Staining Zebrawood

[gw_guitars]

Hi,

I've read all the topic's about staining and the stew mac trading secrets about staining.

I'm specially charmed about the guitars that Drak built.

I know they use quilted maple but can you use some other kind of wood?

My guitar (still in the making) is a one piece maple neck with "wings" of zebrawood.

It's obvious that the quilted maple has a unique kind of look but the look I'm after is just enlarging the difference between the light and dark parts of the wood.

So my thought are to stain the wood in a kind of 'honey' color and finish with clear.

When I spray water on the body I get almost the look I want but I want a 'deeper' look, just like the quilted maple look.

I hope somebody understands what I mean cause it's a little bit difficult to put your thoughts in writing

Gerard

[Drak]

I would try Lockwoods' powdered dye 'Early American Maple' (honeytone amber)

It is a water-based dye that is the closest color to real honest-to-god wetted wood that I've found yet. I think that is the closest color to what you're describing I can think of, I think you'll like it.

[Mattia]

With Zebrano's golden, variegated and frankly beutiful hues and colours, I wouldn't do anything with stain that could potentially 'mess' with the depth; the guitars I've made and seen with the 'deepest' wood finishes are those finish more or less strictly 'au naturel'. Stained maple can be very dramatic, but that works best (IMO) if you're trying to 'play' with less 'natural' colours (Reds, blues, greens and whatnot). Otherwise, I'm not a big fan of staining woods. Half the point of selecting strikingly coloured, interesting woods is so you don't need to finish 'em. Light coloured figured maples are kind of the exception there, as they'll 'take' lots of different hues without complaining.

Otherwise, pop the grain, clearcoat with (if you must) a few coats of slightly amber tinted clearcoat, then finish with 'regular' clearcoat. Remember than Nitro yellows with age, no matter what.

Oil pops wood grain something lovely, giving it a lot of depth, but isn't easy/always safe to use under gloss laquer (I've done it successfully a few times, though. Gotta dry good 'n hard, seal with shellac, spray over that). Schellac, perhaps something other than the 'blonde' you get everywhere (some nice orange shellac, dewaxed though), just a few coats wiped on, will give any wood a beautiful warm, deep, glow, pop the grain, and pretty much every finish out there is compatible with it.

Just my 2 cents.