Wenge Tele body and neck color mismatch

[big dakota]

Hey all,

Just got my Warmoth delivery today. Going for a wenge/mahogany build. Saw one on the forum and fell in love with the look. My issue is, my wenge neck is super dark grainy and beautiful. My wenge cap on the mahogany body is super light in color and the grain is so/so. Are Warmoth necks finished with anything at all? It seems to have something on it. The body itself is super raw though.

I'm thinking maybe I try to stain match the body to the neck? Anyone have a color mismatch and try this?

 

[DarkPenguin]

If you wipe it down with naptha does the color get closer?

 

[dmraco]

Agreed.  A finish may even it out a bit and naphtha is a good test

 

[big dakota]

Thanks. Haven't tried Naptha yet. Will do that today and report back.

 

[big dakota]

Just tried naptha. When the body is wet with the naptha the color looks right, but then it dries and is back to the same light color. This makes me think there is some oil or finish on the neck/headstock. I really wanted to not stain this guitar and leave it natural. What is the best way to get a natural satin look that will make the wenge body cap look darker.

 

[dmraco]

Just tried naptha. When the body is wet with the naptha the color looks right, but then it dries and is back to the same light color. This makes me think there is some oil or finish on the neck/headstock. I really wanted to not stain this guitar and leave it natural. What is the best way to get a natural satin look that will make the wenge body cap look darker.

When you put the actual finish on the guitar the color will stay darker.  Naptha is just a QUICK look at what the final color will be. 

You assumption is correct that there may be more oils in the headstock.  it may not be 100% the same but it will be close.  Wipe the headstock AND the body down at the same time and see how close they are.
I have never heard of anyone dying wenge so I cannot comment.

 

[Cagey]

I've not heard of anyone staining Wenge, either. But, some folks on the furniture forums talk about finishing it, particularly when using it for desk/table tops, in order to level out the Grand Canyon-esqe grain texture. They have to use a grain filler, of course, but between that and the finish, I'm sure it darkens things up.

Warmoth does put their necks through some kind of sealer dip, but I don't know what it is and they won't say, beyond admitting they do it. I don't know if it darkens things, though. I've seen some raw Maple, Mahogany and Walnut necks from them, and they don't look treated. But, then again, I didn't see them before treatment so who knows? All the Wenge I've ever seen from any source looks like the neck in the original post here, and it couldn't all have been treated. The top on that guitar is the outlier.

 

[big dakota]

I do like the open texture, I just think it looks dumb with the headstock/neck wedge one color and the body cap another lighter color. Using Naptha momentarily darkened it a bit, so I assume if I seal it with something it will get darker. But for spending $900 on wood at this point, it would be nice for Warmoth to fess up what they use to dip/seal the neck so I can try and mimic that to achieve my desired result.

 

[Cagey]

Maybe if you call and ask real nice, they'll tell you. Could be they just don't want to publish it out where super-spies from Gibson might see it and maybe take a stab at making their guitars at least half as nice as what their prices would imply  :laughing7:

 

[KevinNYC]

I have a Wenge/mahogany J bass with very same situation...

After some playing I noticed that where my forearm rests on the base the oils in my skin darkened up the wood nicely...

Now I just occasionally rub my greasy fingers over the top of the bass to try and even out the darkening top...

I'm quite proud that the oil finish will be from my playing the instrument...

I LOVE wenge!

 

[big dakota]

So I called and asked about the neck being treated or dipped. They said there wasn't anything done to the neck. They said the difference in color variation is because the way the neck is cut vs. the body cap. I'm not sure I 100% buy that answer but I guess I have to live with it. @KevinNYC, I love Wenge too, but when you have a guitar project with a very specific look and vision you're trying to create and think you'll be getting that when ordering some very experience wood, it's disappointing. And yes, I've destroyed guitar finishes before on my own, but it's not the same as starting on a guitar thats completed to a specific level of satisfaction. I'll just always be looking at the headstock and body thinking, ugh this sucks that it's two different colors.

 

[Cagey]

Well, you could try darkening it. I'm not sure how Wenge reacts to dye, but I think if it were me I might want to find out. I agree - that top is pretty light relative to the neck - it would be better if they matched.

The deep grain on that wood might make getting an even application a little tough, so I think what I'd do is get some brown tint and some alcohol and mix up a weak batch. Put that in a trigger spray bottle, like you might use for misting plants or spraying window cleaner. Mask off the sides, and spray the face. Wait for the alcohol to boil off. If it's not dark enough, hit it again (or if it's way off, add some dye to your mixture first, then hit it again).

Bear in mind I've never done that with Wenge, so proceed at your own risk. But, I think it could work.

 

[Fat Pete]

Were you planning on leaving the body completely unfinished? Any kind of clear on there is going to have the same effect the naptha did - except it'll be permanent. Even a light satin wipe-on poly or similar.

 

[KevinNYC]

Gunstock oil on the body, leave the neck alone. "Problem" solved.

 

[big dakota]

All good suggestions and options thanks. I'm thinking gunstock oil may work as its been my friend in the past for a few necks. Only thing I hear with Wenge oil's tend to really seep in and you need to re-apply a considerable amount. Is this true?

 

[big dakota]

I'm actually not super happy anyway with the wedge grain. I saw some really cool Wenge grain tops online and thinking I may just grain fill and paint this one and call it a day.

 

[Cagey]

All good suggestions and options thanks. I'm thinking gunstock oil may work as its been my friend in the past for a few necks. Only thing I hear with Wenge oil's tend to really seep in and you need to re-apply a considerable amount. Is this true?

Doesn't sound right. Wenge has a relatively high oil content on its own, like Rosewood. Plus, for as coarsely grained as it is, it's a remarkably hard/dense wood. Both of those things suggest it's not gonna be happy about absorbing anything easily. If you were to try applying a polymerized oil finish such as "gunstock" or "Danish" or "True" or "boiled linseed" oil, I suspect what would happen is it would tend to collect in those wide-open spaces and not cure up properly, leaving you with a sticky mess.

But, I could be wrong; I'm no expert.  I'm just guessing based on what little I know about Wenge.

I doubt you're going to find many people with any experience finishing Wenge on guitar forums. Instrument makers use it more for its natural physical properties than aesthetic reasons, so it's usually left raw and finishing questions are rarely brought up. You'd almost certainly find a lot more information about finishing it if you you simply Googled "Finishing Wenge", which will drop you into a lotta furniture/cabinetry-type sites.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not trying to scare you off or anything - I just think you're probably looking in the wrong place to find out what you want to know.

 

[KevinNYC]

Ibanez makes wenge-topped basses that have a finish on them, so they've apparently figured out that it can be done successfully...

 

[KevinNYC]

This looks beautiful!

 

[aarontunes]

Hey guys,
I just talked to Ken about this thread. All Warmoth necks have a deep penetrating sealer applied before they ship. The sealer we use is a commercial product not available to the public. It is a petroleum distillate, and has proven 100% compatible with every other finish out there. In 40 years of using it we have never had a single adhesion or compatibility problem.

Using the sealer helps to retard the moisture exchange between a neck and its environment, which in turn keeps it stable no matter what kind of crazy hot/humid/dry/freezing place we ship it to.

The color difference the OP is seeing is partly a result of the sealer that was applied to the neck. It is also partly that, like pretty much all woods, Wenge comes in a range of colors. It's not always deep chocolate brown. In fact, sometimes it can be almost yellow.

Lots of good suggestion here already for darkening the top to a color closer to the neck.

Hope that info helps.