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I was thinking I could just add some inks to the dye if necessary, but if it seems oil based this won't work at all.
I'm pretty easy going on this stuff, so I'll give it a go and if I don't like it I'll worry about it then.
Sometimes things turn out differently to how you plan but and up being better.
It's just a fun, learning exercise. Thanks for the heads up, I'll post pics as I get through it.
Robbo
No worries Robbo.
I tested many different things on builds 1 - 4 but not what other stuff would mix with DT. What I did learn is that Tru Oil does not like water based stuff added and whilst it is obviously more oil based when compared to DT tend to suspect it would react in a similar way.
A cheap way to find out is to buy some small round plastic storage containers from Woolies for about $2 for a pack of 8 and start mixing a few drops of this and that in some to figure out what works and also looks good. Cheap fine paintbrushes can also be purchased in a pack of 10 for small change too. Scrap bit of pine works best for the sample strips as it should be a similar colour to basswood and thus provide a close indication how things might turn out. Of all the additives I experimented with fountain pen ink was the easiest to work with and strongly recommend never using ink pad ink as it tends to have a rather gooey oily state that looks crap straight out of the container being rather dull and lacking depth of colour.
If the budget allows and your up for experimenting with DT you're probably better off sticking with different shades or colours of the stuff or PM/email DB asking him to make up a custom colour as that is what Andy did on his Rosewood coloured Strat which featured in July GOTM.
Not much of an update at the moment. Just another dry fit while I wait for my stain kit. The pickups didn't quite fit as the tabs seemed a bit too long. I was going to get a Dremel and widen the pickup pocket but I grabbed a name brand pickup and it fit in just fine, so I filed the tabs down a little til thy fit. Job's a gooden.
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There are a few pits in the fretboard that I'm unsure what to do with. Reckon they need filling or just oil it up as is.
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It's a bit tough to see in the pics but you can feel the pits. My gut feeling is they'll be fine but interested in others thoughts.
If the colour comes out as Waz suggested above as a faded denim I think it will actually work pretty well with the look I'm going for.
Robbo
Hey Robbo does the fingerboard feel like it's dropping in height a bit between frets ? What I do is get a rubber/eraser and wrap 180 or 240 grit sandpaper around it and rub the fingerboard. Be worth trying to get it flatter. The rubber will allow the sandpaper to be similar radius to the fingerboard.
Mock build looks good
Hey man, no the fretboard seems pretty flat to these tired old eyes. There's just a bit of funky stuff going on around the 7th and 8th fret. I'll give it a light sanding as you suggest, I'm just trying to sand with the grain to avoid any issues.
Robbo.
Dingo Wax will sort things out on that fretboard once you have done the light sanding.
Bondi blue dingotone came today...
I know what I'll be doing tomorrow arvo :)
Robbo
Reminds me of an old Skyhooks song.....Everybody's wearin' blue jeans / Everybody's got their own scenes / Everybody's lost in daydreams / But everybody's wearin' blue jeans.....
Have fun and I bet you will now be humming along to this tune as you do.
Hmm...
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Thought I did everything right. Wet it down looking for glue spots, the whole bottom of the front is a giant glue smear.
The dye will not penetrate some areas around the outside and the grain on the back just looks wet and dirty.
I'll give it a few days to dry, sand and paint.
Robbo.
Bummer about the glue but all is not lost
Be careful sanding that cap, I'd be be tempted to do a solid colour in acrylic paint on back & sides and work it in on the top as a burst.
Spraygun or rattle can for the back & sides and airbrush on the top.
There are plenty of vids on YT showing how to do it, just have a practice on some scrap timber first to get the technique right