hey Ben, since the stains look very different depending on the wood it gets put on, why don't you put pictures of how each stain looks (un-diluted) on the classic woods (mahogany, alder, ash, maple and basswood, I guess), so that people can have a better idea of what it looks like before they buy ?
Love the sg cherry! Additional colors: Fender neck amber, Gibson flame maple les paul burst, Fender butterscotch blonde tele, Daphne blue, leather dye black/piano black.
I've just placed and order for yellow and finishing oil for my SG copy project. Great videos really sold the product. Thanks dude. Also love your tattoos. Keep on Rocking.
Love the sg cherry! Additional colors: Fender neck amber, Gibson flame maple les paul burst, Fender butterscotch blonde tele, Daphne blue, leather dye black/piano black.
I'm half way through my first build and thinking about The Finish. I received Black Stunning Stain and Finishing oil, beautifully packaged, yesterday. A test has confirmed that there will aways be a glow through the black from the mahogany body which I think I like. Still thinking... I wonder if anyone has had success with Annie Sloane chalk paints and wax when finishing a guitar? Be there dragons? Just love your inspiring, informative and amusing banter...
I went to see the latest Bond film last night, pretty average IMO and a bit.....meh. Just finished watching this video, and the thought suddenly popped into my head: what a fantastic voice for a Bond villain Mr Crimson Guitars possesses! I was originally thinking an unseen voice over part, but when you think of the range of tools Ben owns and what he could do with them, it's a perfect fit. He could do the whole thing and really cause Bond some damage with something like his Japanese saws.
You know how on flamed maple most of the time you make the flames black then do a transparent look on the rest? Well what if you made the flamed grains blue and the body trans black?
Ben do all the finishing video's you can please :). Its the one thing that scares most new Guitar builders to death. There are also so many different techniques, it would be good to get to know what you do so we have a guideline to follow. Thank you mate.
+Lars de Waardt If you are a member of the Crimson Guild, there is a series of video's where Ben builds the Clarity Guitar. He is in the process of putting up one or two a week for the public to view on UA-cam. In this series he puts the finish on the Clarity and makes it look utterly stunning. Well worth the watch if you want advice on depth of natural wood finish. :)
the white stain you mentioned in the beginning of the video can be used to do an authentic Mary Kay Finish. Yes? How do you do a Mary Kay finish the right way? thank You in advance
I saw one of our "famous" Montana sunsets this spring that inspired me to attempt a burst finish. It was a combination of intense pinks, fading to electric Orange. The pinks were so vivid they were almost red, and the Orange was lighter, like the sky an hour before sunset. I imagined it on a strat style with a quilted maple cap. Any ideas to point me in the right direction?
I am all for smaller bottles! Tester bottles to see what the different colors look like on your project and how they look in person. Small bottles for single use and touch ups. Medium sized bottles for a small shop or limited runs. It might also be nice if you offered a staining package with gloves, applicators, standoffs, etc.
I have a poplar body I am going to stain orange. Do I need to stain white under the orange, or bleach it for more brightness? Or should I just go straight orange? Pretty light colored wood to begin with. Going to give it an oil finish after.
Finally got to try my bottle of black out on an ash body yesterday. It went fantastically well! Dead easy to use and lovely even matt finish ready for whatever you want to finish with.
Hi Ben. Love the channel. My current favourite thing to watch. My wife got me a kit guitar ages ago and haven't got round to putting it together. after seeing your stain technique I have decided this is what I want to do. Do you have a break down of products a beginner should purchase from crimson guitars to complete a finish. I have the guitar so that's the main ingredient. what else do I need? Thanks
Nice, just order black and red 2 days ago, and now I get an How-to Video, that great! About grain rising: would it help to wet sand and keep the wood moist until the application of the stain, (specially for "popping" wood patterns)?
