Soloist Hardtail Curly Maple stained Pink/Purple

[docteurseb]

This is a build I'm working on for a friend.

The body was ordered with this top:

A month or so later, this showed up:

Drilled it for 1 volume, 1 tone.
Also extended routing for the switch so the switch blade doesn't touch the wood and damage the finish in positions 1/5.
I wonder if the switch Warmoth sells would allow for proper clearance with their rear-routed bodies, because none of the others I've tried have...

Sides taped. The sample piece is the color I was aiming for:

The process for that color is as follows:
Fiebing's Light Blue Leather Alcohol dye diluted 1:3

Sand back
So that's how you get Faded Blue Jeans I guess; though if I were going for that color I'd tame the vividness by mixing the blue with black:

Fiebing's Red Alcohol Leather dye diluted 1:7

I'll send this to finishing today to Pat @ Pat Wilkins Guitars, we'll do a translucent purple back/sides with a microburst to bend in the edge between the top/back.

I'm really excited to see how this will look once clear coated.
We also ordered a neck a week or so ago: Wenge with ebony fingerboard and curly maple veneer (I'll stain it to match and do the clear coat on that one).

 

[swarfrat]

Yay for hard tail shredders!

 

[docteurseb]

...and the time-lapse of the staining process is finally up:
[youtube]https://youtu.be/GgdMKQV1oYc[/youtube]

I got very surprised at first of how quick the body absorbed the blue dye. Never ran into that issue before with glow/dragon breath finishes since a given color is only applied to a small part of the body.

Next time I do this on a body I'll switch to using folded pieces of old t-shirts/rags for staining instead of paper towels, that should keep a 'reserve' of dye inside the folded cloth.

 

[elstoof]

Great job with the dyes, I’m a shoemaker so I‘ve used Fiebings in the past but only on leather. I never thought about trying it on wood as water based seems easier to apply on large areas. I tend to use Saphir dyes these days over Fiebings though

 

[docteurseb]

Fiebing's blues, like the leather dyes PRS uses, are horribly prone to fading, so this guitar will definitely be cased when not being played.

Here's what happened in 9 days to one of my test pieces taped to a window:

 

[elstoof]

Water based are apparently more light fast, I have a few Crimson Guitars concentrated shots in their blues which are pretty vivid

 

[dmraco]

LOVE IT!  Very PRS'esq

 

[docteurseb]

LOVE IT!  Very PRS'esq

Thanks ! That is definitely the goal with this one.

 

[docteurseb]

Water based are apparently more light fast, I have a few Crimson Guitars concentrated shots in their blues which are pretty vivid

Blue is also the most sensitive. A similar piece in red had barely any visible fading:

 

[DieterDeux]

Interesting. Wonder if there's some kind of UV blocker you could put in the top coat? :icon_scratch: Pretty sure cars have that

 

[elstoof]

It generally red that fades the most in UV, like an old red Ford Fiesta that’s faded to pink. Red absorbs the blue end of the spectrum, not sure why blue aniline dyes are so fugitive but doubt it’s a UV issue as the colour naturally reflects those wavelengths back

 

[BeagJon]

It generally red that fades the most in UV, like an old red Ford Fiesta that’s faded to pink. Red absorbs the blue end of the spectrum, not sure why blue aniline dyes are so fugitive but doubt it’s a UV issue as the colour naturally reflects those wavelengths back

You can also see/understand these properties by watching the colors of shirts change when they get wet. Notice how red turns super dark? It's the first color to wash out. If you were a scuba diver, red is almost invisible after a certain depth. further down, other colors start to lose their ability to reflect light from the sun etc, but red goes first.

The same is true of dyes and their ability to become sunfaded.

 

[Seamas]

The actual chemical pigment is the biggest factor in something being lightfast rather than what hue it is on the spectrum.

There are red pigments and blue pigments on oil paintings that have held up for centuries--and then there are red and blue pigments--usually derived from organic compounds that fade very quickly.  (The Mona Lisa is a great example--her complexion looks a grey green because the glazes of reds and warm tones were likely done in organic pigments and faded)

That said I'm curious as to what pigments are used in these dyes, as most of the modern synthetic pigments are among the most lightfast pigments around--and most lend themselves very well to translucent mediums--therefore excellent candidates for dyes.

 

[elstoof]

These leather dyes are nearly always derived from aniline

 

[Rick]

sadly ... aniline is organic. 

 

[docteurseb]

Let's try to stay on topic though (the build) lol.

The fading of organic dyes is well documented on the PRS forum; search for "Northern Lights fading PRS" on Google. It's not just sun/day light, some artificial lights will do it too.

While TransTint and Keda are great for many color schemes, they aren't even close to the vibrancy/clarity of those organic Fiebing's dyes.
That guitar will be cased when not played, just like his PRS are (for the same reason).

 

[docteurseb]

Got the body back from the finishing shop couple weeks ago.

Before:

After:

[youtube]https://youtu.be/rbP9inOTbcY[/youtube]



I also got the neck which will have to wait until I come back from vacation before I stain the headstock.

 

[SeattleScotty]

OOh, that clear coat made the flames pop out like crazy! That dye job is so incredible, very unique effect. That is going to be such a beast!  :yourock: :kewlpics:

 

[Sadie-f]

Got the body back from the finishing shop couple weeks ago.

Evil builder, I'm now *itching* to start a new project

Damned nice colors there !

 

[docteurseb]

I'm slowly resuming the build and just completed what I hate the most: clearing the finish from the ferrule holes and neck pocket.
It went smoothly, though I still have to take care of the switch mounting screws and pots.

I still haven't touched the neck yet but plan on staining the headstock soon.
I've had a few carpal tunnel syndrome type of issues lately and rolling fingerboard edges + polishing frets is one of the things I should avoid for a while.