seal coat and or pore fill. This method will cover the grain. I think that's how most bursts are done. After you do your seal coats, mask off whatever you want to leave natural.

This is a maple guitar done with the former method.
Attachment:
phpu15Tn5PM.jpg


Good Luck,
Danny

Nice blades BTW Phillip
Author:  Phillip Patton [ Fri Feb 10, 2012 11:10 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Dyeing guitars?
Thanks for the input, guys. And that's a very pretty guitar, Danny!

I'm using alcohol based aniline dyes. Is that the same as metal acid matrix?

Do you use acetone to thin the epoxy and paint it on? Does lacquer adhere well to epoxy?
Author:  DannyV [ Fri Feb 10, 2012 9:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Dyeing guitars?
If you go to the tutorial section you will find a most excellent toot done by Todd Stock on epoxy pore filling. It's a great one to follow and then I suppose do your burst on top of that. You might want to do some testing with your dyes mixed with lacquer, but yes, lacquer does adhere to epoxy.
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