Im curious about the tonality of Stone used as a guitar body. Ive seen it many times, all Strat- type or flat top, but Ive never heard one. I assume it would be a muted sound, but stone produces a deep bass sound. I think the most reliable natural substance would be Quartzite, and the prettiest. However, despite its susceptibility to fracture, I think Marble would be best suited, as it doesnt have that metallic resonance. I have put alot of thought into this, and could provide a little instruction video if necessary. I can carve the daylights out of some stone, but I am not a Luthier, and even less a musician. I think, for the sake of practicality, this should be laminated 3 cm pieces. That way, you can carve the orifices without taking out a huge portion of the back. Also, youll have to drop some weight on it, so itll need chambers, which will also help acoustically. i have much more information to pass, but this comment is already long enough. I think it would be a fun production, and quite possibly put you a little out of your comfort zone. You spend all this time being an expert, this could be a novice experience. Lastly, sorry about the ridiculously long comment.
I just got the green and the navy blue stains. I am using green as a base layer and the navy as a top layer (cool effect). I've used a bunch of stains before. This is easily my favorite.
I'm partaking in stripping a Gibson SG.. I used a heat gun with good results for stripping. Would I still need to sand it to bare and use grain filler before staining it transparent green? First time doing this so I'm excited and want it turning out nice.. TY
Would it possible to do add a touch of black to the red mix to enable (albeit a slightly darker) a more even finish across all the different types of wood?
have you ever used iron acetate? I home made some using vinegar and steel wool and it works very well on blonde woods. i have gotten anywhere from dark chocolate(ash) colors to almost a gold color(maple). The only down side is you dont have any input as to how dark or light it goes since it causes chemical reaction with the pigment of the wood. It is fun to mess around with none the less tho.
I ask myself if I were to build a guitar what would I build. I think an SG style made of solid ebony. The blackest I could find neck, fret board and all. With a pice of the whitest currently maple strip running down the center of the back full length. All silver hardware. Just dreaming. I like to dream.
Might I suggest if you want to increase your sales of your stains you have the courtesy of replying to e mails. Your product might be great -or not- but it really p*****me off that companies ignore enquiries.
Sebastián Mayorca unfortunately no, unless you hack apart the neck joint, place a piece of wood there, then cut the body into three pieces and glue the wings to the sides of the new 'neck'.
In theory I don’t see why not. You would have to do a lot of extra work and fitting. Possibly cut the center out and glue a piece of wood to the said neck make sure it is precise. Then glue the studs back. Maybe add a veneer top to even it out then route the pickup holes out.
Hi Ben!!!!!Big fan here, (sadly) not a guitar builder.Actually not even a woodworker.I'm just a guitar player that's been following you for quite a few years now!!! Having watched countless of Crimson videos, I thought I'd take up on my first woodworking project, re-housing my Marshall Valvestate combo into a head-cab configuration. I used what I think is spruce (not sure about the English name).Its a pretty soft and white wood. The reason I'm commenting under this video is: I would like to replicate the Schecter Apocalypse Rusty Grey finish, and would like to know which Stunning Stains colors I should buy/try? Black and Brown? If there is a better place to ask, please let me know!!!!
Hi ! I’ve just received 3 stains from you here in France (yellow, amber and brown). I’m about to stain a solid maple Strat neck and my idea is to make it look like an old 57 Strat. Like the latest Clapton Journeyman by Fender. Yellow/amber with some lovely darker places on the fretboard. Maybe you could try and do a video before I dare to start...! That would be great and really helpful. These seem to be very good products anyway, thank you !
Could the stains be sprayed on with an airbrush to do a sunburst (after the base color being applied by hand), or should it only be applied by hand? I am very interested in the stains and will most likely be buying some of them at some point. Also, would you recommend staining the guitar black and sanding it back so the grain on figured woods like flame maple, Ect, would pop more before staining it the final color?
can you do a refret using stainless steel frets ? i've recently been convinced stainless frets are just better, and seems they are showing up on expensive new guitars , wonderful show, thanks from texas !
250 ml Of the Cherry Red Stunning Stain arrived today. I didn't drink it, seriously, I used it to cover my butt. Seriously. Good luck with the U.S. market, may the curse of Robbie Williams be gone. Seriously.
Was the intention to get the stuff all over myself and appear Norman Batesesque post Marion Crane dissection shower scene? Whatever, Nevermind. good stuff. Highly recommended, seriously.
I just ordered some black and crimson red stain for my new guitar project. Black base with crimson burst finish. It's my first build from components, I'm really excited.
