White Guitar Stain?

[jessejames]

Would like to use a white colored stain for a look like a PRS modern eagle, anyone know where I can pick something like this up at? I've looked everywhere I could think of (stew mac, lmii, a few other places) and just can't find the stuff. Anyone have any suggestions on where to look? I owned one of these and I suspect they used a white on it instead of just sanding the light blue back for the effect.

[Untitled_Project]

Maybe just a really thin coat of primer. the figure should still soak in white more than the "normal" parts of the wood....light sanding, seal it, then apply the blue?

I'm sure someone with more experience will correct me and tell you how it's really done

[3DogNate]

Unless I'm mistaken that finish is accomplished by bleaching the maple.... dying it blue then sanding it back to get the white parts... then clear coated... there is not "white" stain.

[ihocky2]

I haven't watched PRS do this finish, but 3DogNate has exactly how I would do it. You can see that the wood is not white, it is very light maple, probably bleached. Apply blue dye, sand back so only the curls are still blue, repeat until desired finish is acheived.

[Untitled_Project]

aha! see your answer comes in the form of a correction!

Bleaching the wood....thats's cool!

[Anthony]

Yeah, I don't think there's a white stain available for woods yet, so its either bleaching or whitewashing. On another note, what would it look like with red instead of blue?

[Ken Bennett]

There are white pigment stains. But pigment stays close to the surface, so any sanding would remove it. Must be bleach.

[Marcovis]

I'm pretty sure all PRS does is stain the top blue, let it dry completely(at least over night), and then sand it back with a fine grit sandpaper.

[dalandser]

I just did a beach test on some quilt maple veneer and found that bleach will make white dots left all through the wood if it is left on for too long. Another forum member had good results by soaking rags in clorox bleach and letting them sit on the wood for 20 minutes then neutralizing the bleach with hydrogen peroxide. I wanted the wood really white so I left the rags on for over an hour... oops. I sanded down the other side of the veneer and I'll try the 20 minute application hopefully with the same results as the other forum member.

[westhemann]

Clorox is for clothes.Wood bleach is for wood.To make the wood white you need the hydrogen peroxide 2 part bleach

Look for a two-part bleach to do the job

You'll find three kinds of products marketed as wood bleaches. But only one will remove the natural color from wood: a two-part wood bleach of sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) and hydrogen peroxide. Other wood bleaches are chlorine bleach and oxalic acid.

Chlorine bleach, which is like ordinary laundry bleach, will remove dye color from wood, but not the wood's natural color. Oxalic acid is commonly employed to bleach out water or rust stains. Teak stain remover sold by boat dealers is often based on oxalic acid.

All the bleaching chemicals pose health and safety hazards to varying degrees. So be sure to read the manufacturer's instructions and warnings before use. And always wear rubber gloves and eye

[Helldunkel]

Would like to use a white colored stain for a look like a PRS modern eagle, anyone know where I can pick something like this up at? I've looked everywhere I could think of (stew mac, lmii, a few other places) and just can't find the stuff. Anyone have any suggestions on where to look? I owned one of these and I suspect they used a white on it instead of just sanding the light blue back for the effect.

They sand off the blue to only leave it inside the low spots of the maple figurine....

We call this a negative thype finish, there is no white stain...

The secret is to not sand too much and not stay in the same spot, you want this job to be even...

Just look at the cutaway aera, they removed less stain to make a visual contrast....

[Fliski Guitars]

I agree with the above about how PRS probably did that stain.

However, white stains DO exist, I have some of this brand; http://www.wood-finishes-direct.com/produc...based-stain.htm

I havn't actually tried to dye a guitar white with it as I simply don't think it'll work well. I have used it to make things like pink stains and just to lighten up the colourtone waterbased stains etc.

Bleach is the way to go for what you want to achieve

[supplebanana]

yep...Liberon do a WHITE wood dye... I have one right in front of me now. never used it yet tho' so not sure if this is how they do it. but the above 2 posts do sound feasable.

[ihocky2]

I didn't look up the Liberon stuff, but the one in the link is basically what Ken was talking about. It is a stain, but it is a pigment stain not a dye stain. A white pigment stain works out to be similar to a white wash. It is pigment, like used in paint, but with much much much less pigment so you are not getting enough build to block out the wood. If you lay enough coats of white stain it will work like paint, just like any pigment based stain.

This is where Kens point comes in that it will stay in the shallow pores and be sanded off very quickly.

[jessejames]

Thanks for all the help! I am wanting to do this on a future telecaster build. Gonna practice on a scrap one first and see how well it does.

Do you guys just use clorox with rags like suggested up there? Or do you have a special application?

[3DogNate]

Thanks for all the help! I am wanting to do this on a future telecaster build. Gonna practice on a scrap one first and see how well it does.

Do you guys just use clorox with rags like suggested up there? Or do you have a special application?

No... no. no. You want "wood bleach" not Clorox. Wood bleach is Oxalic Acid.... it'll make Maple as white as Holly.

http://www.hardwareworld.com/12oz-Concen-W...ch-pKZR1W0.aspx

You should have no problems finding it locally.

[ihocky2]

There are two types of wood bleach. The two part kit and oxalic acid. They both are a bleach, but you will get different results from them. Oxalic acid is good for removing stains and rust marks from wood, but doesn't do much to lighten the color of the wood. To lighten the color of wood you want the two-part kit.

Search this section of the forum for "bleach" and go through all of the results. Some threads are not as good as others, but you will learn the differences you get between the types of bleach.

[St.wise-professor]

I've read that white stain/dye will block the reflective properties in figured wood that you would be trying to accentuate anyway. You would see the flame but it wouldn't pop like it should with other colors. I've tried it and it is true. I wanted to build a white flame top Les Paul but it was a no go.

[Duff Beer Man]

I know this thread is older but i didnt want to start a new one cause i have a similar question. My question is how do you get the grain to show through white paint?

Those are a couple of pics of what i am talking about. Does bleaching the grain help make it pop anymore? IS it just a SUPER thin coat of white paint?

[Mender]

That top may be bleached, or just very pale maple or similar wood. It seems to be coated with translucent white, which is basically clear with a bit of white mixed with it