Grain filler color for a Burst

[telechadster]

Hello All!
Question for the collective mind.....I'm re-finishing a telemaster that I had previously finished in Sonic Blue. I plan on re-finishing in a burst. Since it was previously opaque, I had filled the grain with a white filler. I'm going to attempt to remove as much of that as I can, and re-fill the grain with a tinted filler. Is there a tint for the filler thats typical for a burst? I bought some "ash" tinted filler, but I'm second guessing and thinking I should have gone darker to accentuate the grain?
Is there a typical tint people use for bursts? It'd just be for the back side since the top is Cedar......
Since pictures are fun, here's a couple mid-strip....Used acetone, a scraper and some sanding....carefully avoiding exposing the binding to too much acetone.
Many thanks!

 

[eallen]

I can't tell what kind of wood it is from the pics but if it is closed grain it doesn't need pore filling. Cedar is closed grain.

Burst color depends on the specific burst you are after. Translucent burst are done with dye. I use transtint mixed in thinned clear.

 

[telechadster]

Top is cedar, but back is swamp ash, so only need to fill the back. Just trying to figure out what tint grain filler is typical for a burst. I'm using re-ranch's burst colours, something like this:

 

[old wrench]

Filler color, in your case, depends on whether you want to accent the grain or not

If you want to make the grain stand out more, use a filler color that contrasts with the Ash color

Folks often go with a darker colored filler when they want to make the Ash grain stand out


If you want to make the grain less noticeable, use a color that matches the Ash color



You say you have Ash colored filler - my guess is it probably matches up fairly close.


Most fillers can be tinted, but ya need to use a colorant that is compatible with the filler

If it's water-based, you could use a water-soluble dye - something like TransTint

If the filler is oil-based like Old Masters or Behlen/Mohawk Pore-O-Pac, you'd need an oil-based dye, or universal colorant - possibly you could even use oil-based stain

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[Beebe]

I think Alder was most often used. So I'd go with a filler that makes it look like Alder.

 

[RodeoTex]

If the back is ash I'm curious to know how you plan to remove the existing grain filler.

 

[Silverface]

If the back is ash I'm curious to know how you plan to remove the existing grain filler.

Ditto. I've been finishing guitars for 50 years and worked tech support for coatings manufacturers for over 35 years - and I have never seen grain filler removed successfully.

 

[NICQ]

You could leave the grain filler on the back and just go over the whole thing with black stain and then sand that back - result should be black grain filler (if the grain filler takes up the stain of course) and thus more visible grain

edit: re-read your post - my advice only applies if you used wood grain filler thats water-based and can be stained itself (not sure about that - I always use that one for porefilling swamp ash)

 

[Silverface]

I always tint Mohawk's paste wood filler/grain filler to an amber color - and usually in 3 progressively thinner applications - when doing a sunburst.

If done right - and sometimes spot staining is needed - it looks like aged Fullerplast, and no yellow needs to be sprayed at all (unless you are going for what is known in the collector circles as a "clownburst").