Wudtone question

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So, seperating this from the other thread for clarity.
I've got this ash body I've used Wudtone black magic woman on, followed all the instructions and it hasnt come out anywhere near as (transluscent) black as I'd hoped. Any suggestions for something to blacken it before a clear coat goes on?
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  • TTonyTTony Frets: 27346


    You know, it really does look pretty good as-is, albeit not what you originally wanted.

    My experience with Wudtone is that, once you've started with Wudtone as your finishing option, you're pretty much stuck with it.  I've had similar unhappy experiences, which I could only rectify by thicknessing about 0.5mm off the top of the body where I'd applied the stain.  

    Other than spraying a solid black coat over the top, I'm not sure what else you could do to achieve a more consistent colour finish.  And I don't know how a spray coat would react to the Wudtone that's already there.

    You might do better either accepting that one for what it is and, if you still want a black Strat, starting again with a new body.  Or, if you really can't live with it as-is, sell that body ... and start again.
    Having trouble posting images here?  This might help.
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  • daveyhdaveyh Frets: 681
    Thanks for copying the picture over, much appreciated.

    What I wanted was a trans black, oil type finish as I like the feel of wood. Wudtone seemed ideal. It certainly feels nice as is.

    The advice I got was to mix the black deep colour with the clear top coat. Seemed sensible, paid for more colour but hardly made any difference.  All I want at this point is it to be noticeably trans black, rather thsn 70s furniture.
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  • GSPBASSESGSPBASSES Frets: 2335
    tFB Trader
    I would suggest you strip the guitar back to the wood and start again. Go to Crimson guitars website and order their black and bottle of their oil finish, that should solve all your problems.


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  • TTonyTTony Frets: 27346
    GSPBASSES said:
    I would suggest you strip the guitar back to the wood and start again. 
    I had a Tele (ash) that I had a similar problem with.  The finish was "anaemic" in that it penetrated into the open grain, but just looked wishy-washy on the rest.



    Orange rather than red - and that was after a good few coats of Wudtone.

    I tried rubbing down and re-doing, but never managed to rub it down far enough to get back to wood that was unaffected by the previous treatment, and the finish didn't get any better.

    In the end, I took 0.5mm off the whole top with a router to get back to completely unaffected wood




    and then started again with the Wudtone, but applying it with a different method.


    In the end, it worked out well, but it was a painful learning experience.



    With your Strat body, the grain pattern is so strong, I'm not sure that you'd get the finish that (I think) you want with a stain, because the stain is always going to penetrate into the open grain better than the rest of the body.  Hence you're going to get those pronounced stripes.

    For a more consistent coloured finish, but with a still-visible grain underneath, you might be better with thin coats of a spray?
    Having trouble posting images here?  This might help.
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  • I just posted in the other thread about the absolute need for the 'stippling', or dabbing technique that is needed to achieve a solid colour. I tried it and was unhappy with the end product, so I'll be sanding it down soon and re-doing it with paint. I believe a good sanding and using a sanding sealer will suffice for the paint not to be affected by the Wudtone.

    It's a shame that there's no reference to the 'stippling' technique on the website, but then i guess that if there was, sales of the solid colours would probably drop off due to the fact that it is no longer just a rub-on finish that's easy to do.
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  • FWIW, I had exactly this same experience with Wudtone Black Magic Woman on an SG I stripped right to the bare Mahogany (absolutely no previous finish present - properly bare wood). Confirm GSPBASSES is absolutely 'on the money' with his advice :-Just happened to have an unused bottle of Crimson's black dye at hand and it is exactly what you need for your desired effect. BUT, you will have to get back to the wood in order to use it just as GSPBASSES has said, which is a right ball-ache after all that work...

    “He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would fully suffice.” Einstein

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  • Sorry to hijack the thread but...

    I'm think of doing something like this soon on a swamp ash body, using Wudtone's balck magic woman as well. Has anyone got any experience using their transparent grain filler, and would this alleviate these kind of issues?
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  • daveyhdaveyh Frets: 681
    Marshall said:
    FWIW, I had exactly this same experience with Wudtone Black Magic Woman on an SG I stripped right to the bare Mahogany (absolutely no previous finish present - properly bare wood). Confirm GSPBASSES is absolutely 'on the money' with his advice :-Just happened to have an unused bottle of Crimson's black dye at hand and it is exactly what you need for your desired effect. BUT, you will have to get back to the wood in order to use it just as GSPBASSES has said, which is a right ball-ache after all that work...
    What woukd happen if you used the dye on top of the Wudtone?
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  • underdogunderdog Frets: 8334
    Sorry to hijack the thread but...

    I'm think of doing something like this soon on a swamp ash body, using Wudtone's balck magic woman as well. Has anyone got any experience using their transparent grain filler, and would this alleviate these kind of issues?

    From reading threads on here seems the best advice would be buy crimson guitar stains instead.
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