Nice! Do you have a water based Clear-Coat or is that a stupid question? I have a Beautiful Birds-Eye Maple Tele body and I want the birds-eye to "pop" as much as possible. The builder of the body said "use 600 grit then clear coat away." This leads me to believe he put a finish or some sort on the veneers that I sent him. It is an ash body and I looked for quite some time to find the veneers that I wanted him to use. Thanks for all you do! J
You keep talking about all that’s leftover when you are done? Will it get me drunk or high if I drink or main line it? Seriously 😐? If I’m right, most of us would use it for one maybe 2 guitars at most? I, and I expect most people, don’t make guitars in volume. Why not make it in testor model paint sized bottles and charge half as much? Does that make sense to anyone else?
Ben - is that a STAIN or a DYE? The reason I ask is that it looks like a dye as you're applying it. A STAIN has solids in it so the liquid product is opaque or at minimum translucent. Dyes on the other hand are completely transparent.
Hey Crimson, do you have any videos on modifying a pickup cavity to change it from a humbucker to a true P90? Or at the end of the day any video that shows us how to modify pickup cavities by cutting and adding wood. Cheers!
I'm not from an english language country, and I don't know how to search for some similar product... Any water based ink would works? I was thinking of using that kind of ink kids uses at school, I'm just afraid how it will react with the varnish
You mentioned for us to leave a comment if we wanted to see a video about removing stain or diluting stain on a hardwood substrate? Well, I’m a big strat and tele fan, just wondering how much stain can you really get out of an alder or ash body? Or a maple neck as well? Say...you want a really translucent look, or you simply want to start over or didn’t like how it was turning out? Could you really get it back to bare wood again by diluting/sanding?
I was thinking about sanding down one of my old guitars, staining a chocolatey colour, putting a couple coats of orange peel over it, then sanding it down and buffing it up. This will my first endeavour at re-finishing a guitar, so I'm completely ignorant in the matter. I'd like to have a satin finish, instead of a glossy finish, where I can still feel the wood under the finish, but I have no idea how to do that, but I've watched how you've finished guitars and decided that I may as well try that... due to my ignorance. Any tips? Should I just go ahead with my current plan, or could you recommend to me a way of staining it brown, protecting the wood, while also making it possible to feel the grain underneath the finish? If this is a stupid question, I apologize! :(
Ben, I'm ordering some stain from you guys. Is it necessary to use grain filler? And did you use it on the SG in the video prior to applying the stain?
What about wood bleaching? Can you bleach the top of the mahogany to "lighten it"? This would make the color pop a little more (as in the neck in your video if that is your goal)? This is a strategy I read about when it comes to staining darker woods. Your stain color looks very nice as-is. Thank you Ben.
Hey Ben! Awesome work as always man! Could I suggest a nice "PRS" Turquoise for your new range of dyes? I'm attacking the build of an Oak Stave snare drum that will be veneered with Quilted Maple and wanted to give it that tropical-watery-turquoise colour of a PRS Guitar. I'll be buying the whole set of dyes from you and will experiment with mixing green and blues. Tell me what you think! :)
man ! u need to do my Dean ML! great stuff. how about doing an exotic candy apple, like ,purple..royal blue apple green..? .. real hotrod trans colors over a silver or gold flake? do u remember the old dune buggies in the 70s?
So I've always wanted a very bright orange flamed maple guitar, usually the materiel on top is a bit to dark already tho, is there wood bleach or something that would help?
Actually, smaller bottles might not be a bad idea! (For us home hobbyists that are only likely to do one or two guitars. Love the cherry red, by the way.)
restoring furniture I use to apply a layer of shellac to varied dencity woods with a light sand to seal before I applied a stain. Does this work for guitars?
i see you guys do sample bottles, as you say in the end a single bottle is way too much, how many sample bottles do you think would do a body? Im thinking of buying this same crimson red, considered the brown but it looks very dark! maybe a halfway brown and red could look nice? thanks!
ilovegoonbas92 I was thinking the same. I don't plan on like mass producing guitars lol I only want to do 1, would the sample be big enough to do that?
