Stevie_Ray Posted February 17, 2017 Report Share Posted February 17, 2017 I`m starting a Les Paul build and i'm trying to figure out how to dye the quilted top. I don't want it to look super gaudy just to show through a bit like the one in the picture below. does anyone have any tips for me? PS this is my first build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted February 17, 2017 Report Share Posted February 17, 2017 To get good quality quilted maple to just "show through a bit" is relatively simple. Just sand it smooth, say up to 320 or 400 grit and wipe on the dye. It is amazing what that will do. Or sand it smooth and spray it with lacquer that has been tinted with the dye. Many like to "pop" the grain to get a more dramatic effect. That is normally done by dyeing it in a darker version of your final color, say blue deepened with black. Then sand it back leaving only the darkest area with any dye in them and then dying a gain with the color you were going after in the first place. Here are a couple of my own builds with dyed quilted maple: You can also find several tutorials on this in our tutorial section and youtube videos galore. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie_Ray Posted February 17, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2017 Thanks Scott I wasn't sure if i had to pop the grain or not I've seen some people say yes then others say no. Also that is one awesome looking guitar! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a2k Posted February 18, 2017 Report Share Posted February 18, 2017 8 hours ago, ScottR said: To get good quality quilted maple to just "show through a bit" is relatively simple. Just sand it smooth, say up to 320 or 400 grit and wipe on the dye. It is amazing what that will do. Or sand it smooth and spray it with lacquer that has been tinted with the dye. Many like to "pop" the grain to get a more dramatic effect. That is normally done by dyeing it in a darker version of your final color, say blue deepened with black. Then sand it back leaving only the darkest area with any dye in them and then dying a gain with the color you were going after in the first place. Here are a couple of my own builds with dyed quilted maple: You can also find several tutorials on this in our tutorial section and youtube videos galore. SR A good build thread never gets old! How thick was the top you used on Justin's guitar? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted February 18, 2017 Report Share Posted February 18, 2017 9 hours ago, a2k said: How thick was the top you used on Justin's guitar? That was a 2" thick billet, so just a hair under 1" after glue-up. And closer to 3/4" after sanding it back flat. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted February 18, 2017 Report Share Posted February 18, 2017 17 hours ago, Stevie_Ray said: Thanks Scott I wasn't sure if i had to pop the grain or not I've seen some people say yes then others say no. Also that is one awesome looking guitar! I like to pop it, but no you do not have to to get a great look. And every coat of dye you add makes the darker areas even darker. Highly figured maple is an absolute joy to dye. As I am wont to say, everyone should try it once! And perhaps the best advice I can give you is to practice on scrap first. It will give you a great idea of how your maple is going to react. SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie_Ray Posted February 19, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2017 OK and once again thank you for you help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5itim Posted February 19, 2017 Report Share Posted February 19, 2017 You don't need to dye and sand back to get a nice top, this one was one of my mixtures that's just straight purple, with no dye dark and sand back. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevie_Ray Posted February 19, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2017 Really nice looking this is kinda how I imagine mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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