Dyeing a White Korina Body

johnnyj

Junior Member
Messages
57
Hi folks,

a happy new year to you. i decided to write off some more money to order another warmoth build. :) for my next one, i would like to build a strat with a white korina body. for this one, i would like to do the dye and finish myself. the plan would be to archive a transparent red to black burst with rather simple methods. ideally, i would archive rather a shiny than a satin look in the end. unfortunately i live in a small flat without a garage or outside space where things can dry and be worked on. so i would need to come up with options that allow me to work in my appartment without getting too much cancer from toxic odours. between the steps i would let the guitar dry in my restroom (and move it to the kitchen once the shower is needed lol :)).

roughly, after reading collective internet wisdom the steps i had in mind would be:

- order the guitar body unfinished
- sand the body to 320 grit
- apply leather dye and possibly sand it between the several coats to reach desired burst/color level with 320 grit
- once color looks nice, apply first tru oil coat
- apply further 3-8 tru oil coats trough wet sanding with 1000 grit
- finally dry polish with very high grit as a last step

would that sequence make sense to you or did i misunderstood/miss something?

and additionally, these questions i could not get answered on my research:

1. if you order a warmoth body unfinished, will it come sanded to around 320 be default or is my first anticipated step necessary? should i go with the DIY paint ready option or is this not meant for dyes but rather for solid spray paints?
2. i plan to do the whole sanding with a block and no further machinery involved, do you think this is realistic or a bad idea? i saw all those youtube folks using a sanding machine.
3. what drying times do i need to expect between the steps?
4. what step is the most important one to take care on for archiving a most contrast, popping appearance of the colors?
5. would it make sense to finally apply birchwood wax to archieve a more shiny look?
6. is there anything in particular to consider with my wood choice of white korina?
7. i read that some people recommend to use sealers between the color and finish steps, is that step necessary? if yes, which product would you recommend to be compatible with my setup?
8. for the dye, i wanted to use this angelus leather dye:
anybody have a bad experience with that?

thanks alot in advance for your help,
johnny
 
Regarding sanding, Warmoth bodies are sanded so you might not need to do much, hence sanding with a block is more than enough. A quick once over with 320 may be more than enough if needed at all.

DIY paint ready would not really help with this type of finish, but would if you are spraying nitro or something.

You might also want to check out Wudtone as an alternative product https://www.wudtone.com/finishing-diy-kits/
 
Sounds like a pretty good plan, but I'm not familiar with how well korina takes dye. I'd strongly recommend obtaining a small piece of korina to test your process on before you do the body.
 
The only issue I see that might affect you is the possibility the Tru-Oil might lift your dye. You would need to make a test piece to ensure this doesn't happen before proceeding.
 
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