TLA-1Q Tuff-Dog Finish Strategy (Feedback requested)

[brandanop]

Hi All,

I am a complete newbie when it comes to finishing wood (and guitars). I have started with an ambitious project, because I am a glutton for punishment . I am going to try to turn my TLA-1Q into a tuff-dog esqe Tele. My goal is a tobacco burst on the quilt top. I have purchased Keda dyes as well as Mohawk Black lacquer and Clear Stringed Instrument Lacquer. My plan is this...

1. Use Terps to find glue marks
2. Use goof off and a tooth brush to remove glue
3. Dye with black Keda
4. Hand Sand back as little as possible to highlight the quilt
5. Dye entire top with Amber Keda (which I will create by mixing yellow and orange keda dye).
6. Let dry
7. Tape off and paint back and sides with black lacquer
7. Cover top with tear shaped cardboard lifted with toothpicks to raise the edges a bit and spray outward with black lacquer to create a feathered burst.
8. Let dry and use clear lacquer on face sides and back to apply several coats
9. Sand with increasing grit sandpaper to polish clear coat.
10. Compound wax, etc.


Question: Will the black lacquer be noticeably higher than the dyed center? Am I better off hand rubbing the burst?

[Marcel]

You can only give it a try and see how it goes....

However...
Watch carefully with the Keda dyes... When putting your black layer down be sure to wipe as much excess off before it dries, as any loose dye will re-animate in your lighter Yellow/Orange application stage and contaminate it with unwanted Black. Keda dyes don't become fixed until after your clear coat goes down. Before that they easily redissolve into the next colour stage....
About the only success I've had in doing similar to what you're planning is by just pouring the Yellow layer on and dabbing (instead of rubbing) it to a dryer state. Rubbing (as is recommended) will definitely dislodge any Black dye underneath.

A mid build pic of my rainbow Tele from years ago (one of my earliest builds) shows just how messy mixing only Yellow and Blue Keda dyes can get....

Good luck.

[dave.king1]

I used Coolangatta Gold and black acrylic on my Tuff Dog, I tried the Black Stump but it wasn't working for me.

I used a damp cloth to find the glue spots and then Goofoff to remove them, sand the veneer as little as is possible

The burst line is a bit too sharp but I'm happy with it.

The guitar is now christened Moet after my daughters Maltese that was mauled by dare I say it a Pitbull so badly that her organs were visible through the wounds, the story has a happy ending as she survived and is as fit and healthy as ever

[brandanop]

Thank you so much for this excellent advice Marcel! I will use the approach you suggest. I hadn’t heard that issue about KEDA dyes before. Did you use water or alcohol to dilute? Think it makes a difference?

You can only give it a try and see how it goes....

However...
Watch carefully with the Keda dyes... When putting your black layer down be sure to wipe as much excess off before it dries, as any loose dye will re-animate in your lighter Yellow/Orange application stage and contaminate it with unwanted Black. Keda dyes don't become fixed until after your clear coat goes down. Before that they easily redissolve into the next colour stage....
About the only success I've had in doing similar to what you're planning is by just pouring the Yellow layer on and dabbing (instead of rubbing) it to a dryer state. Rubbing (as is recommended) will definitely dislodge any Black dye underneath.

A mid build pic of my rainbow Tele from years ago (one of my earliest builds) shows just how messy mixing only Yellow and Blue Keda dyes can get....

Good luck.

[brandanop]

Thank you so much Dave! I am glad to hear that Moët made it! Beautiful guitar. I would be thrilled if mine comes out that nice. I will keep you posted.

[dave.king1]

Thank you so much Dave! I am glad to hear that Moët made it! Beautiful guitar. I would be thrilled if mine comes out that nice. I will keep you posted.

Here's my build diary, the guitar does appear on a couple of songs on the Bandcamp link in my sig along with my PBG Strat & P Bass

https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...highlight=tuff

[Marcel]

I've tried a few iterations of Keda powder with both water, Isopropyl alcohol and even Acetone. Had no noticeable difference in the dyes performance though the various "mixers" each have their own benefits and short falls....

All in all the alcohol/water mix is the safest and easiest to work with on clean wood. Mix the powder into 50ml of alcohol and then take up to full volume with distilled water. The alcohol simply assists in dissolving the powder into a solution with water being the main carrier. I made my colours in 200ml batches so effectively they were quite safe liquids at 25% alcohol.... For most colours 100ml easily does one guitar, though on pure Red will often consume the entire 200ml to get a decent depth of colour deeper than Pink..

The alcohol only and acetone versions helped slightly on difficult and contaminated woods. Not recommended due the flammable, toxic and smelly nature of those liquids.

[Marcel]

For interests sake this is a Yellow to Red Keda powder dye burst using the 25% alcohol and water mixes onto a flame Maple veneer complete with unfixed glue spots. No clear coat applied.

Yep, not much Red, just plenty of Orange that would not turn Red ....

[Simon Barden]

The very best way to do a burst is spray it. Whilst not impossible, it is very hard indeed to do a graduated burst just by staining.

When spraying, you don't cover up the middle of the guitar otherwise you'll end up with hard edges in the finish. You simply hold the spray gun or can over the centre of the guitar and spray out towards the edge. Exactly where will depend on the width of the spray cone, so try out on some cardboard templates first. Start by aiming just beyond the edge of the body. The graduation is simply done by the edge of the spray cone, which has far less paint than the centre.

You'll find that dark finishes get darker as they dry, so don't be tempted to go in too heavily to begin with. Much better to do two two three lighter coats than one really heavy coat (which is more liable to run).

It's good to be able to rotate the body whist spraying. I spray with the body flat and use a turntable (made from a Lazy Susan) but I've also used a piece of cardboard underneath the body (generally necessary anyway when spraying flat to raise the edges off the surface). This allows the body to be easily spun around, which means that you can stay in the same place.

If you want to fully copy a Tuff Dog, note that the burst isn't a teardrop shape (like on most Gibsons) but follows the outline of the body by 30mm or so.

[brandanop]

For what it's worth that is a beautiful guitar. Unintended tea burst is still just as delicious as intended tea burst