Q: I have an oak hutch that has been sprayed with cat urine some time ago. Can you help me figure out what to neutralize the urine with so I can refinish it? I’ve tried vinegar as well as carpet cleaning solution but the stains are still showing through.
A: I suspect what you are talking [...]
Q: I usually finish the soundboard of my classical guitars with dewaxed shellac. It has no color at all and therefore the soundboard ends up being very pale. I noticed all classical guitar sound boards are more toward a brown tint. My question is, do you think luthiers stain their soundboards only by using different [...]
Q: Can I add dry pigment to lacquer to color it?
A: In theory, yes. In practice, it is almost impossible to get pigment powders to disperse uniformly in liquids. When we add them in the industry we use tools specifically designed for forcing pigments to combine with liquids, such as ball mills and high shear [...]
Q: I have a lot of tubes of various oil paints on hand. Could I use oil paints as a pigment to add to lacquer?
A: If you are talking about concentrated oil colors in paste form in tubes, yes you can mix a small amount into lacquer, but don’t try to add too much. Even [...]
Q: I am using McFadden nitrocellulose through a standard spray gun. I just successfully shot my first guitar and am working on another which I would like to tone with a dark opaque to light translucent wine red on the headstock veneer and carved maple top. I am having a hard time determining if I [...]
Q: Where can I get information on custom color stain? We can’t find the color we want for an entertainment center. Can you teach us how to mix our own?
A: I can indeed, and in fact, have done so in all four of my books on finishing and many times in magazine articles. However, there [...]
Some recent questions about using dye prompted me to post this very basic introduction to dyes and their use.
Dye is a crystal that dissolves in a particular solvent. Many are sold in powdered form; others are pre-dissolved and sold in highly concentrated liquid form. There are also further diluted, ready to use, already mixed dye [...]
Q: I built a dresser with soft maple. I am ready to apply the finish which included a dye stain under a polyurethane top coat. I have been testing pieces to ensure that the wood will all look uniform and it does not. I have sanded everything to 220 and certain boards look like they [...]
Q: I was planning on using oil based wiping varnish atop waterbased stain. Do I need to use shellac in between?
A: Nope. You can put oil based clear finish directly over any other finish, including waterbased acrylic, so there is no need for shellac or any other barrier coat between your waterbased stain and oil [...]
Q: I am building a bath vanity of quarter sawn oak. I stained it with a General Finishes waterbased stain. I’d like to pop the grain a bit. Normally I’d use BLO, but I don’t think I can, over the waterbased stain.
A: The waterbased stain you reference, and in fact nearly all waterbased stains [...]
Powered by eShop v.4
