Dye Finish - Opinion

Hi All,

I have a couple of PBG's on the go and looking for some opinions on a dye finish. All my guitars to date have been either spray painted with cans or one was finished entirely with truoil.

I'm looking to finish off a quilted maple top as per the pic below. I've been looking at the Angelus Leather Dyes for the orange colour.

My question is that given i haven't done a dye finish before or worked on a figured top, i'm wondering if the below colour is more than just an orange, and whether it may have some other colour under or over the top?? Thoughts? Possibly it has yellow and not just orange? Would something with so much depth just be a single colour?

Hi,

sorry but I do not have any experience with a quilted maple top yet. But I would assume orange , rubbed back, then yellow.

Check out Dozy's quilted build at https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...l=1#post209823. This was black, rubbed back, then blue. I think from memory they were water based (Ubeaut dyes). Hopefully Dozy will chime in and add more (or the truth!).

Thanks Trevor i'll definitely check out the link. I was thinking the same thing being orange sanded back and yellow but given i've never done any dye finishes and not having any access at the moment to scrap quilted maple i figured someone on the forum would know! Very knowledgable people on this site!! helped me out a bunch of times :-)

While I cannot accurately answer your question about how they got that exact color, I can say that I just did a build using the Angelus leather dyes and was super impressed with how easy the product was to work with. I did a black and orange setup. It was darker than what you posted.
https://i.imgur.com/fJxWgNa.jpg

Thanks Patrick. Can i ask what you used as a sealer before a top coat?

Every time i look at colour options i keep changing my mind, haha. Saw this and thought it looked pretty cool to try as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PocGPUEM0lE

Looks to me like a single colour orange dye/stain applied on that PRS. Take into consideration the colour of the veneer as that will affect the final colour. All the pattern variations seen on that PRS are down to the maple used for the top. You'll need a very figured bit of veneer to get it to come out quite like that.

Use the wipe over with turps or metho trick to see how figured its going to look with a single colour stain. If it's not that intense an effect, then you may want to go over with a darker or even black stain first, and then carefully sand back before applying the orange. This will 'pop' the grain that is there.

Thanks Simon...was thinking of switching to a darker colour for that very reason after doing a lot of reading.

I have some Shelite, is that ok to wipe over to see the figure?

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Originally Posted by a_novice

Thanks Simon...was thinking of switching to a darker colour for that very reason after doing a lot of reading.

I have some Shelite, is that ok to wipe over to see the figure?

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It will work (sort of). Shellite (aka naptha in US) evaporates really quickly so you don't get a lot of "viewing time".
Metho also has a quick evap time, but slower than shellite.

If you're going to be using water based dye, I would avoid turps. It may be fine, and ftr I have no evidence to support my thinking, but I always try and minimise anything that might cause incompatibility issues when it comes to finishing.

If you're going to use alcohol based dye, I don't feel it's an issue. eg: Feast Watson Proof Tint is alcohol based and can be used to tint oil based polyurethane.

I've happily used turps and/ white spirit before using water based stain, but you need to allow time for the turps/spirit to evaporate fully before using the stain. Probably wait until the next day. Turps is just so much nicer to use than white spirit.

Good to know Simon.
It's one of those things I've meant to do some testing on, but haven't. My concern has been residual oils. Obviously must not be an issue given enough time. Thanks!

Thanks guys, definitely good to know. Plan on using Angelus leather dye so its alcohol based and then water based poly over the top (wipe on) for something different.

Going to use z-poxy on the back to fill the pores as well, so trying something new.

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Going to use z-poxy on the back to fill the pores as well, so trying something new.

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Remind me which kit you're going to be finishing. If it is the TL-1TB or Iceman as in your signature, I'm pretty sure those are both basswood bodies and typically don't require grain filling.

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Originally Posted by McCreed

Remind me which kit you're going to be finishing. If it is the TL-1TB or Iceman as in your signature, I'm pretty sure those are both basswood bodies and typically don't require grain filling.

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I just purchased the 7string multi scale with quilted top which is the one I’ll be using the dye on. My TLB is almost done and is black using SCA spray cans. My Iceman is full Matt black using Loop spray cans and putting a large decal on the top of the body.

I must put a diary up of them all to share!

Ah yes, mahogany body... definitely grain filling if you want a smooth glossy finish.

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Originally Posted by McCreed

Ah yes, mahogany body... definitely grain filling if you want a smooth glossy finish.

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Super excited as been waiting on the multi scale for a long time. I missed out last batch but so excited to build now.