Producing a midnight purple wood grain finish

[Nik]

Hi all. New to the forums and Pitbull. I've just ordered a jb4 which I plan to finish in dark tease for one of my sons. The next project will be a Jackson style flying v kit which I want to finish in a "midnight purple" colour similar to PMS 2597. There does not appear to be any really dark wudtone purples, so can anyone suggest an alternative product?

I work in IT in the print industry and have access to water and alcohol based Toyo inks, but I'm not sure how suitable these products would be for staining wood. The printers can mix up any PMS colour fom the base ink range, and armed with a colour code they can mix me up any colour I require (it'll more than likely cost me a slab for the favor though lol).

Any thoughts or advice on this approach?

What about water based aniline dyes?

Thanks in advance.

Nik

[Brendan]

Welcome along Nik - JB4's are great and Dark Tease is a beautiful colour - check out a couple of people's diaries as I gather it's not the easiest colour to lay down. In terms of other stains / inks, no idea. Wudtone seems to be the biz here .

[DanMade]

Hi Nik. Welcome along.

DingoBass can probably mix you a custom darker purple Wudtone mix. I've seen a few of his custom brews used on some PBG kits that really look great.

Aniline dyes work great too. But you have put some type of clear coat over them. Also you want to use a dye that has a high U.V resistance, or the dye could be prone to fading.

[DanMade]

I have been playing around with these acrylic artist ink/dye's with great effect. I just dilute with water to apply.
I purchased them from a local art supply store for about $10 each.

Wether these are the best option,I have no idea. But they have worked well for me.

[Nik]

Thanks for feedback guys, I'll be scouring the forum for tips. Cheers

[Nik]

Hey Dan - on your proposal of inks. What was the drying time between coats, and what did you use as a top coat to seal the wood? Dr duck, a wax sealant, or a clear coat etc?
I saw a Youtube video (think it was Fred Yen) who used blue ink to colour a Les Paul kit, followed by a number of layers of true oil. The colour results looked pretty good. I initially thought about using inks, but as I am new to the shenanigans of guitar building I'm trying to get a feel for what works for different people and trying to learn from their experiences. Getting DingoBass to mix up a custom mix is also an option.

Cheers

[wokkaboy]

Hi Nik, I'm sure DB can mix you up a darker amaranthine wudtone kit, maybe with more deep colour, I think you can achieve a dark purple finish. Which kit you got in mind the FV-1 ? If you don't steel wool between deep colour coats and give it at least 2 days curing between coats I think you should be happy with the deepness of the purple

[Nik]

Thanks wokkaboy, It's for another one of my sons as a christmas present, and he has always loved the JK-1 shape. Quite partial to it myself...

[wokkaboy]

ok cool Nik, the JK-1 should look awesome in dark purple, good luck building it and keeping it a secret from your son till xmas ! Speak to Dr Wudtone aka Dingobass about a darker or more deep colour amaranthine kit

[DanMade]

I allowed only around 30 mins between coats with the inks, they tend to dry quickly. Especially in good conditions.
I finished mine with tru oil.

This is only my second build, and I myself am still experimenting with different finishing techniques. I used Wudtone for my first build.
After using tru oil and Wudtone, I think I prefer Wudtone. In my opinion it was easier to use and achieve nice even coats. It's also less labour intensive, put on a coat and come back in a few days. With the tru oil you can apply a few coats a day, so it demands your attention most of the day.
In the end once you allow time to cure, they both will take around the same time. The Wudtone just requires less work.

My main dislike with Tru oil is that it contains silicones. So you have to be very careful you don't get it on areas that require gluing or alternate finishes. And it's can be a bit messy and sticky.

A lot of people use tru oil and it works well for them. But for my next oil based finish I will be going back to Wudtone .