Best way to practice staining?

geetarguy85

Hi all,

In preparation for my upcoming PRS style project I want to try out some staining techniques and colours. The guitar will have a flamed maple cap, so ideally I want to be practicing on something that's not drastically different, though of course each bit of wood has its own properties.

Is there a way I could do this without having to buy solid bits of flamed maple? I considered getting some veneers but they look fairly expensive as well, and I'm not sure a water based stain would go well with a very thin veneer unless I glued it to a thicker piece of wood.

If you do suggest the veneer route, are there any places you'd recommend to buy cheap veneers?

Thanks!

MattNovak

For general practice, I'd pick up some plain maple skirting board - this will show you how the wood takes the stain and get you in the ballpark for the colour you want.... you can pick up veneer leaves relatively cheaply on eBay too

geetarguy85

Thanks @MattNovak ! Great idea.

MattNovak

No worries, should be about £10 / metre.... Ive got a few scraps here you're welcome to if you're near Cambridge

geetarguy85

Thanks for the offer Matt, unfortunately I'm on the other side of the country