Will Aniline Dye Affect (Absorb Into) Binding?

[tdowns]

I'm working on a new project and it occurred to me that I have never used aniline dye on a guitar with binding. Normally I would test it in an inconspicuous area, but the only inconspicuous part of binding on a Tele is the inside of the neck pocket. That ain't much. Anyone have any experience with this? I'm assuming the answer is no, but you know Murphy!!

[mellecaster]

Terry...no real world experience here, but my gut tells me it will stain the binding...got any scrap you can try it on ?...or is the Guitar already bound ?

[tdowns]

Thanks for the reply my friend. I hope all is well with you and yours.

It's a USACG body that is already bound. I don't have any binding to play with. Perhaps the binding will look good soaked with the dye????? I have no clue. This is not Reranch water based dye, this is a true aniline dye. I just purchased some methanol to use with it. I have several pieces of figured maple sacrificial test pieces to experiment with on the dye, but no binding. I guess I could contact USACG and order some binding like is on that body to spearamint with.

I'm also experimenting with black grain filler. I DO have enough inconspicuous wood area to determine if the grain fill works OK. The body has a figured maple laminate top and a swamp ash body with lots of grain.

I have a lot of ways to screw this up, and I'm sure I will.

[martyb1]

I have never had any problems with it staining the binding.I think that if you are using it with methanol,the methanol will evaporate fast enough that it will not have time to actually soak into the binding,but I may be wrong.I have never had any problem just scraping it off after it dries.
As for the black filler,I have never used straight black,I have however tinted clear filler black and used it on the initial coat to highlight the grain.That is exactly what I did to get this effect

[wharfrat]

Lmii's site has video tip about pore filling where the guy uses a 50/50 lacquer/thinner to
protect the binding and sands it later.
He uses black dye with wallboard compound for filler.
Has anybody here tried it?

[Nick JD]

You could mask the binding, Terry. But I'd test the aniline on the masking tape first.

[eryque]

Terry, if it helps and you want to wait a few days, I've got some binding and wouldn't mind cutting off a hunk and mailing it to you to test. Must PM me with your address.

[tdowns]

Originally Posted by martyb1

I have never had any problems with it staining the binding.I think that if you are using it with methanol,the methanol will evaporate fast enough that it will not have time to actually soak into the binding,but I may be wrong.I have never had any problem just scraping it off after it dries.
As for the black filler,I have never used straight black,I have however tinted clear filler black and used it on the initial coat to highlight the grain.That is exactly what I did to get this effect

Thanks for the tips martyb1 !! That's exactly the look I'm going for. That red Tele is stunning!!

Originally Posted by wharfrat

Lmii's site has video tip about pore filling where the guy uses a 50/50 lacquer/thinner to
protect the binding and sands it later.
He uses black dye with wallboard compound for filler.
Has anybody here tried it?

Thanks wharfrat. Here is the video you are referring to. Drywall compound for pore filling. That's gotta be good. I'm off to test that.

Originally Posted by Nick JD

You could mask the binding, Terry. But I'd test the aniline on the masking tape first.

Another good tip. Thanks.

Originally Posted by eryque

Terry, if it helps and you want to wait a few days, I've got some binding and wouldn't mind cutting off a hunk and mailing it to you to test. Must PM me with your address.

Thanks eryque. I would only accept if the binding you had was truly superfluous to your life. I'll PM you.

[markophonic]

I'm currently in the process of refinishing a sunburst Les Paul.

No problems with staining the binding...I will have to scrap the lacquer off the binding using a scraper fashioned from a razor blade and exacto knife.

Bodies are stained with the binding on all the time.

If you are stripping the body with a paint stripper then you want to take precautions to protect the binding by masking it off well.

Good Luck!

[celeste]

martyb1,

What dye did you use for the red Tele, a really good girlfriend just asked for me to build her a guitar for birthday/Christmas, and being she is a woman, the color has to be just right.

Thanks in advance

All the Best
Celeste

[tdowns]

Originally Posted by markophonic

I'm currently in the process of refinishing a sunburst Les Paul.

No problems with staining the binding...I will have to scrap the lacquer off the binding using a scraper fashioned from a razor blade and exacto knife.

Bodies are stained with the binding on all the time.

If you are stripping the body with a paint stripper then you want to take precautions to protect the binding by masking it off well.

Good Luck!

Thanks for the info. That makes sense.

Originally Posted by celeste

martyb1,

What dye did you use for the red Tele, a really good girlfriend just asked for me to build her a guitar for birthday/Christmas, and being she is a woman, the color has to be just right.

Thanks in advance

All the Best
Celeste

Yeah martyb1. I'd like to know too.


celeste, do you have another not so good girlfriend that isn't so picky?

[tdowns]

I finally got around to experimenting with the dye and binding. Thanks to eryque for sending me some binding samples.

Here is the binding soon after I wiped dye on them.



On the ends I could easily wipe off the dye with alcohol, but I left some on the middle overnight. It appeared the small binding had some dye absorbed into it. The bigger PVC looking binding still appeared like it had resisted absorption. I was easily able to remove the dye from both test pieces with no visible remnants of dye.



This is only two types of binding and I don't specifically know what material they are made of. Use at your own risk...YMMV. I'd say test your own. Aniline dye is some pretty wicked stuff. Usage of nitrile gloves is a must.

[mellecaster]

Anybody but me think the Top Photo looks a little like a Crime Scene ???

Terry have you been behavin ??.....

[eryque]

Terry, thanks for doing the test and posting the results!

The skinny piece of binding was cellulose binding, the old fashioned kind of stuff that manufacturers have been using for, well, I don't know how long, but it's been a while :-)

[pengipete]

How did you remove the dye - did it just wipe off?

I'm wondering if, worse case scenario, you could just lightly sand the binding to remove any stains. Otherwise, you could try the PVC cleaners that you use for double-glazed window frames - it's a mild abrasive similar to bathroom cleaners.

[Buckocaster51]

Don't be afraid to scrape.

It will make a man of you!

[celeste]

Originally Posted by Buckocaster51

Don't be afraid to scrape.

It will make a man of you!

I'll just stick with sanding then.

[tdowns]

Originally Posted by mellecaster

Anybody but me think the Top Photo looks a little like a Crime Scene ???

Terry have you been behavin ??.....

That's for me to know, and you to find out.

Originally Posted by eryque

Terry, thanks for doing the test and posting the results!

The skinny piece of binding was cellulose binding, the old fashioned kind of stuff that manufacturers have been using for, well, I don't know how long, but it's been a while :-)

Ahh.. thanks for IDing the material.

Originally Posted by pengipete

How did you remove the dye - did it just wipe off?

I'm wondering if, worse case scenario, you could just lightly sand the binding to remove any stains. Otherwise, you could try the PVC cleaners that you use for double-glazed window frames - it's a mild abrasive similar to bathroom cleaners.

It wiped right off with a paper towel when I first applied it. After leaving it overnight, it needed alcohol to remove it. Worked great.

Originally Posted by Buckocaster51

Don't be afraid to scrape.

It will make a man of you!

Bucko,
I'm not so insecure about my manhood that I need to scrape binding on a dyed guitar!!

[Rob DiStefano]

As one can see from Terry's last photo, yeah - aniline dye is nasty stuff and even plastic isn't immune to its influence. IMO, it kinda works like this - if you sand the binding plastic first, with a reasonably coarse grit, the the dye will better lie in the texture ... but if ya polish that plastic to a 12000 grit mirror shine, the dye has nowhere to lodge itself. The same thing happens with aniline dye stain and yer hand - ditto's for beet juice - ask me how I know about both.