blotches

[SnakeGS]

finished sanding down to the wood and after applying the stain and let it set i have areas were it doesnt look like the stain did anything still kinda looks likethe sanded down wood? is there a way to get rid of that.


should i have sealed it before staining?

 

[rahimiiii]

I noticed you did not sand everything down completely. If you want to stain this thing the decals including serial number has to go. It may seem like you sanded down to the wood but there could be finishes left that would prevent stains from taking evenly. You should have roughened everything by sanding then spray tinted clear coats over it.

 

[Keyser Soze]

Maple, even when prepped to perfection, does not take pigment stain well and can appear blotchy.  You could try re-sanding, making sure to get all the old finish off.  I'd also recommend sanding no higher than 220 grit preferably with a random orbit sander.  Pigment stains need the little nooks and crannies to settle in, otherwise the stain will not have any effect, and the RO sander helps get a nice even surface for staining. 

Alternately you could re-sand, seal and then use a spray on toner (Guitar Re-Ranch has a nice product so does Behlen - which is often available at Woodcraft retail shops.)

 

[SnakeGS]

yea i did sand it down, i just left the serial because i was dumb lol, but the entire guitar was sanded down to the original wood. thats what im saying when i layed the stain it didnt look like it did anything to the head stock just the other parts of the neck, some areas were really dark and i didnt even put that much stain on it. Im taking it back down to the original i used 60 or higher grit to get it down then 220 to get it nice again. I figured i would need to seal it first then stain it

im using brush on wipe off stain. Minwax i think its called, colonial maple i love the color just gets blotchy

 

[Patrick from Davis]

Hard maple doesn't stain well.  Flame or quilt maple do stain well, but those are different cases/types of maple.  To get the color you had, you need tinted finish, not stain.  Next, finishes do not mix well.  One finish often melts another, or won't stick to another, but basically it is trouble.  This is why removing all of it and redoing it is generally the procedure.  There are quite a number of finishing options open.  Vintage tint is often used to describe the color of the finish you had.  You have to pick a finish and go with it to get it playable.
Patrick

 

[SnakeGS]

is there a better way of removing the stain i applied i almost have it back to the original wood but there are some spots that took alot of stain and after sanding it, it doesnt seem like i took any of the stain out

the back of the neck is done and the front of the head stock is done but some areas on the top and curve of the headstock still have alot of stain. any suggestions on getting it out and back to the original wood faster?

 

[boaty]

The only way to remove the stain once it's in the wood is to remove wood by sanding.  You'd be changing the shape of the neck, possibly to a noticeable degree.  If the stain is sitting on top of a layer of finish like wood sealer then it might sand off more easily.  I think what you should consider doing is mixing in the stain with whatever finish you're planning on applying to the finish if you're planning on applying a poly or oil finish.