Oil finish in red or blue?

Hello! Is it possible to do an oil (Tru-Oil, Danish Oil, Tung Oil et.c.) with a blueish or reddish color? I don't mean poly-like bright colors but something other than some-kind-of-brown. I suppose you would use some kind of stain or something.

What kind of oil is preferred for the most durable finish? I don't really care if it's a mirror finish even though it's nice, I just want it so be simple since I feel doing a nitro finish is going in over my head since I don't have any spray equipment whatsoever.

The wood is going to be alder.

I don't see why ya couldn't add a drop or two of dye in there, as it is inert.... don't think I'd use powder-based tho...cool idea, btw.

I'm going to test something like this with Rustn's Danish Oil. The Danish Oil
has already been ordered, should be delivered tomorrow. Unfortunately, the
waterbased stain I'm planning to use for this test is on back-order.:sad:

What I'm going to test... My current project involves stripping a mahogany
body to the bare wood, sand it & fill the grain with CLOU waterbased pore
filler (I'm using CLOU waterbased filler because it seems to accept
waterbased stains easily). So far I'm almost done with the sanding part.


-Then, I might, use a waterbased wood stain- (depends on the outcome of the test)


After that, I'll put a few coats of Danish Oil over it.

What I want to test on a piece of scrap mahogany is the staining part as I'm
not sure if I will like the final result. If I don't like it, I'll just use the Danish Oil
on the guitar body, without the stain.

TDR

I don't see why ya couldn't add a drop or two of dye in there, as it is inert.... don't think I'd use powder-based tho...cool idea, btw.

Why not a powder base?

Why not a powder base?

Maybe it is not a good idea to mix it with oil? Don't know which
kind of powder based dye Smokestack is talking about...

The powder stain I ordered is waterbased and is supposed to be
used before the oil. There is no mention on their site that it can
be used with oil (www.clou.de).

Great thing is, I had to cross the border into Germany today for
work and had a bit of time to visit a paint store and guess what?

They had it in stock!!! So I bought a pack of black and a pack of
blue dye. Hopefully, I still have a scrap part of mahogany in
storage so I can start experimenting this weekend.

TDR

Here is oil with color.

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu324/RistArea51/Lee%20Jackson/IMG_1118.jpg

Actually it is a dye rubbed into the wood first, then oil on top.

The Lockwood dyes are Oil based and work well. This is a base coat, it will take a few weeks but wait till you see the gloss on this body.

C'mon Rand, TDR could turn oil blue with just a thought. (sorry had to)

C'mon Rand, TDR could turn oil blue with just a thought. (sorry had to)

"No, I can't. I mean...I didn't do it on purpose. It just happened. I don't want
to-to channel the Power. I won't ever do it again. I swear it."

Lolz...:lol: I wish I could strip guitars with just a thought as well... :wink:

Anyway, found some scrap wood to do the tests on. It isn't mahogany.
Looks like red meranti. Oh well, should work. Sanded the pieces and cleaned
them with acetone. I'm going to grain-fill one piece today and leave the other
piece just as it is. Tomorrow I'll sand the grain filled one, clean it and stain
both pieces with a blue stain.

TDR

I suggest a spirit based wood dye e.g. Rustin's followed by the Danish oil. The only problem there is that the undiluted dye may be too strong for your liking - experiment on scrap. You may find that a light top coating of Rustin's Finishing oil will help dry and cure the Rustin's Danish and give an excellent hard-wearing semi-gloss finish. These products are intended to work together.

Jefrs, could you point me to the Rustin's Finishing oil ? Can't find it on their site;

http://www.rustins.co.uk/

Thanks!

TDR

Hello! Is it possible to do an oil (Tru-Oil, Danish Oil, Tung Oil et.c.) with a blueish or reddish color? I don't mean poly-like bright colors but something other than some-kind-of-brown. I suppose you would use some kind of stain or something.

What kind of oil is preferred for the most durable finish?




I have done many guitars with a combination of dyes and tru oil on top.

With stew mac dyes, the colors and combinations are endless.

The tru oil top coats are very hard and durable, not too mention fast and easy to apply.

The procedure is simple.

mix the dye with alcohol, rub it in till you get the desired shade and let it thoroughly dry.

Give it 24 to 48 hours to dry then start applying the oil.

You can build it up to the desired sheen, going anywhere from a satin to a semigloss.

Quick, easy, and relatively foolproof.:mrgreen:

Jefrs, could you point me to the Rustin's Finishing oil ? Can't find it on their site;

http://www.rustins.co.uk/

Thanks!

TDR

Sorry, no. And that's strange because I'm sure I've used it. Maybe they discontinued. :-(

I've got Rustin and Colron wood dyes and Liberon and Rustin wood oils. My current crop of Finishing Oil is Liberon.

