I'm working on building my first electric from scratch, and I've been having a hard time finding the right stuff to get the colors I want. Saw a random thing on Facebook where someone said they used these leather dyes to color their guitars, which never occurred to me before, and this stuff is exactly what I was looking for! I'm actually planning on using this color, but on an ash body that I also intend to do some black grain fills on over top of the dye. I really appreciate this video, and the guitar in it looks incredible 👍
Angelus Red over Figured Maple. benfordguitars.com/walnutmaples.html Red over ASH benfordguitars.com/justinrt.html Theres video of me doing the intial dying of the Ash body. Good luck.
Thanks for the tutotrial! It looks really great. I dyed my guitar but the dye seems to be coming off onto my clothing...how long did you wait between the final coat and the finish, and what did you use to finish? Anyone? Thanks!
The dye usually drys within a day depending on how many coats and the type of wood. Shellac does a good job of sealing the dye. It does however reactivate it. I use spray shellac. I apply several LIGHT coats. Probably 4-5. I will then lightly sand with 400-600. Make sure the sanding dust is white and not tinted with the dye color you used. If you see some color in your dust, you need more sealer coats. If you dont, theres a barrier of finish between the dye and your new white dress shirt. From there I'll either apply Tru-Oil for additional finish, or lacquer if i'm going for a gloss finish.
@@benfordguitars Wow thanks so much for the detailed response. Now I can finish my project with confidence. I'm headed out right now to the store to buy some spray on shellac. God bless!
Im using the green dye from Angelus. My green on a practice piece went on alot darker then the color your using. Did you dilute it in water by any chance? Im wondering if two /three diluted coats would be better than 1 undiluted coat. Im going for a PRS emerald green on flame . Any suggestions would be great. Yours turned out awesome
Sorry for the late reply. Angelus is a oil based dye and cant be diluted with water. You can buy their Neutral dye which is clear. That's perfect for diluting the dyes. Try using the color Jade. Its a perfect shade for emerald green. benfordguitars.com/jadet.html is 4-5 coats of Jade then clear laquer. Here is how the guitar in the video ended up. benfordguitars.com/anthonygsc.html
@@dalemartin7886 Yes, sorry alcohol based! They do not flash off like say Trans-tint or other powder dyes in alcohol. They they a bit longer to dry like oil and definitely get reactivated by oil based finishes or even shellac
I’m about to work on a swamp ash body and plan on wiping on a shellac based sanding sealer prior to applying the dye. I also plan on using grain filler before a wipe on poly top coat. Do you see any issues using the leather dye will this method?
Yes I have a couple concerns. If you apply a sealer to the wood, how will the dye penetrate? It won't. Change your order up a bit. Dye/Shellac SPRAY sealer/Grain fill/Poly. If you use a wipe on shellac over straight dye, the dye will reactivate and smear all over. It will reactivate with the spray too, but you reduce the risk of it turning blotchy. You need to build up enough barrier coats before you move to your wipe on poly. Spray poly would be better. Spray shellac from Bullseye is what I use. Multiple Thin LIGHT coats is the way to go. A heavy coat will make the dye run. Do 4-5 light coats. LIGHTLY sand with 400. Look for any evidence of color in your sanding dust. If you see any apply 3-4 more coats. LIGHTLY sand again looking for any color. If you see none your ready for your next step. Before applying the sealer check over the body carefully for scratches you missed. They will be amplified by the dye. Now is the time to correct those. If you want a perfectly smooth flat finish you'll have to grain fill. I always skip grain fill as I like a more organic open pore look. I'm going to be doing a Double Cut in ash dyed orange shortly. My process will be Dye/ Spray shellac to seal and build coats. Level sand to about 600, hit it with 0000 steel wool then buff to a satin finish. Hope this helps! GOOD LUCK!
Lovely finish.................I just got some blue, green and black to try out on my cigar box guitars......................................Once dyed. What do you finish your guitars with ?
I'll seal the body with shellac. Use VERY light coats as it will re activate the dye.I dont do gloss lacquer finishes anymore, so I end up using 7-10 coats. Shellac raises the wood grain so you'll need to apply several coats before lightly level sanding with 400. If you see dye color in you sanding dust you need more coats.
Where do you buy the thicker black veneer? I've tried using multiple sheets of thin veneer and it just doesn't look good. I've found a few places that sell thick veneer but they are always sold out.
hey can you tell me if one 3 ounce bottle of angelus dye will be enough to cover a strat style body completely? i have a black base and i was wondering how many bottles of the actual color i need . these dye bottles are pretty expensive in india.
