Swamp Ash... Stain or dye?
- Thread starter skrwl
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Tonar8352
Hero Member
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That will be difficult to reproduce on swamp ash since the example guitar is a piece of mahogany but I think you can get close. Give this a try on a sample board and see how you do.
Dye it with your green first. You may have to mix some black into the green so that it will not be such a clean green color. Check here for the material to use. http://www.lmii.com/products/finishing/dyes/transtint-dyes
Next you will need to apply a couple of wash coats of clear lacquer.
After the wash coats have dried then you will need to use a very dark past wood filler to fill the grain. Since the wood is dyed and sealed the dark filler will only show as it will only be left in the deep grain of the wood. You might look at the "ultra dark blackwood filler". http://www.lmii.com/products/finishing/filler/lmi-pore-filler
Hope that helps and good luck.
Dye it with your green first. You may have to mix some black into the green so that it will not be such a clean green color. Check here for the material to use. http://www.lmii.com/products/finishing/dyes/transtint-dyes
Next you will need to apply a couple of wash coats of clear lacquer.
After the wash coats have dried then you will need to use a very dark past wood filler to fill the grain. Since the wood is dyed and sealed the dark filler will only show as it will only be left in the deep grain of the wood. You might look at the "ultra dark blackwood filler". http://www.lmii.com/products/finishing/filler/lmi-pore-filler
Hope that helps and good luck.
anorakDan
Hero Member
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Also, don't discount the effect the black burst has on the overall look. It's dark and broody because there's mahogany underneath it all, the dark green stain and then the black burst edges tone the body down further. Without the burst, it'll just look big and green, but the burst pulls the eye into the middle of the body, giving that dark and ominous vibe.
Good luck and practice on something that is not your guitar body until you nail the look you want.
Good luck and practice on something that is not your guitar body until you nail the look you want.
bagman67
Epic Member
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- 9,106
Mahogany can really be a pain to dye because it's so dark. Here are some experiments I did on the way to a much brighter green.
http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=16742.0
Because ash is so much lighter, you may have better luck with it. I have had great luck using General Finishes water-based dyes applied with a rag. But others have had good luck with Transtint applied in a water or alcohol or MEK or acetone vehicle. Note if you use a volatile vehicle, you may want to irrigate the surface with your solvent before you start applying color so you don't end up with witness marks.
Finally, rather than dying or staining, you may be better off mixing a toner with your dye or a pigment and spraying or wiping it on, rather than dying and then clearcoating.
http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=16742.0
Because ash is so much lighter, you may have better luck with it. I have had great luck using General Finishes water-based dyes applied with a rag. But others have had good luck with Transtint applied in a water or alcohol or MEK or acetone vehicle. Note if you use a volatile vehicle, you may want to irrigate the surface with your solvent before you start applying color so you don't end up with witness marks.
Finally, rather than dying or staining, you may be better off mixing a toner with your dye or a pigment and spraying or wiping it on, rather than dying and then clearcoating.