Hi Ben, thanks for all the great tips and info. I'm considering a telecaster project with an alder body. I would like to get the yellow colour that you see on 60s and 70s white telecasters that have turned yellow. I really like that yellow colour. Can you show/tell me how to get something like that with a water based stain? Thanks so much!!
Water based stains are the best, i have used them a lot and i love them. About the video Ben i think you should demostrate your stains creating sunbursts or something more elaborate than plain colors, maybe show how they react when you add more and more water, it doesn´t need to be in a guitar, just use a plain piece of wood. Thinking about this i dont remember if you have shown the trick when you add a heavy coat of black stain to a piece of wood with figures and then sand it to make the figures more noticeable. Cheers
Do you carry a clear coat? if so I would love to see a demonstration on a Birds-Eye Maple body. I know it is a lot to ask but I have an ash tele body that I had a nice pair of book-matched Birds-eye Maple veneer's applied to it and would like to see how your "wipe-on" product would look in this situation. I really want the figure of the bird's eye to "Pop" as it is extraordinary! Thanks for all the great videos! JDs
Thanks to all at Crimson Guitars, the sample pack has given me a lot of inspiration and no perspiration! Ready to go ahead and stain a lovely flamed (curly) maple the top down to a honey amberburst, courtesy of a product that does exactly what is says on the label. Ben, thanks for the videos, they are informative, entertaining and hit the mark. Thanks to your packing lady who tied a sweet little bow around the parcel, nice touch. Crimson Guitars, keep up the good work. You're putting Piddlehinton on the map!!
The funny thing is that is one of the last vestiges of my southern African accent and nothing to do with living in the UK now.. that being said, I love a good dichotomy 👍
I'm about to start my first build, and I love your videos! Have you done a bright green stain or translucent? I will be using soft maple and want to make it as bright green as I can with the wood grain still visible. Thank you!
hey Ben, since the stains look very different depending on the wood it gets put on, why don't you put pictures of how each stain looks (un-diluted) on the classic woods (mahogany, alder, ash, maple and basswood, I guess), so that people can have a better idea of what it looks like before they buy ?
I agree
Yah
chris adam crazy we are here on the same day after four yeaars
I'm a cabinet maker by trade and we stain with the grain of the wood, meaning rub the stain the way the grain runs
Love the sg cherry! Additional colors: Fender neck amber, Gibson flame maple les paul burst, Fender butterscotch blonde tele, Daphne blue, leather dye black/piano black.
I've just placed and order for yellow and finishing oil for my SG copy project. Great videos really sold the product. Thanks dude. Also love your tattoos. Keep on Rocking.
Love the sg cherry! Additional colors: Fender neck amber, Gibson flame maple les paul burst, Fender butterscotch blonde tele, Daphne blue, leather dye black/piano black.
Yes... finishing oil videos are a must... matte and gloss versions!! Thanks Ben.
I'm half way through my first build and thinking about The Finish. I received Black Stunning Stain and Finishing oil, beautifully packaged, yesterday. A test has confirmed that there will aways be a glow through the black from the mahogany body which I think I like.
Still thinking...
I wonder if anyone has had success with Annie Sloane chalk paints and wax when finishing a guitar? Be there dragons?
Just love your inspiring, informative and amusing banter...
I went to see the latest Bond film last night, pretty average IMO and a bit.....meh.
Just finished watching this video, and the thought suddenly popped into my head: what a fantastic voice for a Bond villain Mr Crimson Guitars possesses!
I was originally thinking an unseen voice over part, but when you think of the range of tools Ben owns and what he could do with them, it's a perfect fit. He could do the whole thing and really cause Bond some damage with something like his Japanese saws.
Smaller bottles would be great! I plan on building a pine either Esquire or les Paul jr that I would like in a TV Yellow/Butterscotch.
A shell pink stain would be dope you know!
You know how on flamed maple most of the time you make the flames black then do a transparent look on the rest? Well what if you made the flamed grains blue and the body trans black?
Chance Gaddy I’m gonna try this one day holy shit
How long does each coat take to dry?
did you grainfill beforehand or is it not necessary with your stains and oil? please help me as I'm about to use both on a kit
Ben do all the finishing video's you can please :).
