WHUFC BASS Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Has anyone got any idea how to prepare the wood on an oil finished bass for re-staining a different colour? I was wondering how hard it would be to stain a bass body black (its mahogany). Would I need to remove the oil finish with some sort of spirits and apply the stain or is there another soloution? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Sand it back to fresh wood I should think. Old oiled mahogany looks nice though. Getting even black is apparently hard, especially if you haven't nailed all the oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 [quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='499334' date='May 27 2009, 09:38 PM']Sand it back to fresh wood I should think. Old oiled mahogany looks nice though. Getting even black is apparently hard, especially if you haven't nailed all the oil.[/quote] Oil is a pain. Sanding and degreasing and a bit of hope that you've got it all... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leschirons Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 I would imagine that a spirit based stain would be easier to apply on an old oiled surface. Any oil that wasn't sanded out would repel any water based product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 depends on the wood. i don't think I would even think about sanding anything, you dont know how far into the grain the oil has gone. Strong solvents of some kind could break down the oils, but again how far into the wood they would get, who knows. Mahogany is quite dense grained (a good thing) so it shouldn't have gone in too far. Try solvents and see what it does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 or.... you take off the oil, stain the wood black, you then have to put something over the top to seal it, a varnish or oil or something. This seems daft. I've not oiled wood for a long time, but can you get tinted oils? solvent to get some of the old oil off, and then lots and lots of rubbing, You would get a nice even transparent surface then too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHUFC BASS Posted May 28, 2009 Author Share Posted May 28, 2009 Thanks for the replies chaps. I'm hoping there's a tinted oil wood stain out there that will do the job, doesn't have to be black, very dark blue, green or grey would do. Good thing is, the wood is a dark brown colour do it might make for some interesting colour options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbyrne Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 (edited) I honestly think it'll come out patchy. I used to work in a dyeworks and we could never get an even effect on clothes which had already been worn, no matter how many detergents & scourges we put the garment through. The oils from the body always were retained to some degree. I can't see how this situation would be much different. G. Edited May 28, 2009 by geoffbyrne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinynorman Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 Does anybody do a black stained/translucent mahogany body? I'm just thinking that the Japanese Epi EB3 I had was opaque black on mahogany, whereas the cherry ones are translucent. So maybe black stain on mahogany doesn't look good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 You could see if "Rustins" do a suitable product, sorry too lazy to look ! [url="http://www.rustins.eu/web/default.asp"]http://www.rustins.eu/web/default.asp[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayman Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 My advice is don't try it. Solvents will penetrate the timber by up to maybe 2 or 3 mills, maybe more depending on the substrate (wood). You'll never be able to remove the oils enough to guarantee a good key for the new coat, and sanding back will definately not achieve it. Water based products have no chance with oils and waxes that have been applied, even if a degreaser is applied, as that will only remove survace contamination, and not the solvent within the grain, it will come out patchy as pointed out above. In my trade (joinery coatings), customers often ask whether they can re coat the inside of their hardwood windows with water based stain or paint after years of lovingly using furniture wax to clean them. The answer is a definate no. Even solvent based product will be repelled by wax, there's no getting around it I'm afraid. If you can find a coloured [i]wax[/i], in a darker colour than the one you currently have, that's your best bet. Me? I'd leave it alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHUFC BASS Posted May 29, 2009 Author Share Posted May 29, 2009 [quote name='Rayman' post='501263' date='May 29 2009, 09:58 PM']My advice is don't try it. Solvents will penetrate the timber by up to maybe 2 or 3 mills, maybe more depending on the substrate (wood). You'll never be able to remove the oils enough to guarantee a good key for the new coat, and sanding back will definately not achieve it. Water based products have no chance with oils and waxes that have been applied, even if a degreaser is applied, as that will only remove survace contamination, and not the solvent within the grain, it will come out patchy as pointed out above. In my trade (joinery coatings), customers often ask whether they can re coat the inside of their hardwood windows with water based stain or paint after years of lovingly using furniture wax to clean them. The answer is a definate no. Even solvent based product will be repelled by wax, there's no getting around it I'm afraid. If you can find a coloured [i]wax[/i], in a darker colour than the one you currently have, that's your best bet. Me? I'd leave it alone.[/quote] Cheers for your input mate! point definately taken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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