daveq Posted October 20, 2003 Report Share Posted October 20, 2003 I'm going to stain the maple top but I'm not sure what to do about the mahogany body wood. Are there any issues with staining mahogany? I know there are some things that need to be done when painting it but I'm not sure about staining (pore filling,...). Depending on the color I choose for the top, do you think it would look strange to leave the mahogany as-is (with clear over it)? I was considering a dark-ish color (maybe charcoal, brown, earthy colors) for the maple top but I'm not sure yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Rosenberger Posted October 20, 2003 Report Share Posted October 20, 2003 You're going to be pleasantly surprised how good the Mahogany looks with just clear on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted October 20, 2003 Report Share Posted October 20, 2003 I agree with Scott. Mahogony is really sweet left just the way it is. 'Maybe' a coat or two of shellac first to give the pores a bit of character... David McNaught (extremely high-end custom builder) does that...quilted dyed tops with the Mahogony left completely natural. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YDoesGodMockMeSo Posted October 20, 2003 Report Share Posted October 20, 2003 if you want to see how maple top and clear mahogony back look. look for pictures of Jacksons USA Phil Collins signature guitar. it has a quilted maple top in varyous colors w/ a clear mahogony back. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...&category=33044 If you wanna see how mahogony looks dyed/painted transparent. You can find some pictures of the Jackson USA Mustaine Y2KV. Its mahogony ...i know theres a red one on ebay right now. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...&category=33044 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveq Posted October 20, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2003 Thank you very much. I have seen that Phil Collen guitar before - I really like it. Thanks for the tips - I'll probably leave it as is then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted October 21, 2003 Report Share Posted October 21, 2003 Maybe that Collen guitar is natural, but it doesn't quite represent what I consider natural Mahogony. I would say that NM is more a lustrous honey-gold color. That Collen guitar looks kind of reddish or something...maybe it's just a dark pic or something... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodney Posted November 14, 2003 Report Share Posted November 14, 2003 If you were going for colored mahogany i would use toner, or stain it and then add a light toner. Mahogany doesn't stain very well and the dark color makes it hard to get a accurate shade of most stains. Leaving it clear is sweet- i agree! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted November 14, 2003 Report Share Posted November 14, 2003 i just had nice results getting a honey yellow on a piece of mahogany by bleaching and staining it minwax early american Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyG Posted November 15, 2003 Report Share Posted November 15, 2003 the mahogany on the phil collins guitar looks pretty sweet. im currentlly planning (tho through lack of cash and tools i wont start it for a while) to build an explorer style guitar with a solid mahogany body, no veneer, id like to give it a nice dark red sort of finish tho if i get a piece thats dark enough to begin with i might just leave it natural Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonray305 Posted November 17, 2003 Report Share Posted November 17, 2003 I think Mawhogany is best left clear our with a red tinted Lacquer. Jon Ray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted November 17, 2003 Report Share Posted November 17, 2003 I think Mawhogany is best left clear our with a red tinted Lacquer. Jon Ray well now that would be boring,wouldn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Headen Posted November 17, 2003 Report Share Posted November 17, 2003 STRONG BAD!!!! HSR's site is on my sig....you guys need to check it out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckguitarist Posted November 17, 2003 Report Share Posted November 17, 2003 homestarrunner.net....its .COM! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Headen Posted November 17, 2003 Report Share Posted November 17, 2003 homestarrunner.net....its .COM! hmm?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckguitarist Posted November 17, 2003 Report Share Posted November 17, 2003 they changed their address. your link doesn't work anymore. heres the new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted November 20, 2003 Report Share Posted November 20, 2003 Hey, first post in this forum. Cool, how is everyone? I just built an all mahogany neckthrough. Pics in this link: http://pictures.care2.com/view/1/158054871 Some of the pics show the guitar looking really dark. Thats because I stained it heavily with red mahogany stain. I then sanded it right back down to the wood. Since mahogany is a very porous wood some stain was left inside the grain so it did a good job of filling as well as enhancing the details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannoG Posted November 20, 2003 Report Share Posted November 20, 2003 Welcome, I see you are not a slave to convention (jack placement and headstock). Looks pretty good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyG Posted November 20, 2003 Report Share Posted November 20, 2003 that is a sweet guitar how much stain did you use and how much did you sand it back?? id like to do something similar on my first guitar but id like to have it much redder in colour and i dont know whether it would be best to use more stain or less sanding? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southpa Posted November 20, 2003 Report Share Posted November 20, 2003 Thanks for the compliments! Mahogany comes in quite a few varying shades. The wood you see are the natural colors, all I did was darken the grain with the stain (rhymes! <g>). The middle neckthrough piece was a lighter shade of the same wood. I was looking more for fill than color, so the darkening just happened. I ragged on 3 coats of stain over a couple days and then sanded right back down to bare wood again (between the grain). This is my first "from scratch" guitar and the only reason why I sanded it back was because the stain (Minwax - red mahogany) did not get along very well with my polyurethane clearcoat. Good thing anyway, looks much better. If you plan to leave more stain on you'd best make sure whatever clear you use will stick properly. Polyurethane is acetone base and I think the stain was oil (mineral spirits) base. The poly didn't stick very well. Heres a few specs: Grover tuners - tight fit up there and I might replace later with Grover minituners. Schaller roller bridge (tune-o-matic) - had to cut 4 degree neck angle Golden Age overwound humbuckers (12 Kohm) StewMac Bi-flex "Hotrod" truss rod Stainless steel pickguard - homemade strat-style plugin - had to fashion a black plastic retaining ring, thats what happens when you cut holes a little too big. body style is a tracing of the lower half of my 67 Hagstrom III and then mirrored. Arrow shaped headstock w/ staggered tuners allows for strings running straight thru the nut. 3- 500K pots (2 vol. and 1 tone) .047 ufarad capacitor Black Ice Overdrive capacitor mounted on 250K pot Rosewood fretboard - 24 3/4 scale - precut Medium jumbo frets One thing I will avoid next time is the position I placed my fingerboard. The result was too much neck which put the guitar a little off balance, ie. heavy toward the headstock. I had to hog out some wood from the sides of the volume/tone pot cavity and poured about 1/2 lb of lead in there, lol. Its almost perfect and those Grovers are real heavy. When I replace with minituners it should be just right. Also, too much neck means less room for pickup placement. As the saying goes, you learn from your mistakes. I also have some very nice Mexican abalone blanks and am still looking for an easy way to cut out 5-pointed stars for fret markers. My first attempt was a botched job. That stuff sure dulls saw blades fast. I have a friend who carves slate so I might get him to cut my pieces for me. Anyway, I still have lots of mahogany left. Got it for nothing at a boat building shop I used to work at. I got the carpenter to split a 4" thick X 11" wide X 42" long slab for me. Now I can make a few true "bookmatched" guitar bodies. I tell ya tho, decent hardware can really put a dent in the ol' credit card. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saber Posted November 21, 2003 Report Share Posted November 21, 2003 Nice! The creative placement of the jack actually adds to the guitar's look rather than just being a functional necessity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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