Colouring my alder body without covering the grain

[IbanezFreak]

ok guys..so i've got either a choice of dyeing or staining my alder body...

i at first thought of pre-staining the alder to bring out the grain of the wood...then i notice that people only do that with woods which have more beautiful grain..excluding alder...

but, i only thought of prestaining the alder because i wanted to be able to see the grain, yet having a coloured body...

something like this, just slightly lighter...so that the grain will be easier to notice..

so maybe i was thinking about going ahead with dyeing or staining the alder body, just diluting the mixture more, decreaseing the thickness of the colour?

which one would be a better choice for me if i want to colour the alder wood, but yet not so dark as to cover the grain, dye or stain?

sorry for the multiple threads!!
sorry for asking so many questions!!
sorry fer buggin ya' fgl =/ really appreciate your answers!

 

[DarknessIsComfort]

Thats quite pretty. Nice work.

 

[edder]

dye = stain = dye = stain.

get a capsule of Dylon dye(Don't have to bother what the sales person say about other stuff required for the cold water dye, just buy the colour that you want), colour of your choice, dilute and you're ready to dye.

look around for my thread and also grey's link on sunbursting with water based dye. I know you're not doing sunburst but the general technique applies.

leave it for a few days to REALLY dry and the clear coat with clear paint of your choice.

go a little bit further by reading up all those DIY paint job sites on how to make the paint surface mirror finish.

 

[gsonique]

clear shoe polish to finish .....ol school style !

 

[IbanezFreak]

dye = stain = dye = stain.

get a capsule of Dylon dye(Don't have to bother what the sales person say about other stuff required for the cold water dye, just buy the colour that you want), colour of your choice, dilute and you're ready to dye.

look around for my thread and also grey's link on sunbursting with water based dye. I know you're not doing sunburst but the general technique applies.

leave it for a few days to REALLY dry and the clear coat with clear paint of your choice.

go a little bit further by reading up all those DIY paint job sites on how to make the paint surface mirror finish.

but is it possible to dilute the dye a lot so i can still see the grain clearly? where can i get the Dylon dye? is there purple or green for it?

EDIT: i just checked out the Dylon dye website...the dyes they offer aren't for wood...are they the best dyes around?

 

[Gr3y]

you'll actually need a trick to surface the grains. it's not just dying the color you want.

 

[edder]

but is it possible to dilute the dye a lot so i can still see the grain clearly? where can i get the Dylon dye? is there purple or green for it?

EDIT: i just checked out the Dylon dye website...the dyes they offer aren't for wood...are they the best dyes around?

haiyah... didn't I say check my DIY threads? and didn't I mention don't bother about what anyone tell about about dylon dyes?

It CAN be used on wood. Tested tried and approved. Try finding other source of dyes with so many choices of colour in Singapore easily and in small quantities, let me know please if you can find one or if you're even attempting to.

I'm sick, I got a bad cough, I'm irritable as shite and on M/C which means I've got a lot of time to kill. And I'm a practitioner of Hard Love. Lucky you. :mrgreen:

Spoonfeed time. (all this info can be had on teh interwebs JSUK)

1) Dilute the dye powder with some warm water, play around with it. I'm sure you'd know how to gauge how dilute the dye is. Play around with unused section of the body. Neck cavity, pickup cavity, control cavity.
2) Wet the body first with water using a lint free aka old worn out cotton tee. The grains WILL stick out. Let it dry. Sand it down lightly.
3) Repeat 2) before you apply the dye.
4) If you want the grains to STICK OUT like little varicose veins.... and you're prepared to do A LOT and I mean A LOT of sanding work. Dye the body first with a darker shade like BLACK or BROWN. Let it dry and sand it all the way down till you see bare wood and highlighted wood grains. This works especially nice with ASH and figured maple. You can try it on alder too. Doesn't matter, you can even try it on any wood with wood grains. Don't let them tell you otherwise. This is DIY which means DO IT YOURSELF aka also find information with plenty of vigour!
5) Then you dye the colour of your choice.
6) Wet wood - dye - dry - sand - finish with multiple clear coat + fine sanding in between.
7) To get mirror like finish, you'll have to get ultrafine sand paper that goes up the grit of 1000 and above and swirl remover like Meguairs thats available everywhere.

More information on wood/guitar finishing can be found on www.google.com

Have fun, I'm an ass but that doesn't mean that I don't love you guys. :mrgreen:

 

[IbanezFreak]

haiyah... didn't I say check my DIY threads? and didn't I mention don't bother about what anyone tell about about dylon dyes?

It CAN be used on wood. Tested tried and approved. Try finding other source of dyes with so many choices of colour in Singapore easily and in small quantities, let me know please if you can find one or if you're even attempting to.

