Artist inks

Hey guys,

I know I've seen build diaries where people have used artists inks as stains, but now I can't seem to find them again, and can't remember whose they were. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

I have some nice Liquitex inks lying around which I'd be keen to try on my LP jr, but don't want to spend months reinventing the wheel if someone else has already done the troubleshooting.

Haven't used Artist Inks but did the Red J Bass with combination of a high quality fountain pen ink and diluted Colortone Cherry Red stain. Probably the best stain job I have done and still looks great more than 18 months since it was completed.

On my Blue Tele I used ink jet Cyan Blue ink and diluted it down with water to get a more turquoise shade. Unfortunately using TO as the top coats has added a bit too much of a greenish tinge so it looks more aquamarine these days. For this reason I would not recommend TO over Blue as it is too hard to prevent it from going slightly green.

Both inked builds have remained colour fast but should mention I have experienced that TO does continue to 'age' or go a little darker over time, even if guitar has been kept in a case. On the MMB-4 it has a really nice aged butterscotchish look to it now compared to when I last worked on it around 5 months ago. Maybe leaving it hanging in my garage over summer which faces north may have also contributed as the neck is a fair bit darker compared to the natural neck on my J Bass. On my EX-1 it is now looking more like the Korina colour I was trying to achieve all along and that was done with TO on top of DT Coolangatta Gold about 2 years ago and happy with the gradual ageing effect it has had.

Just a few tips to look out for if using TO as the top coat.

Hi John, I've used artist inks on my SG (which I still have to finish...).
The link should be on my signature.

Was very easy to mix to get the colour I wanted and I applied as if it was stains, but I then had some issues with the wipe on poly that didn't seem to stick to the body like it usually does.
So I wonder if the inks didn't create a sort of film that prevented the poly from getting really into the wood...

Maybe something to test with your finish on a bit if timber before you get crazy.

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Good point Fred.

I have done lots of experimenting on scrap timber before committing anything on to a build. Most inks are probably water based and therefore water based top coats would be more compatible.

On the 2 ink builds I did brush on the initial couple of TO coats as the experiments showed how using a rag made a big mess by dragging the ink around, as if the top coat had re-hydrated the ink to some degree.

I did my Vee with fountain pen ink, it's still looking the same , I will admit it lives in a case most of the time.

Thanks guys!

thanks for this info on inks as I was curious on how they would work and also top coats...as Wazkelly says..testing on pieces before 'go live' always good.