Its the one thing that scares most new Guitar builders to death. There are also so many different techniques, it would be good to get to know what you do so we have a guideline to follow.
Thank you mate.
+Chris Dalby I second that. Finishing is the one thing I know the least about. I would love to know how you can create depth in your finish
+Lars de Waardt If you are a member of the Crimson Guild, there is a series of video's where Ben builds the Clarity Guitar. He is in the process of putting up one or two a week for the public to view on UA-cam.
In this series he puts the finish on the Clarity and makes it look utterly stunning. Well worth the watch if you want advice on depth of natural wood finish. :)
Dashingly handsome stains...
Two colors I would like are transparent black and dark coffee.
Yes, a tutorial for burst made from stains would be cool
Check out the Paul Reed Smith videos. Expert craftsman staining absolutely beautiful guitars. Bursts included.
I got a bottle of this stuff. It is absolutely ridiculous. Stunning, indeed.
the white stain you mentioned in the beginning of the video can be used to do an authentic Mary Kay Finish. Yes? How do you do a Mary Kay finish the right way?
thank You in advance
I saw one of our "famous" Montana sunsets this spring that inspired me to attempt a burst finish. It was a combination of intense pinks, fading to electric Orange. The pinks were so vivid they were almost red, and the Orange was lighter, like the sky an hour before sunset. I imagined it on a strat style with a quilted maple cap. Any ideas to point me in the right direction?
I am all for smaller bottles! Tester bottles to see what the different colors look like on your project and how they look in person. Small bottles for single use and touch ups. Medium sized bottles for a small shop or limited runs. It might also be nice if you offered a staining package with gloves, applicators, standoffs, etc.
Right on Ben. I've seen video of fades being done... Never tried one myself. This looks like I might have to do some experiments.
I have a poplar body I am going to stain orange. Do I need to stain white under the orange, or bleach it for more brightness? Or should I just go straight orange? Pretty light colored wood to begin with. Going to give it an oil finish after.
I WANT THIS PRODUCT!!!
Finally got to try my bottle of black out on an ash body yesterday. It went fantastically well! Dead easy to use and lovely even matt finish ready for whatever you want to finish with.
Came for finishing advice, witnesses metal Bill Bailey, will feel bad if I don’t buy from him - convoluted but efficient sales technique.
Hi Ben. Love the channel. My current favourite thing to watch. My wife got me a kit guitar ages ago and haven't got round to putting it together. after seeing your stain technique I have decided this is what I want to do. Do you have a break down of products a beginner should purchase from crimson guitars to complete a finish. I have the guitar so that's the main ingredient. what else do I need? Thanks
Nice, just order black and red 2 days ago, and now I get an How-to Video, that great!
About grain rising: would it help to wet sand and keep the wood moist until the application of the stain, (specially for "popping" wood patterns)?
You had the chance to say you were making a crimson guitar and you blew it, Ben.. I'm disappointed.
Lol, didn't even occur to me :)
Im curious about the tonality of Stone used as a guitar body. Ive seen it many times, all Strat- type or flat top, but Ive never heard one. I assume it would be a muted sound, but stone produces a deep bass sound.
I think the most reliable natural substance would be Quartzite, and the prettiest. However, despite its susceptibility to fracture, I think Marble would be best suited, as it doesnt have that metallic resonance.
I have put alot of thought into this, and could provide a little instruction video if necessary. I can carve the daylights out of some stone, but I am not a Luthier, and even less a musician.
I think, for the sake of practicality, this should be laminated 3 cm pieces. That way, you can carve the orifices without taking out a huge portion of the back. Also, youll have to drop some weight on it, so itll need chambers, which will also help acoustically. i have much more information to pass, but this comment is already long enough.
I think it would be a fun production, and quite possibly put you a little out of your comfort zone. You spend all this time being an expert, this could be a novice experience.
Lastly, sorry about the ridiculously long comment.
I just got the green and the navy blue stains. I am using green as a base layer and the navy as a top layer (cool effect). I've used a bunch of stains before. This is easily my favorite.
I'm partaking in stripping a Gibson SG.. I used a heat gun with good results for stripping. Would I still need to sand it to bare and use grain filler before staining it transparent green? First time doing this so I'm excited and want it turning out nice.. TY
Would it possible to do add a touch of black to the red mix to enable (albeit a slightly darker) a more even finish across all the different types of wood?
