Beginner, messed up, Help!

I went ahead and tried spraying my alder body today. My process (which I had tested - albeit with a brush - on scrap) was to lay a light cut of shellac then alcohol dissolved colourtone dye then some amber shellac layered over that. I used a preval by the way.

I think I didnt wait long enough or maybe alcohol dissolved dye over shellac seal isn't good because it started running but the worst part is the top it dark and the colour isn't uniform.

Here's what it looks like right now
126227

Heres the front
126228

The colour is spot on what I wanted but its not uniform. Whats my best course of action here, sand back and start again or something crazy like just going over it with a solid colour? :cry:

Dye is usually meant to mix with denatured alcohol and then apply to the wood before any type of sealer such as shellac. Or...it is mixed with clear lacquer to color it before spraying. It shouldn't be to hard for you to remove that. It's going to take some effort though. No easy answer here.

Dye is usually meant to mix with denatured alcohol and then apply to the wood before any type of sealer such as shellac. Or...it is mixed with clear lacquer to color it before spraying. It shouldn't be to hard for you to remove that. It's going to take some effort though. No easy answer here.

Thanks for the reply, I thought that would be the case. What do you recommend is my best course of action for next time? Alcohol disolved dye sprayed on then shellac? I sealed first only because I heard Alder was blotchy with regard to taking dye.

Well, others will probably chime in, and a lot of us have different approaches. I recommend that you always test your finish, no matter what kind it is, on scrap wood first.

As far as your body, I would maybe wait and see if someone else in here has an idea of the best way to remove the stuff you've already applied. From what I know, denatured alcohol will remove shellac.

The way I would refinish it would be to dye/stain the wood and then use shellac, clear lacquer or a really easy way by applying Tru Oil. It's very safe to use and dries fairly hard. If you apply enough of it, you can even buff it out and get it shiny.

Well, others will probably chime in, and a lot of us have different approaches. I recommend that you always test your finish, no matter what kind it is, on scrap wood first.

As far as your body, I would maybe wait and see if someone else in here has an idea of the best way to remove the stuff you've already applied.

The way I would refinish it would be to dye/stain the wood and then use shellac, clear lacquer or a really easy way by applying Tru Oil. It's very safe to use and dries fairly hard. If you apply enough of it, you can even buff it out and get it shiny.

Thanks for the reply. I used tru-oil for the neck, I was planning to use it as a kind of top coat after the shellac but the shellac seems like a lot of trouble, maybe I'll just dye and tru-oil this time :)

Also I did test on scrap but with a paintbrush not a spray can, I think that was my problem :oops:

Use the Tru Oil. It's way easier, but make sure to apply it in thin coats. You might want to shoot for 10 or 12 coats. The last couple being a little bit thicker. After Tru Oil dries, you can even wet sand it like paint. I've done it...even used polishing compound on it. No brushes please. :lol:

Use the Tru Oil. It's way easier, but make sure to apply it in thin coats. You might want to shoot for 10 or 12 coats. The last couple being a little bit thicker. After Tru Oil dries, you can even wet sand it like paint. I've done it...even used polishing compound on it. No brushes please. :lol:

Yeah, the neck I did looks really nice in it :mrgreen: Did you buy the spray can type of tru-oil? or did you just put it through a sprayer?

Yeah, the neck I did looks really nice in it :mrgreen: Did you buy the spray can type of tru-oil? or did you just put it through a sprayer?

I have a can of the spray, but I've always applied Tru Oil right from a bottle using a lint free towel. Some people use their finger. It's easier to hand apply thin coats. Check out this thread of mine and look for the pics.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/finely-finished/191700-apply-dye-body-first-put-dye-sealer-filler-emulsifier.html

You can also mix your dye in the cut shellac and do as many coats as you need to get your color. This is TransTint in Bullseye.

http://www.kpfotos.com/Body1.jpg