Hi! am looking for sdvice as to what to use or not to use for colouring wooden CBG parts. I caught the one with the vinager/iron on oak, which turned out great, but am aiming to colour up some of the cedar boxes and maple/ash necks into something interesting to look at.
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Here is my red neck reso on which I used Aniline dye to get the color as mentioned above.
The neck is maple with a oak strip, with ash fretboard and fender guitar pick fret markers, purple of course. You can see I have not screwed in the string machines yet as I wanted to have a go at how it sounds first, sounds great, got that whiney reso sound.
Anyways I thought I would put up a photo of the Aniline dye, this is a quick job and with better wood and technique it can produces some spectacular results. The dye has a first coat of shellac on it.
Here is my red neck reso on which I used Aniline dye to get the color as mentioned above.
The neck is maple with a oak strip, with ash fretboard and fender guitar pick fret markers, purple of course. You can see I have not screwed in the string machines yet as I wanted to have a go at how it sounds first, sounds great, got that whiney reso sound.
Anyways I thought I would put up a photo of the Aniline dye, this is a quick job and with better wood and technique it can produces some spectacular results. The dye has a first coat of shellac on it.
Aniline dye is usually what is used to color those fancy quilt and flame maple top woods on expensive electric guitars. Aniline dye comes in a water based and a alcohol or solvent based formulation. I've stained and painted many guitars with figured maple tops and here is my advice: Wear rubber gloves when mixing it and applying this type of dye. I would mix the aniline dye in water or alcohol/solvent per instructions on the aniline stain packaging and then pour that into a paper paint strainer (the type you get when buying automotive paint at the local auto body supply) with some cheese cloth placed in the bottom of it to filter out any large particles of the dye that do not dissolve which would end up on your wood ruining the color. Filtering it through a coffee filter should work also and that is a good cheap solution.
Wiping aniline stain directly onto the wood does present a problem due to the end grain of the wood will soak up more of the stain and look much darker. Many guitar builders do wipe the stain directly onto the wood though. I have sprayed the dye on the wood using a paint gun and this produces another problem in that it will leave a powder film on the wood which you must wipe off before painting the wood. Spraying the dye on the wood does solve the problem of the end grain soaking up more of the stain. Many guitar manufacturers mix it in the paint and spray it on over a guitar with sealer already applied to it. I have done all of this type of work.
I have used food coloring on wood also which does work! Very safe, cheap and easy to get. Food coloring will fade if left in direct sunlight for two to three months, but it will last if kept out of the sun. Food coloring is definitely not as permanent of a dye as aniline stain when it comes to fading under sunlight.
Coffee was used to stain wood a long time ago. You can think out of the box and get creative with this.
Have been reading up on the subject, and apparently there is a high probability that natural food colourings will be affected by uv light, as in turn pale without extra treatment...
Wow! those are really beautiful! Does the color hold up with time?
ChickenboneJohn said:
I use quick dry floor varnish (water based, satin or matt finish) with a bit of food coloring added...quick, cheap and lo-tech..looks quite nice too in my opinion.
I put a bit of golden oak oil stain over it all after it is sanded for a bit of sheen and aging. Otherwise the newly exposed wood under the paint is a bit glaring. I bet you could use a darker stain with good results, too. I buffed it down with a clean cloth after about 10 min so the finish was nice and clean and very little dry time, if any.
Diydc said:
Thanks Diane, that is a great tip I will try out at the next given opportunity. Suppose it would also work to create a sunburst effect on a body too. Just goes to show how simply some things can be done. Is a clear varnish worth trying out on top of rubbed in acrlyic , or would that not work at all?
Sorry, but I`m not much of a chemist at all....
Diane in Chicago said:
I use just the tiniest bit of acrylic paint on a barely damp rag over a finger and rub it into the wood. If you put on too much, a clean damp rag takes it back off a bit. I'd be careful of thinning it with water - it will raise your grain on the wood, and surely sog up any paper labels. After it is very dry, sand it back down if you want that lived-in feeling.
Diane, Another winner.... my supply of "craft enamel" has dried up, so it looks like there's some acrylic in my future... I need to get back to painting some folk art tops... I really enjoyed them and they sell well.... the best, Sam
Diane in Chicago said:
I use just the tiniest bit of acrylic paint on a barely damp rag over a finger and rub it into the wood. If you put on too much, a clean damp rag takes it back off a bit. I'd be careful of thinning it with water - it will raise your grain on the wood, and surely sog up any paper labels. After it is very dry, sand it back down if you want that lived-in feeling. Looks like this:
I use quick dry floor varnish (water based, satin or matt finish) with a bit of food coloring added...quick, cheap and lo-tech..looks quite nice too in my opinion.
Replies
Ron
Your guitar looks awesome. Love that resonator and I actually prefer the flat non glossy finish on GBG's. Has that vintage look I like.
Mungo Park said:
Here is my red neck reso on which I used Aniline dye to get the color as mentioned above.
The neck is maple with a oak strip, with ash fretboard and fender guitar pick fret markers, purple of course. You can see I have not screwed in the string machines yet as I wanted to have a go at how it sounds first, sounds great, got that whiney reso sound.
Anyways I thought I would put up a photo of the Aniline dye, this is a quick job and with better wood and technique it can produces some spectacular results. The dye has a first coat of shellac on it.
Cheers Ron.
Aniline dye is usually what is used to color those fancy quilt and flame maple top woods on expensive electric guitars. Aniline dye comes in a water based and a alcohol or solvent based formulation. I've stained and painted many guitars with figured maple tops and here is my advice: Wear rubber gloves when mixing it and applying this type of dye. I would mix the aniline dye in water or alcohol/solvent per instructions on the aniline stain packaging and then pour that into a paper paint strainer (the type you get when buying automotive paint at the local auto body supply) with some cheese cloth placed in the bottom of it to filter out any large particles of the dye that do not dissolve which would end up on your wood ruining the color. Filtering it through a coffee filter should work also and that is a good cheap solution.
Wiping aniline stain directly onto the wood does present a problem due to the end grain of the wood will soak up more of the stain and look much darker. Many guitar builders do wipe the stain directly onto the wood though. I have sprayed the dye on the wood using a paint gun and this produces another problem in that it will leave a powder film on the wood which you must wipe off before painting the wood. Spraying the dye on the wood does solve the problem of the end grain soaking up more of the stain. Many guitar manufacturers mix it in the paint and spray it on over a guitar with sealer already applied to it. I have done all of this type of work.
I have used food coloring on wood also which does work! Very safe, cheap and easy to get. Food coloring will fade if left in direct sunlight for two to three months, but it will last if kept out of the sun. Food coloring is definitely not as permanent of a dye as aniline stain when it comes to fading under sunlight.
Coffee was used to stain wood a long time ago. You can think out of the box and get creative with this.
ChickenboneJohn said:
Diydc said:
Diane in Chicago said:
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