It depends what kind of wood your dying and whether or not your doing a whole guitar. 1 3oz should be more than enough in most cases. Use a very small rag. A larger rag will soak up more dye and waste it. For the guitar in this video I Ihink I used around 25% of a 3oz bottle. Make sure the guitar is sanded perfectly as the dye will enhance every scratch. Good luck!
@@benfordguitars i am using an alder body for my work and yes i want to cover the whole guitar body front and back . hopefully it will be enough?and thank you for such a fast and amazing response! subscribed !!
@@syamakhalder4646 Alder is a softer wood and will soak up a little more dye. 3oz should still be enough. The side of the body by the strap pin is end grain and will soak up a a lot of finish. Sand up to 320 grit. The end grain shows a ton of scratches. I spend more time there than the rest of the body. Also keep in mind that Alder is a little darker and browner wood that the Maple top in this video. The color will not be as vibrant. Wear gloves unless you what colored fingers for 2+ weeks.
@@benfordguitars and just a last question if i am not taking much of your time. should i clear coat with a spray paint after i dye the wood?or leave it as it is? i want a matt or satin finish basically..thanks for the help
@@syamakhalder4646 Yes, you have to seal the dye. If you don't your sweat will rub it off. I seal with spray shellac. Lots of thin cots with drying time in between. Shellac or lacquer will re activate the dye. Thats why you do lots of light coats to slowly seal it. From there you can spray lacquer or whatever over the shellac.
Possibly. Ive got a full schedule through the end of June and a few things going over the next couple months after that. Depending on what your looking for I might be able to shoehorn you in. Send me a email. THX!
Grain filler is only used on open pore woods like, Ash, Walnut, and Mahogany. No grain filler is needed for Maple, Alder, Cherry etc. Grain filler is only needed if your going to do a gloss finish.
I will fine sand after a few dye coats if the grain in the wood get raised. I would use 600 LIGHTLY. I fine sand with 400 after 3-5 coats of Shellac depending on if it raised the gain as well. Depending on if its getting a lacquer cleat coat will determine how many Shellac coats I use. If im doing Shellac only then it gets about 10. Level sanded, rubbed down with 0000 steel wool, then buffed with a t-shirt to a satin shine. I never wet sand shellac as I dont go for gloass finishes anymore
@@marcopotenza881 Its Angelus Turquoise. It looks very blue in the video. It definitely Turquoise. benfordguitars.com/anthonygsc.html The pic all the way at the bottom of the page is pretty good representation of the color.
@@upside-down6211 Do not use leather paint. Like all paint it just sits on the surface of the wood. I use leather dye because of the colors available and its premixed. The downside is the dye can reactivate and bleed which you apply a sealer coat such as shellac or lacquer. Multiple light SPRAY (not rubbed) coats will seal it. Water or alcohol based do not have this issue. But, for me, mixing up a color and getting the color to water ratio correct is something im not great at. The concentrate dyes like Transtint are good for mixing in lacquer if your going to spray a trans color or do a sunburst. Although on the rare occasion I do a burst i use the Angelus and hand blend it.
Do you think i could get more of an actual teal/turquoise rather than light blue by mixing it with some green and neutral? Maybe add 20 percent green dye and 20 percent neutral.
@@anthonyallard3156 The Angelus Turquoise is really more turquoise than blue. Its hard to capture its true color. But if you want it more turquoise add yellow. Remember the old saying, yellow and blue make green? If you were going to add green I'd add the Angelous Jade green. Test everything on scrap first. do 2-4 coats of straight turquoise. Next to that do the same amount of coats with what mixture to come up with. You have to really measure out your mixture amounts so you can scale it up for the real thing. Remember it drys lighter then gets darker with finish. You never really know what your going to get till the finish stage. Good luck
@@benfordguitars Thanks for the reply, that does make sense, I actually thought about that shortly after posting this. I have some yellow I can try. Don't have the guitar yet though waiting on that to be delievered.
I'm working on building my first electric from scratch, and I've been having a hard time finding the right stuff to get the colors I want. Saw a random thing on Facebook where someone said they used these leather dyes to color their guitars, which never occurred to me before, and this stuff is exactly what I was looking for! I'm actually planning on using this color, but on an ash body that I also intend to do some black grain fills on over top of the dye. I really appreciate this video, and the guitar in it looks incredible 👍
Angelus Red over Figured Maple. benfordguitars.com/walnutmaples.html Red over ASH benfordguitars.com/justinrt.html Theres video of me doing the intial dying of the Ash body. Good luck.