Maybe it's a bit late, you probably already have the answer but anyways, you can totally mix the stains to create nuances
have you ever used iron acetate? I home made some using vinegar and steel wool and it works very well on blonde woods. i have gotten anywhere from dark chocolate(ash) colors to almost a gold color(maple). The only down side is you dont have any input as to how dark or light it goes since it causes chemical reaction with the pigment of the wood. It is fun to mess around with none the less tho.
I appreciate being able to go back and revisit your previous videos👍🏻. 🎸🤘🏻
I ask myself if I were to build a guitar what would I build.
I think an SG style made of solid ebony. The blackest I could find neck, fret board and all. With a pice of the whitest currently maple strip running down the center of the back full length. All silver hardware.
Just dreaming. I like to dream.
Might I suggest if you want to increase your sales of your stains you have the courtesy of replying to e mails. Your product might be great -or not- but it really p*****me off that companies ignore enquiries.
Emerald Green
what guitar finishing oil???
deep green
I second that.
Hey, can I ask you something? Is it possible to make a bolt on neck guitar become a nec through?
Sebastián Mayorca unfortunately no, unless you hack apart the neck joint, place a piece of wood there, then cut the body into three pieces and glue the wings to the sides of the new 'neck'.
In theory I don’t see why not. You would have to do a lot of extra work and fitting. Possibly cut the center out and glue a piece of wood to the said neck make sure it is precise. Then glue the studs back. Maybe add a veneer top to even it out then route the pickup holes out.
how about a rosewood or ebony im trying to do a george harrison tele,dark stains are hard to find
I would love to see a teal to electric blue to midnight blue burst...
Is it easy to stain maple or is it better to spray? Just wondering about the tight grain.
Hi Ben!!!!!Big fan here, (sadly) not a guitar builder.Actually not even a woodworker.I'm just a guitar player that's been following you for quite a few years now!!!
Having watched countless of Crimson videos, I thought I'd take up on my first woodworking project, re-housing my Marshall Valvestate combo into a head-cab configuration.
I used what I think is spruce (not sure about the English name).Its a pretty soft and white wood.
The reason I'm commenting under this video is: I would like to replicate the Schecter Apocalypse Rusty Grey finish, and would like to know which Stunning Stains colors I should buy/try? Black and Brown?
If there is a better place to ask, please let me know!!!!
Hi !
I’ve just received 3 stains from you here in France (yellow, amber and brown). I’m about to stain a solid maple Strat neck and my idea is to make it look like an old 57 Strat. Like the latest Clapton Journeyman by Fender. Yellow/amber with some lovely darker places on the fretboard.
Maybe you could try and do a video before I dare to start...! That would be great and really helpful.
These seem to be very good products anyway, thank you !
Can you mix up more than one color in order to get some darker fade on the edges or a lighter tone on the center? Thanks
Could the stains be sprayed on with an airbrush to do a sunburst (after the base color being applied by hand), or should it only be applied by hand? I am very interested in the stains and will most likely be buying some of them at some point. Also, would you recommend staining the guitar black and sanding it back so the grain on figured woods like flame maple, Ect, would pop more before staining it the final color?
can you do a refret using stainless steel frets ? i've recently been convinced stainless frets are just better, and seems they are showing up on expensive new guitars , wonderful show, thanks from texas !
mark norris stainless steel is better and more durable but the downside is that they destroy your fretfiles because they are to strong
Can you use the oil on top of the stains (one being water based and the other an oil)
+Petar Bogdanov I should have watched the video!
250 ml Of the Cherry Red Stunning Stain arrived today. I didn't drink it, seriously, I used it to cover my butt. Seriously. Good luck with the U.S. market, may the curse of Robbie Williams be gone. Seriously.
Was the intention to get the stuff all over myself and appear Norman Batesesque post Marion Crane dissection shower scene? Whatever, Nevermind. good stuff. Highly recommended, seriously.
I just ordered some black and crimson red stain for my new guitar project. Black base with crimson burst finish. It's my first build from components, I'm really excited.
where can i get this stuff ben??
