Transparent Dye Finish

[Dennis in Anola]

I have a beautiful blue Dobro and I'm thinking of getting one of the Beard squareneck kits. I'd like to do a transparent color finish on it. How are these finishes done so that the bindings and purflings are not colored by the dye in the paint? Is it a matter of masking off these items, scraping the color off before final clear coats or what? I can't seem to find any information on the proper procedure. I suppose there are different ways to "skin the cat".

PS, the reason I want to build a Dobro is I need an amplified instrument for some gigs and I don't want to modify my Blue Darlin for the electronic components or jack.

[Ray Ussery]

A lot of people use pen-stripping tape found at most auto parts or paint suppliers.

It's a little bit tedious but not near as much as scraping, but that's just me...it doesn't take much to screw up the finish...

Anyway, the tape will bend easily to conform to the radius' and it comes in a wide variety of widths which can be overlapped to achieve what you want and is easily removed. Most use smaller tape then needed and double it up (Over lap) which facilitates the vertical curve. The tape is fairly cheap.

Most remove it as soon after finishing as possible with spray lacquer so that it doesn't "Tear" the hardened finish and leaves a nice smooth line.

More info can be found at Reranch finishing site with a little searching. :) Contact Tele Savalas over there...

here's a link to a great Trans Blue done by Kevin-San:

http://reranch.com/reranch/viewtopic.ph ... ranslucent

Him and Joeglow and Tele Savalas are VERY knowledgeable and nice guy's Tell them I sent you...they will answer your questions and all have a LOT of experience in this department. Ask Joeglow about his use of Boiled Linseed Oil to pop the grain too. Just an idea.

Ray :>)

[Dennis in Anola]

Thanks for the reply & link Ray. I've found lots of information on applying transparent guitar finishes but non of them appy to guitars with white bindings. The trick to make the grain pop out is to apply black or very dark color dye to the wood first. Then lightly sand the wood so that the dark color is left in the grain parts. Then the lighter dye is applied overall and the grain pops out as a result. I'm worried about the dye getting under the masking (pin stripe) tape and ruining the binding but I suppose I could apply clear over the bindings first in case that does happen. That way I should be able to touch up (scrape the binding before applying clear coats overall. Hope this makes sense?

[Ray Ussery]

The pen stripe tape is not "Masking tape" it's a flexible type of plastic and adheres extremely well...have never had it bleed nor have I ever seen it bleed...if you think about what pen striping really is..you can see where they couldn't have any bleeding...I used to do a LOT of pen striping..you lay out multiple colors of ghost flames with pen tape for the painter to use paint that costs $100 a quart...it better NOT bleed! :>)

Also you can shoot a 50% mix of lacquer let it dry, then grain-fill with black...sand it back until it's filled...then mix the dye directly into your lacquer and shoot the finish...the more coats...the darker it gets...more than one way to skin a Puddy Cat...cept MINE is a mind reader..he only has 3 lives left out of 9 and after 8 years he can tell if I'm headin' his way...(Just kidding of course)...

Good luck..also go to Auto Zone or what ever may be in your area and LOOK at the tape and you can see it won't bleed if applied correctly...don't stretch it though...or it will come loose. Other than that, you are good to go..

Ray

[Dennis in Anola]

I'm finally at the finishing stage for my Dobro. I (my wife, LOL) decided the color should be a deep Burgundy. So, I bought some Bordeaux and dark brown metalized dye concentrate. I also have some black powdered dye on hand. Here's my first test sample applied onto some Birch aircraft plywood using alcohal for solvent. The colors on my wood sample are actually darker than what appears on my monitor. The dyed area has two initial coats of Bordeax dye followed by a third coat to the top half containing a couple of drops of Brown. Then I lightly sanded the entire sample with 600 w/d paper to highlight the grain. I'm pleased with the way the wood took the stain. The laminate wood of my guitar has some compression imperfections on the outer surface, which may or may not add some positive influence (splotches) in the final result. Unfortunately I can't sand them out without sanding into the next layer of plywood. So, I'll have to live with however this turns out. Maybe one day I'll build a solid wood version and avoid the "problem"?