my custom viper 7 string dye and finish.

[yooser Nayme]

well guys, i purchased this kit for a pretty cheap price locally. it was only about 150 bucks and for that price the quality is actually quite surprisingly. although as expected the electronics that were included are complete crap. 

in order to do this job i used RED and BLACK water based dye from stewmac.com

i also bought the tung oil froom stewmac.com

the idea was to dye the whole thing black. the body is mahogony and i used no filler so after dying it completely black i proceeded to sand most of the black off of the front and back, leaving the sides mainly black still. the black stayed only on the front and back on the grain. then i went over the whole guitar with a couple layers of red. 

the result i was going for was a sort of aged evil looking finish. the ultimate metal finish! 

here is the result so far:

the body and neck i started with

 

sand that biotch

 

full coat of black

 

sanding the front and back

 

finally the red over coat

 

I am unsure how satisfied i am with the outcome so far. i am putting a tung oil finish on the guitar and i am hoping it looks a litle better with a good finish on it. 

if you guys have any ideas or comments, or constructive criticism that would be warmly welcomed  

i am leaving the neck jand headstock just a light coat of black. 

[yooser Nayme]

also i am having some problems with the stumac tung oil, it seems it takes nearly a week per coat to completely set. do you guys know of some that does not take near that long? 24 hours seems like alot but a week? that is an awful turnover rate haha. 

[WRGKMC]

Your regular Minwax Tune oil from The local Home Depot is what I use. Its got some varnishes and dryers in it, but I don't care. I can put a single thick coat on per day and its dry for The next coat The next day. I usually put on 8 to 10 coats using a sponge brush so it winds up being as thick as lacquer is. It comes out with a high gloss finish nearly as transparent as lacquer and very durable. The Tune oil does add some yellowing. I found its a great finish for lighter woods like maple that can benefit from that aged yellowing look.

As far as staining goes, you usually apply it for a number of minutes depending on how dark you want it then wipe of The excess. The way it works is it sinks into The softer pulp of The wood and The harder "Rings" of The tree wipe off and don't soak in.  

The clear coat over stain is not The same as using tinted lacquers you see on most sunburst type guitars. On those they start with The lightest color first, then spray on darker colors around The edges to give you those multicolor tints. Then they apply clear coat lacquer over and because lacquer melts together you wind up with one single thick cost that is highly transparent. Oils and polys are different. They go on like layers of an onion and since there are separate layers light gets diffused by The layers and looks less transparent and glossy.

The Tune oil you bought from stuart is likely a purer form of tune oil designed to be applied in a thin coat, no more than a few coats to give a minimalist wood grain satin finish you find on many guitars where The grain still shows.It doesn't dry that fast because it has no varnishes. This is not a big deal for its intended use because The people who use it don't want a thick finish, only minimal protection.

My best suggestion is get some minwax tune oil of one of The similar types you buy at a hardware store. You can apply it over what's on there now and build up The coats as needed. Get some sponge brushes too. Just be careful not create small bubbles with The brushes or shake The can up. Just dip and wipe and don't let The brush get dry or you'll get streaks. View The application with The light bouncing off at an angle so you can see how smoothly it goes on. I usually hang my bodies and do a single coat on The whole thing at The same time. Watch out for drips from applying too much as well.

Use a new brush for each new coat. The brushes are made to be disposable and only cost a half a buck each. I've used regular brushes too but you get brush lines instead of a smooth coat. You can sand out flaws between coats but try and get The last coat flawless then just let it dry. After 5 or 6 coats you should have The application process down and can do an entire coat properly in a single pop. Also avoid touch ups. You only have a few seconds after The liquid is applied and a shell begins to dry from The outside in. If The thickness applied is correct and you aren't starving The brush, lines will melt together and become smooth and shiny. If you try to brush over before its dry its going to streak badly as it pulls The finish back off.

After 24 hours you can remove any streaks with some super fine sandpaper and or steel wool. Don't use coarse sandpaper and keep touch ups to a minimum. Deeper scratches will not be hidden completely by The next coat. Like In said, oils go on in layers and don't melt together like Lacquer does.

 

Good luck.