Cheers
Rick
Nice! Do you have a water based Clear-Coat or is that a stupid question? I have a Beautiful Birds-Eye Maple Tele body and I want the birds-eye to "pop" as much as possible. The builder of the body said "use 600 grit then clear coat away." This leads me to believe he put a finish or some sort on the veneers that I sent him. It is an ash body and I looked for quite some time to find the veneers that I wanted him to use.
Thanks for all you do!
J
a yellowish, honey burst, lemon drop pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease!!!!! thatz zexy
You keep talking about all that’s leftover when you are done? Will it get me drunk or high if I drink or main line it? Seriously 😐? If I’m right, most of us would use it for one maybe 2 guitars at most? I, and I expect most people, don’t make guitars in volume. Why not make it in testor model paint sized bottles and charge half as much? Does that make sense to anyone else?
Ben - is that a STAIN or a DYE? The reason I ask is that it looks like a dye as you're applying it. A STAIN has solids in it so the liquid product is opaque or at minimum translucent. Dyes on the other hand are completely transparent.
Hey Crimson, do you have any videos on modifying a pickup cavity to change it from a humbucker to a true P90? Or at the end of the day any video that shows us how to modify pickup cavities by cutting and adding wood. Cheers!
I'm not from an english language country, and I don't know how to search for some similar product... Any water based ink would works? I was thinking of using that kind of ink kids uses at school, I'm just afraid how it will react with the varnish
What about I red ish purple ish kinda sunset color!
You mentioned for us to leave a comment if we wanted to see a video about removing stain or diluting stain on a hardwood substrate? Well, I’m a big strat and tele fan, just wondering how much stain can you really get out of an alder or ash body? Or a maple neck as well? Say...you want a really translucent look, or you simply want to start over or didn’t like how it was turning out? Could you really get it back to bare wood again by diluting/sanding?
I was thinking about sanding down one of my old guitars, staining a chocolatey colour, putting a couple coats of orange peel over it, then sanding it down and buffing it up. This will my first endeavour at re-finishing a guitar, so I'm completely ignorant in the matter. I'd like to have a satin finish, instead of a glossy finish, where I can still feel the wood under the finish, but I have no idea how to do that, but I've watched how you've finished guitars and decided that I may as well try that... due to my ignorance. Any tips? Should I just go ahead with my current plan, or could you recommend to me a way of staining it brown, protecting the wood, while also making it possible to feel the grain underneath the finish? If this is a stupid question, I apologize! :(
Ben, I'm ordering some stain from you guys. Is it necessary to use grain filler? And did you use it on the SG in the video prior to applying the stain?
What about wood bleaching? Can you bleach the top of the mahogany to "lighten it"? This would make the color pop a little more (as in the neck in your video if that is your goal)? This is a strategy I read about when it comes to staining darker woods. Your stain color looks very nice as-is. Thank you Ben.
A lemonburst type stain would be nice! Cheers
Teach a tutorial on scalloping a guitar fret board
that'd be awesome. I found a few good tutorials on YT though.
Hey Ben!
Awesome work as always man!
Could I suggest a nice "PRS" Turquoise for your new range of dyes?
I'm attacking the build of an Oak Stave snare drum that will be veneered with Quilted Maple and wanted to give it that tropical-watery-turquoise colour of a PRS Guitar.
I'll be buying the whole set of dyes from you and will experiment with mixing green and blues.
Tell me what you think! :)
How dare you not to think of british racing green * g *
Yellow-is, gold-is, natural-is colours?
man ! u need to do my
Dean ML! great stuff.
how about doing an exotic candy apple, like ,purple..royal blue
apple green..?
.. real hotrod trans colors over a silver or gold flake?
do u remember the old dune buggies in the 70s?
I'm not sure if you're familiar with the PRS Northern lights it's teal(ish) under purple. How would one do this on a guitar?
I have always spray painted my guitars .but have just tried your stains and finishing oils ,will not be spray painting again thank you
So I've always wanted a very bright orange flamed maple guitar, usually the materiel on top is a bit to dark already tho, is there wood bleach or something that would help?
