Steel Guitar Builder

Need some help how to stain a cabinet and what to use and what not to use.

In short.............HELP!!. I've never done this before and I'm stuck.

George,
A totally non-hide stain is used a lot. I think alcohol base stain is the best. I have tried water base stain (this includes aniline dye) and will not recommend it. It very easily turns out blotchy. It also raises the grain. If you look back in the postings you will see that one good suggestion is the leather dye. Also, Stew-Mac has a variety of alc. based stains for sale.

you got that right Bent , dont use a water base stain it ll raise the grain . Russ

We used leather dye at Dekley, and I don't know of any that faded.

I love it when the really experienced guys tune in, like Jim here. Then it's kinda like ok take that one to the bank. Nuff said.

This one was finished about 8 years ago, used leather dye purchased from a shoe repair shop, still just as red as ever. The +++ side of this is, I broke through when I was scuffing the clear for the next coat(on the edge), wiped the spot , let dry for a while and continued with the clear. I know where that place is and cannot see it. Apply one coat, wipe it down, let set for a couple hours, spray clear. Maple is so dense that additional coads of dye will not make it any darker, you can try if you like. There was a discussion about this, but I don't think it is worth the trouble. One other thing, unless you plan on doing a lot, get a small size, 4oz. if possible. Your local shoe repair shop will have a good selection of colors.

In person, it looks like red saran wrap on a pretty piece of maple.

Bill

George,
I just noticed how old this thread was, you are probably finished, and playing your project by now.

Bill

There goes Bill again, showing off his "Red"

Bill That is a stunning piece of work and I never get tired looking at it.
I am curious; what does CLR stand for?

Bent
Charles L. Reese, a dear friend that did most of the final assembly, and tweaking on this guitar. As previously stated, I built the cabinet, did the color/finish and most of the machine work. Before he passed away, Charles was a master craftsman who built the "CLR" psg. "Red" has a Marlin changer,pedals, and left over parts from different modifications done by Charles. It was originally built a "lefty" for my Son, who tried for a while, then lost interest. I built it with everything centered so it could be converted to a "righty", it sat in a closet all by itself from mid 70s til 2001, when it was refurbished, and converted to what you see today. Someone(I think you) made a remark about the Gumby/Sho-Bud keyhead,look more closely...What do you see? My design.

This is a picture when it was first built, all work was done by me here
Also a picture of one of the "CLR" steels that Charles built.....Bill

Bill that's cool! I had never seen it close up before. It is a cowboy boot! That's actually nicer than the Gumby Sho Bud heads.