That turquoise is amazing,
Steve your good at making guitars
Thanks for the tutotrial! It looks really great. I dyed my guitar but the dye seems to be coming off onto my clothing...how long did you wait between the final coat and the finish, and what did you use to finish? Anyone? Thanks!
The dye usually drys within a day depending on how many coats and the type of wood. Shellac does a good job of sealing the dye. It does however reactivate it. I use spray shellac. I apply several LIGHT coats. Probably 4-5. I will then lightly sand with 400-600. Make sure the sanding dust is white and not tinted with the dye color you used. If you see some color in your dust, you need more sealer coats. If you dont, theres a barrier of finish between the dye and your new white dress shirt. From there I'll either apply Tru-Oil for additional finish, or lacquer if i'm going for a gloss finish.
@@benfordguitars Wow thanks so much for the detailed response. Now I can finish my project with confidence. I'm headed out right now to the store to buy some spray on shellac. God bless!
Im using the green dye from Angelus. My green on a practice piece went on alot darker then the color your using. Did you dilute it in water by any chance? Im wondering if two /three diluted coats would be better than 1 undiluted coat. Im going for a PRS emerald green on flame . Any suggestions would be great. Yours turned out awesome
Sorry for the late reply. Angelus is a oil based dye and cant be diluted with water. You can buy their Neutral dye which is clear. That's perfect for diluting the dyes. Try using the color Jade. Its a perfect shade for emerald green. benfordguitars.com/jadet.html is 4-5 coats of Jade then clear laquer. Here is how the guitar in the video ended up. benfordguitars.com/anthonygsc.html
benfordguitars aren't the Angelus leather dyes alcohol based and not oil based?
@@dalemartin7886 Yes, sorry alcohol based! They do not flash off like say Trans-tint or other powder dyes in alcohol. They they a bit longer to dry like oil and definitely get reactivated by oil based finishes or even shellac
You can use denatured alcohol to dilute it.
I’m about to work on a swamp ash body and plan on wiping on a shellac based sanding sealer prior to applying the dye. I also plan on using grain filler before a wipe on poly top coat. Do you see any issues using the leather dye will this method?
Yes I have a couple concerns. If you apply a sealer to the wood, how will the dye penetrate? It won't. Change your order up a bit. Dye/Shellac SPRAY sealer/Grain fill/Poly. If you use a wipe on shellac over straight dye, the dye will reactivate and smear all over. It will reactivate with the spray too, but you reduce the risk of it turning blotchy. You need to build up enough barrier coats before you move to your wipe on poly. Spray poly would be better. Spray shellac from Bullseye is what I use. Multiple Thin LIGHT coats is the way to go. A heavy coat will make the dye run. Do 4-5 light coats. LIGHTLY sand with 400. Look for any evidence of color in your sanding dust. If you see any apply 3-4 more coats. LIGHTLY sand again looking for any color. If you see none your ready for your next step. Before applying the sealer check over the body carefully for scratches you missed. They will be amplified by the dye. Now is the time to correct those. If you want a perfectly smooth flat finish you'll have to grain fill. I always skip grain fill as I like a more organic open pore look. I'm going to be doing a Double Cut in ash dyed orange shortly. My process will be Dye/ Spray shellac to seal and build coats. Level sand to about 600, hit it with 0000 steel wool then buff to a satin finish. Hope this helps! GOOD LUCK!
Lovely finish.................I just got some blue, green and black to try out on my cigar box guitars......................................Once dyed. What do you finish your guitars with ?
I'll seal the body with shellac. Use VERY light coats as it will re activate the dye.I dont do gloss lacquer finishes anymore, so I end up using 7-10 coats. Shellac raises the wood grain so you'll need to apply several coats before lightly level sanding with 400. If you see dye color in you sanding dust you need more coats.
@@benfordguitars Brilliant..........thank you
Where do you buy the thicker black veneer? I've tried using multiple sheets of thin veneer and it just doesn't look good. I've found a few places that sell thick veneer but they are always sold out.
certainlywood.com is my go to source.
hey can you tell me if one 3 ounce bottle of angelus dye will be enough to cover a strat style body completely? i have a black base and i was wondering how many bottles of the actual color i need . these dye bottles are pretty expensive in india.
It depends what kind of wood your dying and whether or not your doing a whole guitar. 1 3oz should be more than enough in most cases. Use a very small rag. A larger rag will soak up more dye and waste it. For the guitar in this video I Ihink I used around 25% of a 3oz bottle. Make sure the guitar is sanded perfectly as the dye will enhance every scratch. Good luck!