Actually, smaller bottles might not be a bad idea! (For us home hobbyists that are only likely to do one or two guitars. Love the cherry red, by the way.)
restoring furniture I use to apply a layer of shellac to varied dencity woods with a light sand to seal before I applied a stain. Does this work for guitars?
i see you guys do sample bottles, as you say in the end a single bottle is way too much, how many sample bottles do you think would do a body? Im thinking of buying this same crimson red, considered the brown but it looks very dark! maybe a halfway brown and red could look nice? thanks!
ilovegoonbas92 I was thinking the same. I don't plan on like mass producing guitars lol I only want to do 1, would the sample be big enough to do that?
Hi Ben, thanks for all the great tips and info. I'm considering a telecaster project with an alder body. I would like to get the yellow colour that you see on 60s and 70s white telecasters that have turned yellow. I really like that yellow colour. Can you show/tell me how to get something like that with a water based stain? Thanks so much!!
Can you demonstrate how to go about a "snowstorm" finish like on the mid 2000's Caparison models? Suspect there is airbrushing involved.
Water based stains are the best, i have used them a lot and i love them. About the video Ben i think you should demostrate your stains creating sunbursts or something more elaborate than plain colors, maybe show how they react when you add more and more water, it doesn´t need to be in a guitar, just use a plain piece of wood. Thinking about this i dont remember if you have shown the trick when you add a heavy coat of black stain to a piece of wood with figures and then sand it to make the figures more noticeable. Cheers
ohhh you should have had the white stain before, now it is too late for me.... I will definitely give it a try for the next one.
looks promising.
Yellow & Amber & purple show a demo ? also with different wood samples ;) ;) PLZZZZZZ
use the powder waster soluble stain and mix it with alcohol or lacquer thinner, it won't raise the grain.
Do you carry a clear coat? if so I would love to see a demonstration on a Birds-Eye Maple body. I know it is a lot to ask but I have an ash tele body that I had a nice pair of book-matched Birds-eye Maple veneer's applied to it and would like to see how your "wipe-on" product would look in this situation. I really want the figure of the bird's eye to "Pop" as it is extraordinary!
Thanks for all the great videos!
JDs
Can you display the method og doing a tobacco burst finish? I'd like to try but know not where to start or the colours required for such a project.
Make a video doing a lime green and yellow burst. Perhaps make a 3 piece guitar body to really show how the wood effects it. That would be cool
Thanks to all at Crimson Guitars, the sample pack has given me a lot of inspiration and no perspiration! Ready to go ahead and stain a lovely flamed (curly) maple the top down to a honey amberburst, courtesy of a product that does exactly what is says on the label.
Ben, thanks for the videos, they are informative, entertaining and hit the mark.
Thanks to your packing lady who tied a sweet little bow around the parcel, nice touch.
Crimson Guitars, keep up the good work. You're putting Piddlehinton on the map!!
I could just watch Ben all day, even if he was trying to sell me car insurance. Cheers from the Oregon Coast mate. Keep up the good work.
Butterscotch Blonde would be nice
could layering color and strongly diluted white create a pearl effect?
spider on your table. 8:31 it almost appears out of nothing. could be a fly also.
+BigEdWo well spotted. The workshop is on a farm, we have a love/hate relationship with the local fly population.
definitely a fly. I seen it too lol
I have a taylor T5-X Classic Ovangkol I need to dye/stain small touch up. any suggestions?
Could i do some black underneath to fill the grain, sand it, and then apply the stain?
StewMac is such a rip off, glad to have crimson guitars here not scamming the their customers.
I love how Ben says "owf" - exactly like the Queen! Poshest head tattoo dude ever.
The funny thing is that is one of the last vestiges of my southern African accent and nothing to do with living in the UK now.. that being said, I love a good dichotomy 👍
How do I purchase??
how about a TV yellow or a honey amber
I'm about to start my first build, and I love your videos! Have you done a bright green stain or translucent? I will be using soft maple and want to make it as bright green as I can with the wood grain still visible. Thank you!
YOU LOST ME WHEN I SEEN YOUR HEAD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!REALLY ??????????????WTF
and? how does any of that affect my skill as a luthier or a teacher for that matter? B
That red looks like blood for real.