Thanks for all of the tips in this video series. I have a 335 style kit coming in the post and have a good idea about what I want to achieve. I am thinking the cheaper kit that I have ordered might have a much thinner veneer, and I could encounter some issues when sanding back the dye.
Hi Paul, thank YOU for watching and commenting that it's being helpful. I don't think veneer can get any thinner than what is used on this kit. I have 2 sheets of flamed maple veneer that I bought at a local Craftsman Supply and they aren't as thin as what's on this one. It's frustrating to find problems, but rewarding to be able to fix them! I'll help you along the way if you need it.
If you ditch that power sander for a card scraper, you can really up your results for quality. Sense of touch also being ignored here. You’d be amazed what you can feel, like glue around the edges. Scrape. Slow down at first. What do you have to lose?
Was mostly guesswork. The transtint bottles have some recommended numbers for when it's water based. Way early in the project I used some test pieces of veneer and some small jars to figure out what shade I was going for. Once i had that figured out, I just doubled the alcohol/tint mix
I have built kits that cost a lot less with a lot less glue, in fact the PRS style kit im working on had next to no glue compared to this im shocked this what Stewmac ships you for the cost. Cool video tho, love that color ! :-)
Could you not wipe the body with denatured alcohol to reveal the glue next time?? Thanks for the video. I'm in the middle of a tele build & learning as I go.
You just made me feel really dumb, as that thought hadn't occurred to me at all! This is truly my first time working with a veneered project. I have largely built from solid woods. Thanks for that! I'll try it on the mahogany that I'm about to stain to reveal any.
I bought them on Amazon and the Woodcraft retail store. I've not sprayed with Stewmac paints, yet. I have a tele build I want to do that will use those paints, and I'll post videos/results then!
how did you mix the dye? I'm using colortone cherry red. I've read to mix it with water, and I've also read to mix with a 50/50 denatured alcohol and lacquer thinner. What do you do?
I used denatured alcohol. My black was 4oz Alcohol, 3ml black dye (I didn't want it to be too dark) My red was 5 oz Alcohol, 4ml bright red trans tint dye and 1ml black to darken it up. Green was 5oz alcohol, 4ml green. I bought needle-less syringes to accurately get the mL measurement correct. I also did many test pieces and tested different mixes.
@@iambucketdotcom_official... Do you remember the brand? I saw a video where a guy was using products from a company called CrystaLac, which does a nice job. They sell stains, wood grain filler and a polyurethane instrument finish, among other things.
I’ve just started getting into these diy build videos and want to do one. I do have a question. Since you are just dying this guitar instead of doing a solid paint, is that why wood filler is not used? Rather if you would have done a solid color paint job, wood filler would need to be used?
I did use a clear grain filler on the mahogany back, sides, and neck. The maple vaneer has much smaller grain, so it wasn't necessary. Also my first time working with these two woods in this capacity (I've used urethane for these woods in past projects), so I went with what was most commonly used by others.
Yep! Just sanding very carefully. There's still a tiny bit left that I pointed out in the videos that I don't want to do any more sanding on in fear of reaching the glue layer underneath the veneer. It's extremely thin.
So, I watched videos and did this exact same procedure. It looked terrible. I sounded most of it out. I bought the $10 air brush from Harbor Freight and that made it look amazing. Have you ever tried dying with an air brush? Same mixing steps and it will do as solid as you want all the way to a very nice light fade for a burst effect.
@@iambucketdotcom_official I used denatured alcohol. Some people used isopropyl but I found that wasn't very good either. But the airbrush gave me so much control and fading was so easy.
@@iambucketdotcom_official Fine furniture builders use scrapers that are basically just a piece of toil steel sharpened so that it puts a burr on one side.
It will be beautiful.
Thank you! I am extremely excited!
Thanks for all of the tips in this video series. I have a 335 style kit coming in the post and have a good idea about what I want to achieve. I am thinking the cheaper kit that I have ordered might have a much thinner veneer, and I could encounter some issues when sanding back the dye.
Hi Paul, thank YOU for watching and commenting that it's being helpful.
I don't think veneer can get any thinner than what is used on this kit. I have 2 sheets of flamed maple veneer that I bought at a local Craftsman Supply and they aren't as thin as what's on this one.
It's frustrating to find problems, but rewarding to be able to fix them! I'll help you along the way if you need it.
If you ditch that power sander for a card scraper, you can really up your results for quality. Sense of touch also being ignored here. You’d be amazed what you can feel, like glue around the edges. Scrape. Slow down at first. What do you have to lose?
Awesome!
Thanks!
How did you determine the ratios needed for alcohol and dyes?
Was mostly guesswork. The transtint bottles have some recommended numbers for when it's water based.
