Sealer to help mask dye?

[JimC]

So, I have to dye the back and sides of my lockdown mandolin, but keep the neck untouched. It will be a tru oil finish, starting with their sealer/filler. Would it be sensible to give the neck a coat of sealer/filler before I stain the back and sides, in order to reduce the risk of the dye spilling onto the neck? Its going to be a solvent based dye, not water based, since that's what I have.

[Simon Barden]

Can't you simply do a test piece, to see if the sealer does stop the dye? Maybe even add a coat of Tru-Oil as well? And then mask over that.

[JimC]

too sensible!! [goes to find sealer filler]

[Simon Barden]

I doubt whether many people using Tru Oil have actually used the sealer filler, let alone tried it out as a stain barrier, so testing is probably the only way you'll really find out.

[vh2580]

A coat of tru oil will stop wiped on stain if wiped off quickly particularly on a different piece of timber as you cant get "internal" grain bleed.
Only drawback is that you need to ensure that the tru oil doesn't get onto your back and sides as will interfere with the stain.

[JimC]

Well, the test report is that it seems to work as expected if you leave the sealer filler overnight to really cure thoroughly. If on the other hand you are impatient and only wait until its touch dry the solvent in the dye is good enough to make the sealer filler partly mobile again and the dye mixes in with horrible results!