Dealing With Mahogany Undertones

[angry_jeremy]

I finished my first guitar with just some analine dye (water soluble) that was supposed to be blue. It is on maple, etc. The end result on the mahogany I used for the body was kind of green-ish. I first had a real dilluted stain which ended up super green so I dumped in a ton more of powder. In the end I got blue with a hint of green, depending on the angle.

For my next one, I want to have a dark, forest green color but I know that if I get that kind of stain it's gonna turn out wierd. How do I deal with the yellow-orangey undertones of my wood?

[skibum5545]

Easy: wood bleach. Do a search for it, and you should get all the results you need.

You could also try a basswood veneer on the top, but that wouldn't do a thing for the back and sides.

[angry_jeremy]

Here's the beast in case you're wondering, sorry for the crappy pic

More pics at http://v5o5jotqkgfu3btr91t7w5fhzedjaoaz8ig...rst-guitar.html

Wood bleach eh? Is it much different from other bleach (Javex, etc.)?

[www]

errr... Nice feet!

[stringkilla]

AJ first let me say that Mahogany is a wood that has a red-orange resin content thats very hard to erase. My advice is to veneer the top or drop top it with a maple or ash wood then clear coat the mahogany to the back. The lighter woods lend themselves to coloring much better than mahogany or any of the darker woods. Good luck on future projects, Killa

[angry_jeremy]

Groan. So other that frig around with the stain there's not much I can do? Anybody used that bleach stuff on mahogany before?

[skibum5545]

http://projectguitar.ibforums.com/index.ph...&hl=wood+bleach

You can get it at home depot; it's probably worth a go.

[frank falbo]

You can also put the blue tint in the gloss coat. That way it won't be mixing with the mahogany tones, but rather floating on top. Then it acts as a light filter rather than a colorant. It will always be a little greenish, but one trick around that is to go for a more purply-blue. Red "kills" green and vice versa. What I mean by kills is that it neutralizes it, but only in reference to brown. So when you add purple (elements of red) you will get a more true blue but it will be darker overall. What you're really trying to do is kill all the yellow. Purple is opposite yellow on the color wheel.

The bleaching will help, but keep in mind that the yellow base is probably what the bleach will leave behind, stripping the reddish-brown away. So you may still have a problem with blue. You have to think this way when using a yellowing lacquer or polyurethane, too. Because it will green out the blue. So even if you get a good basecoat you can find yourself going more green as you apply more clear. Try to use something non-yellowing for your clearcoat. Maybe something water based.

For forest green, I would say you can just go right ahead and stain it, because it will work well with the mahogany. Obviously reds and browns are the easiest, but a heavy powder amount on unbleached mahogany should get you good results.