thermopyle Posted September 5, 2003 Report Share Posted September 5, 2003 my brother-in-law works for a large cabinetmaking/finishing company, that does everything from houses for the well-to-do to casinos. we got to talking about the best way to get a nice, deep red/brown, transparent, on this mahogany strat i'm building. i showed him a few examples around the web of the color i was looking for. next day, he shows up with a chunk of mahogany and the most incredible dyed reddish-brown, the grain on this mahogany just shimmering as i move it under the light. had one coat of lacquer on it. the perfect color and the grain was popping... considering that the areas that weren't finished were rather plain, i couldn't believe how alive it was. he used caustic soda, a fairly strong concentrate, and wiped it on with a foam brush. for those of you unfamiliar, caustic soda is one of the main ingredients in crystal drano. so i bought a can, mixed one tablespoon with a litre (about a quart) of water, and wiped some on a bit of scrap with a foam brush. instant reaction and a beautiful color emerged. let it sit a few minutes then dabbed it dry with paper towel. even dry, the grain is alive under a lamp, and that's with no lacquer on it at all. looks like a top-line aniline dye job. cost me 4 bucks. i'm going to start on a new piece, drano-stain, grain-fill, sand and shoot lacquer until i get something resembling a guitar-style finish and see what comes out. i'll post when i have more info. anyone tried this? thermo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jehle Posted September 5, 2003 Report Share Posted September 5, 2003 I wonder if that's the same effect as using a wood bleach. Seems like I read somewhere that bleaching the wood does bring out the figure better. Take some before and after pics and post them if you can. A cheap alternative to wood bleach would be nice to know about for when the time comes up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted September 6, 2003 Report Share Posted September 6, 2003 Excellent tip bro! Thanks for letting us know about it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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