Way early in the project I used some test pieces of veneer and some small jars to figure out what shade I was going for.
Once i had that figured out, I just doubled the alcohol/tint mix
I have built kits that cost a lot less with a lot less glue, in fact the PRS style kit im working on had next to no glue compared to this im shocked this what Stewmac ships you for the cost. Cool video tho, love that color ! :-)
I would certainly have returned that to SM after paying probably double a Solo price.
Could you not wipe the body with denatured alcohol to reveal the glue next time?? Thanks for the video. I'm in the middle of a tele build & learning as I go.
You just made me feel really dumb, as that thought hadn't occurred to me at all! This is truly my first time working with a veneered project. I have largely built from solid woods.
Thanks for that! I'll try it on the mahogany that I'm about to stain to reveal any.
@@iambucketdotcom_official Well, I didn't mean it that way. I was just curious if what I was doing was incorrect in using DA to check for blemishes.
@@abelincoln95 All good! Really! I had one of those "DOH!" or "AH HA!" moments when i read your comment. I likely would have seen it easier!
Where do you get the stains? Would you prefer this over the spray paint stewmac sells?
Thanks
I bought them on Amazon and the Woodcraft retail store.
I've not sprayed with Stewmac paints, yet. I have a tele build I want to do that will use those paints, and I'll post videos/results then!
how did you mix the dye? I'm using colortone cherry red. I've read to mix it with water, and I've also read to mix with a 50/50 denatured alcohol and lacquer thinner. What do you do?
I used denatured alcohol.
My black was 4oz Alcohol, 3ml black dye (I didn't want it to be too dark)
My red was 5 oz Alcohol, 4ml bright red trans tint dye and 1ml black to darken it up.
Green was 5oz alcohol, 4ml green.
I bought needle-less syringes to accurately get the mL measurement correct.
I also did many test pieces and tested different mixes.
@@iambucketdotcom_official Thank you for the tips. I'll get a syringe for sure.
Should have masked the binding and the contours of the f holes
Did the stains come with the kit?
Stains do not come with the kit. I ordered them from Amazon.
@@iambucketdotcom_official... Do you remember the brand? I saw a video where a guy was using products from a company called CrystaLac, which does a nice job. They sell stains, wood grain filler and a polyurethane instrument finish, among other things.
I used only Transtint Dyes thinned in Denatured Alcohol. Green, Bright red, and black
@@iambucketdotcom_official there's a guy on RUclips thats using plain Rit dye.The nice thing about it is that it dries in 15-20 minutes.
I’ve just started getting into these diy build videos and want to do one. I do have a question. Since you are just dying this guitar instead of doing a solid paint, is that why wood filler is not used? Rather if you would have done a solid color paint job, wood filler would need to be used?
I did use a clear grain filler on the mahogany back, sides, and neck. The maple vaneer has much smaller grain, so it wasn't necessary. Also my first time working with these two woods in this capacity (I've used urethane for these woods in past projects), so I went with what was most commonly used by others.
I'd go with a solid , gold, blue, maybe a a candy finish. White???
I have plans for a blue, I want to build a gold top LP style. And a white explorer style.
I’m impressed at how you managed to get rid of most of the glue marks. Did you do that just by sanding?
Yep! Just sanding very carefully.
There's still a tiny bit left that I pointed out in the videos that I don't want to do any more sanding on in fear of reaching the glue layer underneath the veneer. It's extremely thin.
So, I watched videos and did this exact same procedure. It looked terrible. I sounded most of it out. I bought the $10 air brush from Harbor Freight and that made it look amazing. Have you ever tried dying with an air brush? Same mixing steps and it will do as solid as you want all the way to a very nice light fade for a burst effect.
Did you use water or alcohol? I did some test pieces with water and it looked awful.
@@iambucketdotcom_official I used denatured alcohol. Some people used isopropyl but I found that wasn't very good either. But the airbrush gave me so much control and fading was so easy.
@@chriss9340 I'll definitely be doing airbrushing on future builds. Thanks for that info!
all that over glue that wont sand out? you may as well trelic it at this point that's nasty shoddy work
Cigarette lighter fluid is the best to use.
Thanks! Lighter fluid Such as the the fluid for refilling a Zippo? I think its in a yellow bottle?
IamBucketdotcom yes. Also known as naphtha
I never put 2 and 2 together. I have a new can of Naptha and thought it smelled together. Thank you! I learned something new!
I have more success scrapping off the glue then sanding.
I'll have to try that at some point. Knowing the issues I already had with this particular kit, j didn't want to risk ripping layers apart.
@@iambucketdotcom_official Fine furniture builders use scrapers that are basically just a piece of toil steel sharpened so that it puts a burr on one side.
its blotchy looking