does mahogony need a filler when staining?

[mad_mackem]

hi all

just a quick question im planning on staining the mahogony part of the guitar im making and im going to try to achive a transparent red so it looks similar to a gibson sg. iv ordered all the stuff before im ready to use it to save postage costs and i ordered some mahogony grain filler because i had read in a book that mahogony needed a grain filler when painting, when iopened the pot of grain filler its a thick brown colour mixture. If im staining the mahogony do i need to use a grain filler?? if so will this brown mixture stuff dry translucent? the filler i was sent was simoniz red oxide primer which i was told could be used to fill mahogony grain. but im confused as to whether i need it now plse help.

thnx

[lovekraft]

Yes, mahogany will need grain filler if you're going for a smooth gloss finish. No, red oxide primer will not dry translucent, but it comes close to the color we associate with mahogany, so lots of people have used it. It'll only be in the pores, so it won't color the whole surface. If I'm not mistaken, SG Heritage Red is Gibson's cherry red translucent over unstained mahogany. Try Guitar Reranch for rattlecans and info on how to reproduce that finish. I'm fairly certain that stain, or even dye applied directly to the wood won't get you what you want - it'll be muddy and lack depth. I'd fill the wood, seal, sand smooth and then shoot some kind of tinted clearcoat over the top until I got the color I was after, then clearcoat, cure and polish.

[mad_mackem]

k cheers il av to do some testin n see wht results i get . thanx