Mickguard Posted September 23, 2005 Report Share Posted September 23, 2005 I'm trying to get info on staining wood --I came across this site saying that the first step is to grain fill and seal They say you'll get a more even color that way... But it seems to me that you all are doing things the other way --stain first and then sealer? I'm basically trying to darken/blacken the grain before adding a transparent color coat --I can't find any black epoxy here... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted September 23, 2005 Report Share Posted September 23, 2005 Out of all the tutorials in this site and you are going t otry one posted at "LOWES"? Com'on, you ain't staining wood floors or tables. OK, that out of the way, if you seal the wood first I think that the stainn won't be even if you use a water based stain, on the case of mineral spirits or denaturated alcohol, I think that it will bite into the sealer. What type of wood you are using? Ash, mahogany? any of those will need grain fill, and if you want to accentuate the grain black epoxy is your best bet. Just go to an auto or boat repair parts store, they got epoxy by the truck load and it comes in so many colors it is rediculous. Also most of them can be stained with dyes, If all you want is black epoxy, just get some black anyline dye, diluted in denaturated alcohol and then use it to dye clear epoxy. After you fill the grain, make sure that you scrape it good and just leave the grain filled with the epoxy, then a shot of clear (or sanding sealer) to make it even, once it is even, do your color tone coat and after that follow with your clear coats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted September 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2005 Hey, I'm not going to tell you what I put into Google to end up at Lowes (well, I didn't even look at the name of the site...anyway, two of the words were 'food' and 'coloring'... ). Didn't think to look in the auto shop, thanks for the tip...though you have to understand that the market here in France is much different...there are all kinds of products you guys have there that they just never seem to have heard of here...and even if someone does have it, you have to figure out what they call it, and then find a shop (rarely the one you'd think) that carries it! I'm getting there though... Anyway, yeah, what I have here is some black food coloring from, believe or not, my kid's Spiderman birthday cake set that my mom brought over a couple years ago (are American kids spoiled rotten or what?)...I figured what the hey, I'll give it a go on scrap... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maiden69 Posted September 23, 2005 Report Share Posted September 23, 2005 Dude, don't use that crap... and just wait until Perry read those 2 words, my God, he is going to go insane... Ok, I do know a bit of what you might have over there sice I spent a year in Germany. There are 2 chain stores that I found a lot of stuff liek that. 1 is that OBI (hardware store, kinda like lowes) and the other I don't remember the name but they are mostly painted in Orange, and they mostly deal with garden and outdoor tools and other stuff. And also there was an auto place. I think it was call just like that AUTO with the A the shape of a car. They have a lot of laquer paints, and was the only place that I saw translucent paints, even before Duplicolor started to sell the metalcast. Go to a leather shop or a shoe shop. They will have anyline since this is what is use to make leather black. Don't use the food coloring, since this stuff degrades with time. An Jeff use to use it, ehich is a mayor NO NO here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted September 23, 2005 Report Share Posted September 23, 2005 Sealing the wood does just that - seal it off. Means, if you've sealed properly, that your stain will not get to the wood. A very, very light seal coat can let you do a very light stain, but it sounds like a mess waiting to happen. Raise/knock back the grain, stain, seal, spray toner coats if you want, spray clears. Any decent paints store should carry plain 'ol water or alcohol soluble powdered stains. Check your yellow pages, hit art supply/paint stores, and go from there. Heck, you can probably get some from craft supplies and/or dave dyke if you don't want to get powdered stains from (f'rinstance) LMI. I think they still ship internationally... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted September 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2005 Yes, putting sealer first didn't make any sense at all to me... Anyway, about the food color thing...not to worry, I don't intend to use it on the guitar itself... Right now I'm testing transparent spray paint --I've got black and I've got red...I needed something intensely black to bring out the grain a bit and the food coloring was at hand... I've got a good month to go before I"m close to the finishing stage--I work slowly and I don't have a lot of time for this either.... I'm off to the hardware store --I think there's another section with marine epoxy, but I don't recall seeing black there...but I"m going to pick up a can of real wood stain, that's the next step --maybe I'll prefer to stain the wood and just clear over that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted September 24, 2005 Report Share Posted September 24, 2005 I primarily use water based dyes so I have no choice but to apply that directly to the bare wood. BUT, as a result I can't use grain fillers and take the risk of hitting my stain job when sanding back. So after staining I just go ahead and shoot clear poly to fill the grain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted September 24, 2005 Report Share Posted September 24, 2005 Um, you can still grain fill post-staining. Just seal very well, and then use a clear filler, and sand back carefully. Works for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marzocchi705 Posted September 24, 2005 Report Share Posted September 24, 2005 Um, you can still grain fill post-staining. Just seal very well, and then use a clear filler, and sand back carefully. Works for me. +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhoads56 Posted September 24, 2005 Report Share Posted September 24, 2005 Dude, don't use that crap... and just wait until Perry read those 2 words, my God, he is going to go insane... ← MUST STAY CALM COUNT TO TEN STAY CALM CALM CALM CALM aaaAAAAHHHHHHHH Do not mention food die, it is EVIL stuff. DO NOT USE PRODUCTS DESIGNED FOR IMEDIATE OR SHORT TERM USES, WHEN YOU ULTIMATELY WANT THE COLOURING TO STAY EVEN AND NOT FADE FOR THE NEXT 50 YEARS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted September 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2005 Heh heh... sometimes tells me I almost got a couple weeks vacation Anyway, this morning I went out and found real black wood stain....no worries! I'm trying it out right now... Although the wood isn't black ....it's brown...in fact, it's exactly that beautiful rich brown I've seen on some Les Pauls.... The can said to do two coats, so that's what I did. If I do more, will the wood turn black eventually? I was worried about obscuring the grain if I put too much in there.....I'll give it a go for the next test... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javacody Posted September 24, 2005 Report Share Posted September 24, 2005 Black dye is what you want if you don't want to obscure the grain, and try and get a powdered version, so you can control the strength. I'm thinking about using anyline dye to decorate a cake, what do you guys think? LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted September 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2005 Black dye is what you want if you don't want to obscure the grain, and try and get a powdered version, so you can control the strength. I'm thinking about using anyline dye to decorate a cake, what do you guys think? LOL ← Hey, I have a whole bottle of the stuff if you want it...mmm-mmm, black pancakes for breakfast! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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