Robert Irizarry Posted February 28, 2006 Report Share Posted February 28, 2006 I'm wondering what experiences people have had with finishing alder. I've done some searching on the Internet and come across indications that it is hard to finish as well as easy to finish!?! Anyway, I'm hoping that the fine folks here can set me straight. Specifically, I'm interested in staining alder darker. I understand that furniture makers sometimes use it as a substitute for cherry. I'm more interested in going with something a bit darker but I guess the techniques and/or issues are the same. Anybody use Danish oil finishes on it? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gun Posted March 1, 2006 Report Share Posted March 1, 2006 But what color do you want to achieve? Gian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Irizarry Posted March 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2006 But what color do you want to achieve? Gian I'm still debating this a bit. I'm looking at one of three possibilities - rosewood, walnut or just plain black. What I'm looking for are any tips or considerations when staining alder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Irizarry Posted March 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2006 But what color do you want to achieve? Gian I'm still debating this a bit. I'm looking at one of three possibilities - rosewood, walnut or just plain black. What I'm looking for are any tips or considerations when staining alder. After some additional digging around searching out alder furniture, I think I've found my solution. I have to remember these guitar things are made of wood... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott from _actual time_ Posted March 5, 2006 Report Share Posted March 5, 2006 After some additional digging around searching out alder furniture, I think I've found my solution. would you mind sharing it with the rest of the world? i've just finished a 7-string body in alder, and i'm trying to decide what stain to use on it. thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Irizarry Posted March 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2006 After some additional digging around searching out alder furniture, I think I've found my solution. would you mind sharing it with the rest of the world? i've just finished a 7-string body in alder, and i'm trying to decide what stain to use on it. thanks. What I came across indicated successful use of stains no different than you would use for furniture finishing - Minwax for example. I also saw the use of Danish oil over stains. Both are wipe on type finishes which I expect (haven't tried this yet) are much easier to deal with than spray on finishes. As far as stain colors, one of the reason that furniture makers use alder is to imitate cherry which is more expensive but there's no reason it can't be anything else. I've also seen examples of ebonized alder in both furniture as well as pieces of alder. Ok. Here are some urls to check out: Woodweb - Finishing Difficult Woods - this gives some tips on handling some potential issues with uneven staining of alder. Practice on your scraps to get a sense of how well (consistently) the wood takes the stain. Mr. Standman Woods and Stains - This one gives examples of various woods (including alder) and how they appear with various stains. Stewmac's Trade Secrets - Spray-finishing a Guitar... - It shows an alder body being stained blue. (Stewmac carries stains, btw). My recommendation is to pursue this further by googling for "stain alder" or "ebonize alder". You can look at a couple of web links but you'll get even more interesting results if you do image searches with these phrases. I also searched on "alder furniture" which gave some further examples. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott from _actual time_ Posted March 5, 2006 Report Share Posted March 5, 2006 What I came across indicated successful use of stains no different than you would use for furniture finishing... thanks for the links. i do know about Stew Mac's stains and that staining page on their Trade Secrets. i used that exact same blue stain on my maple V (a pic in this thread). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Irizarry Posted March 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 Glad that was helpful. Don't forget to share any other site links you come across. I have some time to kill (well a few days) while I wait for some of the bits and pieces I need to get going on the body of my project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott from _actual time_ Posted March 6, 2006 Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 Glad that was helpful. Don't forget to share any other site links you come across. i'm planning on using the Stew Mac stain, or some mixture of them. i just need to decide what colors to buy--i'm aiming for a slightly rosy color, but i don't want it too pink. i'll probably experiment on scraps for a weekend or two, so it may be a month before i have any information that might be helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Irizarry Posted March 6, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 i'm planning on using the Stew Mac stain, or some mixture of them. i just need to decide what colors to buy--i'm aiming for a slightly rosy color, but i don't want it too pink. i'll probably experiment on scraps for a weekend or two, so it may be a month before i have any information that might be helpful. Sounds great. I don't expect to be even close to starting a finish so I'll look forward to your experiences. Scott - do you have a thread for your project? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott from _actual time_ Posted March 6, 2006 Report Share Posted March 6, 2006 Scott - do you have a thread for your project? yep--Ibanez S7 clone. that thread is really old, but i just went back and updated the links to the pics. i recently did some final shaping of the body, so now i'm ready to stain and laquer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Irizarry Posted March 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 yep--Ibanez S7 clone. that thread is really old, but i just went back and updated the links to the pics. i recently did some final shaping of the body, so now i'm ready to stain and laquer. Thanks for the link! That body looks really good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott from _actual time_ Posted March 16, 2006 Report Share Posted March 16, 2006 Thanks for the link! That body looks really good. thanks! it has come along quite nicely. i've started another one out of hard maple, and i'm missing how supple the alder was to work compared to hard-as-a-rock maple. i think i've figured out what i'm going to stain that alder with. my local Woodcraft store carries Trans Tint liquid stains (color samples here). they look very similar to the Stew Mac liquid stains, which i used on my maple V, except the Trans Tint line has twice as many colors. the Red Mahogany looks to be about the shade i'm aiming for on alder--reddish brown, but more red than brown. i'll test it on scrap in a couple different strengths, then report back in this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Irizarry Posted March 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2006 Thanks for the link to that product line. It was interesting to note that it doesn't work with Danish oil finishes. I was thinking of doing a Danish oil finish but laying down some kind of stain first. Now, I'm thinking that dye and shellac might be a good way to go. Anyway, I'm looking forward to your findings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott from _actual time_ Posted March 26, 2006 Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 i finally got around to those staining tests on alder today, in preparation for staining my Ibanez S7 clone body. i'm using the Trans Tint "Red Mahogany" water-soluble analine dye. i'm pretty sure it's made by the same company that makes the Stew Mac Color Tone dyes, and it may even be the same exact color as their Red Mahogany. the alder i have is scraps from my Stew Mac body blank--it's a pale rose color, with brown streaks in the grain that look like tiny slivers of caramel in ice cream. i mixed the stain in three different ratios. the far left-hand stripe on the left-most scrap is stain mixed 1:64, which is half-strength compared to what the label says (1 oz per quart, or 1:32). the middle stripe on the left-hand scrap is recommended strength, 1:32. the right stripe on the left-hand scrap, and the block next to it, and the two blocks below are all 1:16, which is double strength. and the far right stripe is double strength applied twice--brushed on, wiped off, then again. it goes on a lot browner than in those pics, then turns reddish as it dries. the half-strength and the full-strength look more pale red that i was aiming for. the double-strength and the double applied twice look pretty good to me, especially where there is enough grain in the wood to show through. i'm going to start my staining with one application of that double strength and see how it looks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted March 26, 2006 Report Share Posted March 26, 2006 it goes on a lot browner than in those pics, then turns reddish as it dries. After the clearcoat is applied it will probably look more like it does when the dye is wet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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