staining mahogony

[mad_mackem]

hi all

about to paint myguitar and did a test piece first.

i covered the mahognony in my grain filler which is a red oxide primer n when i applied the stain . the final colour appeared to be more of an orange than a red! is this normal?? and is there anyway to get a more red colour???

plse help

thnx n rgds

[Phil Mailloux]

If you used a red translucend stain on orange/brownish colored mahogany the color of the wood and the stain will naturally mix and produce an orangish color.

To get a red translucend color with your stain, I would use a darker color like brown. The brown mixes with the orange/light brown coloring of your wood to give it a redish tint.

[Drak]

If you haven't applied any finish over top of the stain yet, there might be your problem.

Dyes, stains and dyed grain fillers don't really show the 'real' color until at least the first 2 or 3 topcoats have been applied. Just looking at the color of the dried dye or filler with no finish on it is most of the time misleading color-wise..

[guitar_ed]

One more thing. Use a piece of scrap wood to find out what your colors are going to look like. And

Guitar Ed

Advice worth what you paid for it. Nothing.

[mad_mackem]

lol thanx for your help .

when u say top coats do u mean coats of laquer will change the colour??

[westhemann]

the topcoats are the last coats of whatever finish you are using.it goes like this

sealer coat=seals the pores...could be sanding sealer for laquer or it can be the same as the topcoats

glaze coat=optional...this is the toner coat that adds the color in a translucent finish

OR

color coat=solid color

topcoat=the final clearcoats to build to the depth desired

[westhemann]

btw they don't really change the color,but it does give it a darker appearance...a "wet" look

[Drak]

Well, technically, I used the wrong term, I should have said 'sealer' coats, which are the FIRST few coats of a finish. Wes is really keeping me on my toes now term-wise!

But back to the topic, what I meant was that when you apply the first few coats of your finish, the color will change.

Depending on what kind of dye you're using, sometimes very little, sometimes a LOT. But basically, I wouldn't look at the color of a dried stain and try to figure out what the color was actually going to be, because it will change once finish is applied to it.

[ibreakemineedtobuildem]

could I just use just a toner instead of staining the mahogany.(i find I can't get the stain to.........stain)

[westhemann]

yes...in fact with mahogany i think that looks better