WATER DYE ON GUITAR

 

30th Oct 2022
Hi, I am doing guitars and wanted to use your non toxic waters Dyes for colours, Can I use a Battery operated Polisher with EEE ultrashine over the top of colour then top coat with Shellax cream to get a shiny finish. Or is there another way to do it. I get Raw wood guitar kits, Finish the neck & Bodies then build them to play.

I have been using Feast watseon colour stains and Cabots Gloss Pwipe on polyurethane, Or i just finihsed one with OSMO Satin

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31 Oct 2022
Hello Brent

Are you finishing solid body or acoustic guitar?

I’m presuming it’s solid if you are wanting to dye it. For both solid body and acoustic you need to sand to 1200 or above then apply one wipe-on coat of Sanding Sealer or methylated spirits either one will raise the grain torn during sanding process.

Allow it to dry then with a new piece of 1200 grit wipe over the surface to get rid of any grain/nibs raised by the sealer or metho. WIPE don’t sand. If you sand it you run the chance of raising the grain again when the dye is applied.

You can apply the Water Dye after wiping off the nibs. It will penetrate both the sealer and the metho.

DO NOT use EEE. DO NOT use Shellawax Cream.

For solid body: you can now use any surface coating except water based finish which may pull the dye from the in the timber. Hard Shellac, polyurethane (not water based), lacquer, or varnish. Hard Shellac and lacquer will be the hardest finishes, poly and varnishes can tend to be a bit soft and easier to mark up with use.

For acoustic: Hard Shellac is probably the best finish as it is tough and has brilliant resonance qualities for acoustic music on guitars, harps and all stringed acoustic instruments.

You can use the EEE over the top of all surface coatings to enhance shine once the finish has cured.

Shellawax Cream is a friction polish for use on the lathe so are Shellawax and Glow.

We have a number of luthiers who use our Aussie Oil on guitar necks, and at least on who used it on a body (not ideal) but he did a lot of tests before getting it right.

If you haven’t used shellac before you will need to do some test pieces before jumping in boots and all. Not trying to upsell you but best help you can get is “A Polishers Handbook” which will help you to get the best out of shellac and many other finishes, etc.

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Hi Neil,

Can I use the Hard Shellac by Wiping on and letting dry, Or does it need to be applied another way?

I am considering getting the sanding sealer and Hard shellac.

So prep would be sand up to 1200Grit, Then apply sanding sealer, Let dry, Then wipe 1200Grit over the body to take Nubs off.

Apply water Dye colour, Let dry

Wipe over with Hard Shellac to seal and shine, Can I wipe on ?

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1st Nov 2022
Hello Brent

No sorry you can’t just wipe shellac on and expect to get anything more than a pretty ordinary finish.

Have a look at this video it goes for around 37 minutes, but you can skip some bits if you don’t have the time to watch it all.

It is basically wiping the polish on, but it isn’t just soke a cloth and wipe it on. It’s a bit more technical than that and does require a bit of practice to get it right. There are plenty of videos on YouTube and other sites.

Many are not all that right but will help somewhat.

Again “A Polishers Handbook” is a great source of information and help and is pretty much the only one written purely for Australian would-be finishers.

Most info comes from USA and many of their products can’t be sourced here in Oz or fully messed with as many manufacturers like to do to let you think they have a better product.

What you’ve mentioned below is pretty much correct apart from the wipe on bit.
Might also be worth considering a bottle of Foodsafe Plus to use as a lubricant for the Hard shellac. Works better than most other oils with the hard stuff.

It aint easy, until you get it right, but when you do, then it is. There’s nothing better or more rewarding than the finish you can get with shellac.

Hope this is of a bit more help to you.

Cheers – Neil

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2nd Nov 2022
Thanks Neil,

Could I still do the same process I mentioned but rub a Polyurethane Oil based Cabots over the top.

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2nd Nov 2022
Hi Brent

Yes… so long as it’s not a water based finish.

Cheers – Neil

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2nd Nov 2022
Thanks Neil,

I have your water dye pack coming from catch of the day, I will order some sanding sealer from the website.

Thanks for all your help