These wood oils all seem to be processed and refined linseed with additives. The Finishing has driers and some polyurethane(?) in it, it buffs up well with a little wax for maintenance.

http://www.liberon.co.uk/furniture/oil-finishes,434,464.html?args=Y29tcF9pZD0zMDQmYWN0aW9 uPWZpY2hlUHJvZHVpdCZpZD0xOTQmfA%3D%3D

http://www.colron.co.uk/prodshow.asp?shop=&projID=38&prodid=79&projname=Traditional%20Colouring&intext=int

Thanks, Jefrs!

I think I'll have no problems in finding both products here.

TDR

ristguitars, I really like your guitar finish. I have couple of questions on your technique/experience.

Are their any woods that you wouldn't rub alcohol dye into due to likelihood of blotching?

Anything you do to avoid streaking with alcohol dye (e.g., many applications of very dilute dye)?

Do you pore fill? If so, what product/technique to you use?

Thanks!

Since the wood is going to be alder, there is no pore filling involved.

Pretty much stain and oil.

As to the streaking concern, I have never had a problem with streaking.

I will dilute the stain and it will go on pretty evenly, just keep on applying it till you get your desired shade.

The biggest thing you may or may not encounter is the endgrain soaking up more stain and becoming darker.

The way around this is to pre "wet" the endgrain with alcohol. Seeing how the endgrain is already wet it will soak up less color.

As always, practice with some scrap to get the feel.


Cheers,

Roman

ristguitars, I really like your guitar finish. I have couple of questions on your technique/experience.

Are their any woods that you wouldn't rub alcohol dye into due to likelihood of blotching?

Anything you do to avoid streaking with alcohol dye (e.g., many applications of very dilute dye)?

Do you pore fill? If so, what product/technique to you use?

Thanks!

True, some timbers blot up dye more than others, but I've never had blotching. I use it straight out of the bottle, there are many shades to choose from, no need to dilute. Dye does not take to varnish or visible glue lines, only bare timber.

I've never found any real problems, the dye picks out the grain and enhances it. I swamp it on with a rag, leave it wet for a while then wipe it off (read instructions on tin).

Sometimes the dye is too dark or the wrong colour. If it is fresh then white spirits can lift some or most of it. Wood bleach will take it all out at any stage.

These dyes do not take well to grain filler and the like, the filler stands out. If pores are small then the finish (oil or varnish etc) will hopefully cover them smoothly. I don't sand after dyeing because you get bald patches, so prepare the wood first.

Since the wood is going to be alder, there is no pore filling involved.

* * *

Cheers,

Roman

I asked about pore filling with regard the picture of your guitar; it appears to be a jr. style mahogany body. (I'm not the original poster; I have interest in using your technique on a variety of projects).

I am really taken by that guitar, the finish, the color. Just, wow!

I asked about pore filling with regard the picture of your guitar; it appears to be a jr. style mahogany body. (I'm not the original poster; I have interest in using your technique on a variety of projects).

I am really taken by that guitar, the finish, the color. Just, wow!

Thank you, I am glad you like it.

That specific finish was done like this;

first The mahogany was fine sanded with some true oil sealer. this creates a slurry of the dust and sealer, which acts as a pore filler.

After this dried and hardened, I dry sanded the body with 320grit.

I just sanded enough to expose raw wood but not pull anything out of the grain (pores)

Then I dyed the wood with some Stewmac cherry diluted with alcohol. ( repeat till desired shade of color is achieved )

Once this was completely dry, I started the tru oil process.

(The oil itself will fill the grain as well)

After 4 coats I just hit it with some steel wool

And, that's it! Hope that helps.

Roman

Wow, Rist!! Tat's a brilliant idea for tru-oil sealer/sanding filling mahagony grain body! prefer tru-oil finish wherever I can, but assumed mahagony was out of the question. THANK YOU! You just made my day! (I know, its the little things in life that do it for me...hehe)

Wow, Rist!! Tat's a brilliant idea for tru-oil sealer/sanding filling mahagony grain body! prefer tru-oil finish wherever I can, but assumed mahagony was out of the question. THANK YOU! You just made my day! (I know, its the little things in life that do it for me...hehe)

Thanks, glad to help:grin:

Here is another picture of one,

Same technique, just no dye. This one is all natural.

http://i660.photobucket.com/albums/uu324/RistArea51/WorkHorse/Workhores1011.jpg


cheers,
Roman

Hi Roman,

Thanks for sharing,
the result looks great and i'd like to give it a shot on a swamp ash tele body.

i'd love to have some grain showing, a la gibby sg faded.

Any advice?


andrea