First pore fill

I did the pore fill on the body using Behlen's Pore O Pac. I used the mahogany colored stuff. It is brown like Hershey's syrup. It darkened things quite a bit. I'm kinda pleased with the result.

Over the weekend, I sealed the neck, dyed it, and also did pore fill. I'm not so happy with the neck, but it does look sorta aged, and goes with the body, I think. I might do it over and use dark shellac so I get a more even appearance.

































































































































































































































































Because the guitar has been stained, I can't just spread the Pore O Pac on, and then sand it off. I am wiping it off just before it dries, which gets the pores mostly filled, but not all the way. To finish the pore fill, next I plan to use pumice, alcohol, and a pad, and do it the way a french polisher would.

First seal coat

I mixed a 1 lb cut of fresh shellac this week, and used it tonight to apply a seal coat over the stain. After the shellac dried, I shot these pics. This is how the surface looks now, I don't have to wet the surface to get a shiny appearance, any more.

























































































































With a light shining on it, it appears more red.

Staining the top

I started out by applying shellac to the binding and the white rosette with a Q-tip. This 'masked' these areas from the dye. Then I went around the rosette with the red dye mixture.











































After that, I applied red to the whole top, then brown.












































As the water in the dye starts to evaporate, the wood loses some of its intense coloring, but that will come back with the finish.



























































When the water is just about dried, the top matches the back and sides very well.





























Here's what the newly dyed top looks like compared to the sides. This also gives an idea of what the binding will look like.

Dye on the sides

After the dye on the back dried and I lived with it for a day or so, I was concerned that it might be a little too dark. No worries. All you have to do with the TransTint dye is wipe it with a wet rag. I lightened the shade some and then applied dye on the sides to match the back.

These pics were taken in daylight with some natural light to give a better idea of what it actually looks like. It looks a lot like koa. I really like the color on the Santa Cruz mahogany guitars, and mahogany that is stained a little bit tastefully reddish, rather than turd brown.





















































































I'm really excited about how this is turning out. Next I'll do the top.

First dye application

Well, I've decided not to use the Minwax stain after all, and to just move forward with diluted TransTint dye. So I guess I'm no longer an idiot for not noticing I could've just used the Minwax, because I don't want to use it anyway. Part of the problem I was having with TransTint dye is that I was trying to get a red mahogany color by mixing brown mahogany with a pure red dye to make red mahogany. It was making my test pieces turn a little pinkish in hue. So instead of doing it this way, I just broke down over the weekend and picked up a bottle of Transtint red mahogany dye.

I think I'll contradict myself and just say, that I do after all, prefer TransTint dye diluted with water, over everything else I've yet found, as it goes on looking like a pure color, without an oily residue, and it still highlights the grain. I don't think the wetness of the water is going to cause much of a problem with warpage, as long as I don't go overboard in application, and I allow it to dry thoroughly.

A few things contributed to my ultimate rejection of Minwax stain. It's oil based, and rather stinky. Also, I recently read an online forum discussion, where a luthier I greatly admire had only negative things to say about "Ace hardware finishing" solutions. They generally might be "good enough," but good enough is never good enough.

I also learned that the "fuzzy" look I was getting was due to my over-sanding. I sanded my surfaces to 400. I thought smoother was better. This isn't actually true, it turns out. So I lightly resanded everything to 220.

A Martin authority tells me that Martin mahogany stain color is achieved by first applying red mahogany, then brown mahogany. So I did that. I mixed a semi-weak solution so that I can "creep up" on the shade that I want. I started on the back, and applied two coats of red mahogany, followed by two coats of brown mahogany. I waited a few hours in-between coats, so that the wood wouldn't get too soggy.

First a coat of red. These pics appear darker than what the wood looks like.

Then I touched up the red some.

Then I added brown.

While building this guitar I've been really worried about the outcome, pretty much, throughout the process. Maybe worrying about it so much, helped it to turn out better. I've stopped worrying about it so much, lately. I'm genuinely excited now...and confident that this sucker is going to be flat-out awesome.