I'm sick, I got a bad cough, I'm irritable as shite and on M/C which means I've got a lot of time to kill. And I'm a practitioner of Hard Love. Lucky you. :mrgreen:

Spoonfeed time. (all this info can be had on teh interwebs JSUK)

1) Dilute the dye powder with some warm water, play around with it. I'm sure you'd know how to gauge how dilute the dye is. Play around with unused section of the body. Neck cavity, pickup cavity, control cavity.
2) Wet the body first with water using a lint free aka old worn out cotton tee. The grains WILL stick out. Let it dry. Sand it down lightly.
3) Repeat 2) before you apply the dye.
4) If you want the grains to STICK OUT like little varicose veins.... and you're prepared to do A LOT and I mean A LOT of sanding work. Dye the body first with a darker shade like BLACK or BROWN. Let it dry and sand it all the way down till you see bare wood and highlighted wood grains. This works especially nice with ASH and figured maple. You can try it on alder too. Doesn't matter, you can even try it on any wood with wood grains. Don't let them tell you otherwise. This is DIY which means DO IT YOURSELF aka also find information with plenty of vigour!
5) Then you dye the colour of your choice.
6) Wet wood - dye - dry - sand - finish with multiple clear coat + fine sanding in between.
7) To get mirror like finish, you'll have to get ultrafine sand paper that goes up the grit of 1000 and above and swirl remover like Meguairs thats available everywhere.

More information on wood/guitar finishing can be found on www.google.com

Have fun, I'm an ass but that doesn't mean that I don't love you guys. :mrgreen:

hey, but don't they use stains instead to ''bring out the wood grain''? you said dye = stain = dye = stain , but google tells me that dye goes into the wood while stain just the surface? so that i should stain then sand to get the shaded grain?

dye = stain in your experience? both get into the wood as much as each other?

and, where can i find our diy threads?

 

[PatheinRaindropMoe]

http://soft.com.sg/forum/search.php

 

[IbanezFreak]

http://soft.com.sg/forum/search.php

everyone loves me so much yeah...

heh...

 

[fgl]

Have fun, I'm an ass but that doesn't mean that I don't love you guys. :mrgreen:

hee hee ...we luv your ass too bro edder :mrgreen:

 

[edder]

yippee dee doo.... I only know what I know and I've already presented to you what I know.

Next step... do some legwork and try it out! :mrgreen:

 

[IbanezFreak]

yippee dee doo.... I only know what I know and I've already presented to you what I know.

Next step... do some legwork and try it out! :mrgreen:

hhe..ok wait..

i've got another problem...err, the previous owner of the alder body apparently just sprayed paint over bare wood with out primer and the paint has kinda seeped into the wood..just a bit tho...will using chemicals still remove the paint?

then after that i'll just have to sand the dark spots right?

 

[IbanezFreak]

hey edder...err...i did some research with google..

apparently i might need to use alcohol dyes since the alder body might need filling...and if i don';t need to do the wood prep / wood filling, i'll be using water - based dyes right?

do you ignore this step and just apply the water based dye onto alder which needs prep?

and with wiping over the dye, how do i ensure an even coat of the dye?

 

[edder]

you have a prepainted body? you're in for some fun. Watch out for wrist and elbow joints pain. I'm only suggesting to use paint remover to remove most of the bulk and then clean with plenty of solvents like spirit and then sand like bloody hell to get rid of all the paint that are stuck in the grain.

Anyone who'd done this before please help him out. I've only done bare bodies and paint over. None of that stripping business.

I only have access to water based dyes and limited amount of alcohol based wood coloured dyes locally so I work with what is available easily. So far no problems with alder. Just that you'll have a bit more work to do when you absolutely wanna fill up the pores during the clear coating stage. Quite easy to OVER sand the clearcoat and into the dyed wood leaving an ugly mark. That takes a bit of experience and hands on and I'm still learning as I go. Most of the time I'm lazy and I build for myself. So I'm not bothered with some light pore marks on the body.

Goose is the man for ultra smooth flat finish. I saw some of his works and I'm amazed.

 

[fgl]

HAVE ALREADY WISHED OUR BRO BEST OF LUCK LIAO.... :mrgreen:

anyways look at it this way - it'll be a learning expirience ... something that $$$ cant buy ...

 

[IbanezFreak]

you have a prepainted body? you're in for some fun. Watch out for wrist and elbow joints pain. I'm only suggesting to use paint remover to remove most of the bulk and then clean with plenty of solvents like spirit and then sand like bloody hell to get rid of all the paint that are stuck in the grain.

Anyone who'd done this before please help him out. I've only done bare bodies and paint over. None of that stripping business.

I only have access to water based dyes and limited amount of alcohol based wood coloured dyes locally so I work with what is available easily. So far no problems with alder. Just that you'll have a bit more work to do when you absolutely wanna fill up the pores during the clear coating stage. Quite easy to OVER sand the clearcoat and into the dyed wood leaving an ugly mark. That takes a bit of experience and hands on and I'm still learning as I go. Most of the time I'm lazy and I build for myself. So I'm not bothered with some light pore marks on the body.

Goose is the man for ultra smooth flat finish. I saw some of his works and I'm amazed.

so...do i apply the filler at all? so wait, let me get the steps right...bare wood - dye - wood filler? or wood filler first then dye?

 

[fgl]

so...do i apply the filler at all? so wait, let me get the steps right...bare wood - dye - wood filler? or wood filler first then dye?

its filler 1stthen dye - but remember you wontneed filler for most non porous woods

 

[IbanezFreak]

HAVE ALREADY WISHED OUR BRO BEST OF LUCK LIAO.... :mrgreen:

anyways look at it this way - it'll be a learning expirience ... something that $$$ cant buy ...

but i want a beautiful guitar to be proud of because i did it myself..

 

[edder]

I don't use wood filler cos either I don't know how to use them properly or I just can't get one to fill up pores nicely and dye/stain evenly for transparent coats. For solid colour, anyhow whack also can fill up pores.