RED WATER-BASED DYE

With NitorAqua Stains you can get the colours of the TOP brands of guitars and give that 3D effect in Flamed and Quilted woods, highlighting in them the transparency and resistance to light that we obtain.

You can mix them together and get Burst effects and double tints. The only limit is your imagination with these stains.

In the following video you have a short guide on how to apply the dye and below a written manual with application tips.

First of all we recommend you to be clear about the stain design you want to make and once you have chosen the colour, use a sample wood as similar as possible to that of the guitar in order to carry out a test.

Use a small sponge or rag dummy to apply the stain and carry out the necessary tests before applying it definitively to the guitar. Above all, check if the intensity of the colour directly from the can is what you need and if you get the desired colour with the layers you apply. You can always dilute it with water to get the final colour with more coats.

Once you are sure of the colour and design you want to achieve, it is time to apply it to the guitar.

How to apply the stain to the wood of your guitar:

• Prepare the guitar with P240 sandpaper until the surface is smooth.
• Dampen the surface of the guitar with water and let it dry to remove the peeling.
• Sand with P400 sandpaper to remove the paint and leave the guitar ready for application.
• We cover with masking tape the surfaces that we do not want to stain.
• VERY IMPORTANT. Shake the can well before loading the sponge or the sponge cloth.
• Put 4 or 5 drops of dye on a small piece of sponge and apply it directly on the guitar. Spread it well by making longitudinal movements all over the guitar until the dye is perfectly distributed.
• Work in sections, e.g. start from the lowest side and work upwards. Apply from the centre of the section outwards to avoid spilling over the sides.
• If we want more colour intensity we can apply another coat of stain, sanding lightly with P400 beforehand.

Optional:

– Apply a second coat to intensify the colour.

– For a double stain, let the first coat dry for at least 30 minutes, sand until the stain is in the most open grains or until desired. Apply a second coat of stain.

– For a two-tone dual dye, normally the darker colour is applied first.

– For a burst effect the lighter colour is applied first.

How to apply stain to the wood of your guitar:

To do the finish, you can use any of the processes we show in the tutorials, from nitrocellulose, polyurethane or waterborne finish, in all of them you will see the complete process done by a professional.

We recommend a process of PRIMER and then LACQUER, although if the wood is not very porous you can use the finish directly (for example on maple).