@@benfordguitars i am using an alder body for my work and yes i want to cover the whole guitar body front and back . hopefully it will be enough?and thank you for such a fast and amazing response! subscribed !!
@@syamakhalder4646 Alder is a softer wood and will soak up a little more dye. 3oz should still be enough. The side of the body by the strap pin is end grain and will soak up a a lot of finish. Sand up to 320 grit. The end grain shows a ton of scratches. I spend more time there than the rest of the body. Also keep in mind that Alder is a little darker and browner wood that the Maple top in this video. The color will not be as vibrant. Wear gloves unless you what colored fingers for 2+ weeks.
@@benfordguitars and just a last question if i am not taking much of your time. should i clear coat with a spray paint after i dye the wood?or leave it as it is? i want a matt or satin finish basically..thanks for the help
@@syamakhalder4646 Yes, you have to seal the dye. If you don't your sweat will rub it off. I seal with spray shellac. Lots of thin cots with drying time in between. Shellac or lacquer will re activate the dye. Thats why you do lots of light coats to slowly seal it. From there you can spray lacquer or whatever over the shellac.
Interesting tutorial. (Actual dying starts at 5:00.)
Great work Steve! Any room on you work bench for a guitar for me?
Possibly. Ive got a full schedule through the end of June and a few things going over the next couple months after that. Depending on what your looking for I might be able to shoehorn you in. Send me a email. THX!
Do you use any grain filler prior to dying?
Grain filler is only used on open pore woods like, Ash, Walnut, and Mahogany. No grain filler is needed for Maple, Alder, Cherry etc. Grain filler is only needed if your going to do a gloss finish.
@@benfordguitars Thanks so much for the info. Great looking guitar body, by the way. Hope to see the finished product sometime.
@@getenlightened Anytime. Heres the guitar. benfordguitars.com/anthonygsc.html
Are u wet/fine sanding between coats and after shellac ?
I will fine sand after a few dye coats if the grain in the wood get raised. I would use 600 LIGHTLY. I fine sand with 400 after 3-5 coats of Shellac depending on if it raised the gain as well. Depending on if its getting a lacquer cleat coat will determine how many Shellac coats I use. If im doing Shellac only then it gets about 10. Level sanded, rubbed down with 0000 steel wool, then buffed with a t-shirt to a satin shine. I never wet sand shellac as I dont go for gloass finishes anymore
@@benfordguitars thank you
@@lenoechsner28 benfordguitars.com/anthonygsc.html
Hi this is angelus leather dye turquoise?
Yes. It looks blue in the video but its Turquoise. benfordguitars.com/anthonygsc.html
@@benfordguitars Hi, Is It just "Turquoise" or "Blue Turquoise"?
@@marcopotenza881 Its Angelus Turquoise. It looks very blue in the video. It definitely Turquoise. benfordguitars.com/anthonygsc.html The pic all the way at the bottom of the page is pretty good representation of the color.
Water based or alcohol based or oil based dye?
Angelus leather dye is oil based.
@@benfordguitars wood stain or wood dye or leather dye or leather paint?which one is better?
@@upside-down6211 Do not use leather paint. Like all paint it just sits on the surface of the wood. I use leather dye because of the colors available and its premixed. The downside is the dye can reactivate and bleed which you apply a sealer coat such as shellac or lacquer. Multiple light SPRAY (not rubbed) coats will seal it. Water or alcohol based do not have this issue. But, for me, mixing up a color and getting the color to water ratio correct is something im not great at. The concentrate dyes like Transtint are good for mixing in lacquer if your going to spray a trans color or do a sunburst. Although on the rare occasion I do a burst i use the Angelus and hand blend it.
What color dye is this?
Turquoise. 00:19 benfordguitars.com/thinline-scv2-2.html
Do you think i could get more of an actual teal/turquoise rather than light blue by mixing it with some green and neutral? Maybe add 20 percent green dye and 20 percent neutral.
@@anthonyallard3156 The Angelus Turquoise is really more turquoise than blue. Its hard to capture its true color. But if you want it more turquoise add yellow. Remember the old saying, yellow and blue make green? If you were going to add green I'd add the Angelous Jade green. Test everything on scrap first. do 2-4 coats of straight turquoise. Next to that do the same amount of coats with what mixture to come up with. You have to really measure out your mixture amounts so you can scale it up for the real thing. Remember it drys lighter then gets darker with finish. You never really know what your going to get till the finish stage. Good luck
@@benfordguitars Thanks for the reply, that does make sense, I actually thought about that shortly after posting this. I have some yellow I can try. Don't have the guitar yet though waiting on that to be delievered.