How to get this sort of finish?

[tommorichards]

This was on ebay, and the finish is amazing. Would this be a simple red stain jobby?



Body close up

Edited February 8, 2015 by tommorichards

[Manton Customs]

Yep, dyed red with (it looks like) black grain filler on Ash. Very easy to do.

[Annoying Twit]

Would it be the case that trying that finish with basswood wouldn't work as there wouldn't be enough grain?

[tommorichards]

[quote name='Manton Customs' timestamp='1423419011' post='2684560']
Yep, dyed red with (it looks like) black grain filler on Ash. Very easy to do.
[/quote]

Very easy?

[Truckstop]

Fairly.

First, you must apply a small amount of black grain filler or you can use black wood stain. Then, sand the wood back to to achieve a pronounced grain effect. Smooth well.

Then, apply red wood stain on top and sand back several times. Once you've reached an even coverage of red and you've reached the depth of colour you'd like, you can use a few coats of Danish oil (sanding well between each coat) and then a couple coats of natural beeswax on top (buff well!) to achieve a nice satin finish.

Good luck! It's time consuming but easy, yeah.

[hamfist]

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1423419236' post='2684561']
Would it be the case that trying that finish with basswood wouldn't work as there wouldn't be enough grain?
[/quote]

Yes, basswood grain is generally very dull and uninteresting compared to Ash.

[Manton Customs]

[quote name='tommorichards' timestamp='1423420522' post='2684573']
Very easy?
[/quote]

Yes, Truckstops description sums it up nicely. Whether you use black grain filler or black dye would depend on if you want a smooth finish where you cant feel the grain (filled) or a more natural feel where you can still feel it (dye). You can use any kind of clear coat you like over it (as long as it's compatible with both your dye and filler). Start with a clear goal of what you would like it to look like at the end: gloss, satin, or matte and choose your clear coat accordingly to save frustration.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1423419236' post='2684561']
Would it be the case that trying that finish with basswood wouldn't work as there wouldn't be enough grain?
[/quote]

You'd be right yes. Basically Basswood isn't very porous (like Maple) so there's nothing for the filler to sit in. It wouldn't end up looking like the picture with the highlighted grain...it'd just be plain.

[JPJ]

I'm not sure that this was originally a light coloured wood. My old Ibanez, from a similar time period, is a mahogany body. That looks very similar to the finish on mine (save for mine being high gloss).

Also, I'm not sure that grain filler alone would bring out the grain like the o.p.'s picture. To get that effect, I'd probably stain the bass with a black stain, then sand back leaving the black in the more porous 'grain' areas, then apply a mahogany stain. Word of caution about mahogany stains too, some of them are very red. On furniture, I use a mix of red mahogany and brown mahogany stains to get an authentic mahogany colour.

[Manton Customs]

Not sure why your doubting what has been said, that's very obviously Ash.

Regarding the grain fill...here's one I prepared earlier. Again this is Ash.

[URL=http://s1067.photobucket.com/user/Manton-Customs/media/MantonCustomsEchoGuitarTeleInspired9Main.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u425/Manton-Customs/MantonCustomsEchoGuitarTeleInspired9Main.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[JPJ]

As I said, I have a mahogany bodied Ibanez RS924 bass from the early eighties that has the same finish. In my experience, mahogany stained ash tends to look less brown and more red.

[Manton Customs]

But none of the commonly used species of Mahogany have grain like Ash (or that bass) not Sapele, Honduran, or Khaya..... If your still in doubt below is a link to a shot of the original catalog from 1980 specifying Ash as the body wood . It'd depend entirely on the dye used how the Ash would look when dyed.

[url="http://www.kaitunes.com/guitars/bassbaritone/ibanez/rs900.html"]http://www.kaitunes....anez/rs900.html[/url]

Edited February 10, 2015 by Manton Customs