staining mahogany red

[thetyreman]

I'm wondering if there's a red dye you'd recommend? I am wanting to stain/dye some mahogany to make it a rich red colour, similar to this:

Gibson Custom Shop 60th Anniversary 1960 Les Paul Standard V2 VOS In Tomato Soup Burst - Andertons Music Co.

Get your hands on the Gibson Custom Shop 60th Anniversary 1960 Les Paul Standard V2 VOS In Tomato Soup Burst from Andertons Music Co. with free UK delivery on orders over £99!

www.andertons.co.uk

the back of the guitar is the colour I'm aiming for,

any suggestions?

 

[Droogs]

Colron have a range of dyes rather than stains that are mahogany based. they have one called Peruvian mahogany and gives a wonderful warm red hue to most woods but especially if used on a mahogany.

 

[Misterdog]

The old spirit stains were the best, I still have some though I think they contain methanol and so the HSE police banned them.

 

[Spectric]

A slip with a chisel makes the wood go red!

 

[Cabinetman]

I have used this

stuff before, a few drops in whatever you normally finish with, I produced a wonderful turquoise colour once. Ian

 

[Droogs]

@Cabinetman there's no way under the sun your suggestion will work. That bottle's got blue dye in it.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I found Morrells Light Fast Wood Stain | Quick Drying | Non-Grain Raising orange gives a quite vivid red on sapele.

 

[Cabinetman]

Thanks, that made me chuckle. The annoying thing about the turquoise dyed piece of wood was that no matter what I did I couldn’t photograph it, it always came out looking a totally different colour.

 

[Droogs]

@Cabinetman what are you using as the carrier medium for the dye? Just IPA or Turps. i have always thought moxol was opaque and would cover the grain rather than let you see it

Are putting it on stright to the wood and then a final finish or is it just mixed in with the "varnish"?

 

[Cabinetman]

I put enough water-based polyurethane varnish in a jar for the job I was doing and just a few drops of the stuff in it and paint it on as normal, it is has no effect on the "see-through" quality of the varnish it just tints it a different colour.
It’s cheap enough at about £2.50 a little bottle which goes an enormously long way. I don’t really actually know what I’m doing to be perfectly honest, its not my area of expertise but it worked for me, the effects were quite stunning. Ian

 

[Cabinetman]

I took it outside in the sunlight and it’s a bit better showing of its colour. The wood is American Ash btw.
I have just compared the photo on here to the real thing and it’s still nothing like it, Hayhoe

 

[johnnyb]

try morrels plum mahogany light fast. but thats not mahogany though.

 

[Torx]

This article cites a couple of UK sources

DIY Workshop: How to spray a 1950s-style cherry sunburst finish | Guitar.com | All Things Guitar

Nothing beats the look of a late 1950s Les Paul Standard. Find out how to mix your own colours and spray your own sunburst using period-correct materials – and the best thing is you don’t even need specialist equipment.

www.google.co.uk

 

[Setch]

Are you just after the colour, or the finish? I've found the best results using tinted sprayed lacquer, rather than dying the wood. This guitar is Rustins plastic coating tinted with alcohol based dye from Luthiers Mercantile International in the States.

 

[recipio]

I've used Chestnut spirit stains ( on to bare wood ) and it works very well. They sell it in small 250 ml packs and do a red mahogany. You have to spray it however for best results. Dare I say keep it away from possible sources of ignition !

 

[raffo]

Would the stain destroy the chatoyance?

 

[Droogs]

stain usually will as it sits on top of the surface but dye mostly doesn't as it soaks into the wood