Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi all!
i'm getting ready to finish an electric guitar with a curly redwood top.
my costumer is still debating about whether to leave it natural and finish it in transparent dark red.

now, i have finished and "brought out" the flame in maple tops but never on redwood.

my gut feeling tells me that it might get blotchy if i applied some sort of colored dye solution straight unto the bare wood.
and that tinting the lacquer might be a better idea.

any thoughts? tips?

thanks,
Udi.

maybe try something like this http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Finishing_s ... Stain.html

i have tested the tobcco stain in shellac, looked pretty good.

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Frank

One thing I've found that works well on woods that tend to be blotchy with stains, like cherry, is to put the dye into shellac then spray as many light coats of shellac needed to build up the color you want. Also gives you great control over the final color. As usual, test on scrap first.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

V,

I would say leave it alone.

You could use a darker pore filler - like West Systems,
or your could seal it with several coats of finish - then spray some light color over top. I fear that because the wood is to soft, you would have to be on you A game during staining to get good results.

It darkens up considerable under finish anyway

Stephen

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www.ziegenfussguitars.com

Yeah, just mix the dye into the first few coats of lacquer. No blotchies that way.