drewtimfan Posted November 7, 2005 Report Share Posted November 7, 2005 So I started a new refinish. I have done 2 guitars before, but this is my first refinish. Swamp/Ash Maple body. Finally got all the paint off the body. I was going for a natural finish. The plan was to tru-oil the whole thing. However, I laid down a coat of black alcohol based analinel i obviously did this to try to bring out the flame on the maple and the grain on the swamp ash. Here's the thing: I mixed too much powder in with too little dye. So it was a very concentrated mixture. I only did one coat, now I can't get all of the dye off of the body. I started out trying to sand it by hand, went all the way down to 60 grit. I then moved to trying to pour some lacquer thinner over it; this got some of it off. I then used the last bit of my chemical paint remover. This did nothing of course. Then I moved to power sanding. This took most of the black pigment out, but I am left with a grayish tint. There is still alot of dye left there. I tried to put some water on the body to raise the grain, this did not help. My last resort was bleach. I got a two part wood bleach and made my first application about 3 hours ago, so far it has really done nothing. It made the exposed wood lighter in bad splotches, but has not lightened any of the dye. What can I do? Keep sanding and sanding and sanding? The gray remnants of dye just won't go away. I feel like I ruined my favorite guitar. Is there anything I can do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickguard Posted November 7, 2005 Report Share Posted November 7, 2005 Is there anything I can do? ← Paint it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted November 7, 2005 Report Share Posted November 7, 2005 Try wiping it down with Clorox bleach. This will usually "erase" analine dye. Do it once let it dry then do it again. If that doesn't work go to Oxalic acid. the next step is to try peroxide bleach. This is a two part bleach. Kleen Strip makes a kit that I am pretty sure Lowe's and Home Depot both sell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewtimfan Posted November 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2005 I got the 2 part bleach from the hardware store. I have made 4 applications now. It is working little by little but its nothing spectacular. I have been sanding like crazy. Hopefully it will make it through Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted November 10, 2005 Report Share Posted November 10, 2005 Just out of curiousity what kind of dye was it and how much did you mix in the alcohol? Usually the two part will kill it in two applications tops. There is a concentrated Sodium Hypochlorite bleach that the dip and strip furniture guys use that's about 20X stroger than Chlorox. It'll kill even hundred year old dark purple analine. I think Minutman is a distributor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugman96 Posted November 10, 2005 Report Share Posted November 10, 2005 Would Drano work? It's just sodium hypochlorite, sodium hydroxide, and hydrogen peroxide. *The sodium hydroxide might break down cellulose in the wood though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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