How best to stain/dye Black Korina a red color?

[Tele-me about it]

So, I want to stain/dye a red color on Black Korina, fill it with black grain-filler, and finish it with Tru-Oil.  Can I use water-based stain/dye and filler and still be safe using Tru-Oil over it?  What would be the proper process for finishing this?  What are your favorite products for this?

 

[Day-mun]

I'm gonna seriously lurk on this thread... don't be creeped-out.

Curious if the tru-oil preference is steadfast? If not totally committed, thought I'd mention that I saw on stew-mac's web site:  a vintagey-looking SG trans-red lacquer in a rattle can. -Might that do what you are hoping for?  :dontknow: (-Sorta hoping to try it out, myself, so...)

 

[bagman67]

I've done this one as follows, on swamp ash with a maple droptop:


1.  Sand to 220


2.  Wet the entire body to raise the grain


3.  Sand back the whiskers


4.  Repeat 1-3


5. Wet the body again - you should not get as much raised grain.


6.  Apply dye to taste.


7.  Allow dye to dry and then dewhisker gently - you don't want to burn through your dye.


8.  Spray with shellac to seal; allow to dry overnight


9.  Scuff sand  - quick'n'dirty with a 320 pad


10.  Apply grain filler (in this case, only on the exposed swamp ash portion, since the maple is very tight-grained).


11.  Sand back, re-fill and re-sand x3 (swamp ash - jesus, what a drag to fill this stuff)


12.  Apply another quick wash coat of shellac and allow to dry overnight


13.  Get going on the tru-oil.


14.  Next step will be to wetsand, since I have a good buildup of tru-oil, and I want a gloss finish.


The photo below shows the dye job before shellac wash coat and filling, but I think it's pretty so I just want to show off.

 

[Cagey]

I did a red over Black Korina VIP a while back that turned out like this...

I used water-based dye and filler (clear) on that, then shot it with a few coats of clear nitro sanding sealer, then about a dozen coats of clear nitro, both from Behlen. I imagine you could True-Oil over the water-based dye/filler - just be sure it's good and dry. You don't want to trap any moisture or have any expanded wood. Give it a couple/few days.

 

[Surf n Music]

I did a red over Black Korina VIP a while back that turned out like this...

I used water-based dye and filler (clear) on that, then shot it with a few coats of clear nitro sanding sealer, then about a dozen coats of clear nitro, both from Behlen. I imagine you could True-Oil over the water-based dye/filler - just be sure it's good and dry. You don't want to trap any moisture or have any expanded wood. Give it a couple/few days.

Do you spray that nitro in a both Cagey? Turned out beautiful. I imagine true oil wouldn't have that shine or depth but not certain.

 

[croquet hoop]

Tru-oil can have this type of shine/depth (search for Tom Pettingill on google), but it takes a lot of work.

 

[Cagey]

Do you spray that nitro in a both Cagey? Turned out beautiful. I imagine true oil wouldn't have that shine or depth but not certain.

No, just out in the garage. Lacquer needs a lot of attention to come out right, so it's not quite as critical that it be perfect every shot. You're going to sand on it anyway, so if some dust settles on it in the 3 seconds the thing is wet enough for anything to stick, you'll get rid of it. Other finishes, like some of the catalyzed stuff, basically give you one shot to get it right, so you need a better paint shop that usually only the pros have. On the plus side, it's a LOT faster. Shoot it once and forget it, it's done.

I've seen some fantastic TrueOil finishes, but they're not easy to get that way and won't stay that way once you do if you use the instrument at all. It's a softer finish that scuffs/scratches easily and doesn't like water or alcohol on it. But, if you're patient, it's easy to do in an apartment or basement without a whole lot of tricky gear or atmospheric issues. There's a bit of a tutorial here if you're interested.

 

[Tele-me about it]

Beautiful looking dye-job Bagman!  I'd be showing it off too if it were mine =P I wonder, what kind of neck are you pairing it with? Thanks for spelling out that process step by step though!  Def helps out a lot.

And I think thanks to Cagey I'm finally off this Tru-Oil kick, haha.  The last thing I want for my second-main bass would be a finish that takes wear & tear too easily.  That red and gold guitar is killer!  I'm assuming the process will be pretty much the same as Bagman described, aside from the finish-aspect.  Could the clear sanding sealer be used in place of the shellac, in regards to #8 and #12?

I think I might try a black-to-red burst over the stain if the practice piece turns out alright!  Darn Stewmac and their conveniently placed articles... :guitaristgif:

 

[Cagey]

Could the clear sanding sealer be used in place of the shellac, in regards to #8 and #12?

Yes.

 

[bagman67]

Could the clear sanding sealer be used in place of the shellac, in regards to #8 and #12?

Yes.

Agreed.  I used shellac 'cause I had it on hand.

 

[bagman67]

I wonder, what kind of neck are you pairing it with?

I was thinking of pairing it with this wenge neck with an ebony board (shown here in a mockup I did before I settled some issues with my burst), but that may be too dark, visually - I'm contemplating an all-maple job instead, now.

 

[Tele-me about it]

Awesome Just put my order in at Stewmac!

I can kinda see why you'd go for different woods on the neck -- that is a LOT of black after the fact.  I think the maple idea would be a perfect match for it though!  Maybe even something like canary or another light-colored wood.

 

[Surf n Music]

I wonder, what kind of neck are you pairing it with?

I was thinking of pairing it with this wenge neck with an ebony board (shown here in a mockup I did before I settled some issues with my burst), but that may be too dark, visually - I'm contemplating an all-maple job instead, now.

Dam brotha! You must be stoked!! Man all this talk of dye, finish, wood burning, and pickups on this form and I already want to build another :icon_biggrin:

 

[bagman67]

Dam brotha! You must be stoked!! Man all this talk of dye, finish, wood burning, and pickups on this form and I already want to build another :icon_biggrin:

The good (bad?) news is this feeling rarely abates.

 

[croquet hoop]

I was thinking of pairing it with this wenge neck with an ebony board (shown here in a mockup I did before I settled some issues with my burst), but that may be too dark, visually - I'm contemplating an all-maple job instead, now.

A maple neck, maybe with some subtle birdseye figure, would look killer on this body.

 

[Cagey]

I wonder, what kind of neck are you pairing it with?

I was thinking of pairing it with this wenge neck with an ebony board (shown here in a mockup I did before I settled some issues with my burst), but that may be too dark, visually - I'm contemplating an all-maple job instead, now.

I think I might consider Canary for that one. Raw necks are so sweet, especially polished. But, Maple would be good, too. You're right - it needs something lighter than the Ebony/Wenge. Be sure to get gold frets to match the hardware. Very much like stainless.