Tutorial DIY "Aqua violet/northern lights" PRS-style using Fiebing's alcohol leather dyes

[@tkmclaughlin]

Fantastic tutorial. I had been searching for how to replicate this look. You nailed it.

[@customizedguitars]

The thing is Fiebing's or other leather dyes are key. I had tried several times with Keda and TransTint and it never looked anywhere that good and vibrant.

[@aphexlane]

I keep coming back to this over and over. Thanks so much for this. Trying to decipher how to replicate their faded indigo. I feel like this will help me get there.

[@nightsdew8136]

I'm glad I'm not alone. I must have watched this 15 times.

[@customizedguitars]

This color scheme definitely seems to be a popular one; Northern lights is easy to get from this as you just need a slightly more teal final layer instead of light turquoise. And if you reverse the color order you effectively end up with PRS' Replicant Purple

[@guitarxplorer2022]

Incredible and important info Thx!

[@C36B]

Super cool an instructional!

[@benclements5214]

You’ve nailed the PRS Northern Lights finish. Thanks for sharing. Now when can we expect to see this on a guitar?!

[@customizedguitars]

Thanks. I'm actually doing these tests for not only matching colors of my PRS Private Stock Aqua Violet Glow (I want to put curly maple stained tuner buttons and truss rod cover on it), but also to find a color scheme I like for a Warmoth quilt top body I just got. If you change the blue for a teal color you indeed get something that looks quite similar to northern lights (see kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYSlmn2Ljr9_npo).

[@benclements5214]

@@customizedguitars I'm planing to utilize this technique on my next PRS build and I look forward to following your journey with the Warmoth quilt top body. Do you have a website or easier way to follow? To date, I've followed you on the UnofficialWarmoth forums in addition to YT.

[@kma6658]

Wow!! Are you diluting with denatured alcohol? This is so good

[@ZL1LoVeR]

Beautiful 😍

[@kamus8746]

Beautiful

[@davesc7562]

I just stained a guitar after your tutorial.. Thank you!

[@customizedguitars]

Nice, would love to see the result. I've been considering doing this color scheme on a body

[@davesc7562]

@@customizedguitars I made it on a cheap guitar that i'm modifiying with a poor paintjob and a thin veneer, not a plain AAA top! i just added a black stain layer before the red/pink to pop up the figuring. Not an easy job, sanding the old finish off and sanding 2 times more on a thin veneer.. difficult but not impossible. That is before: ibb.co/M5GHG9c And after: ibb.co/pQsKr8B Best regards and thanks.

[@hunterknowles9496]

This is so great thankyou for sharing! did you wait 24 hrs after doing red coats for drying to sand and put on blue? thats the one thing i cant get clear on using multiple dyes. thanks!

[@customizedguitars]

I waited a few minutes for it to dry, that’s it

[@Steinstra-vj7wl]

I miss the hint of green in this which 'Norther Light' has.

[@customizedguitars]

See kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYSlmn2Ljr9_npo

[@ifly65]

Nice thanks!

[@Unchainedmaple888]

Awesome! Where do you get these pieces of flame maple to test finishes?

[@customizedguitars]

At this point I occasionally buy large pieces of curly maple (e.g. 1"x8"x40) that I need anyways to make backplates, truss rod covers, and other wood projects. Then I make a few slices with a table saw for stain tests. If you don't have the tools needed for that, or don't want to buy large pieces, you can alternatively search for "curly maple knife scale" on eBay/Google and you should find highly figured pieces that could be used for experiments (just make sure they aren't already sealed otherwise you won't be able to stain them).

[@Unchainedmaple888]

@@customizedguitars Thanks! One last question, can these dyes be diluted with water or must it be denatured alcohol? I would like to get a really bright and vivid aqua blue color. Would it be better to buy their regular blue dye and lighten it like you did with the red to make it bonnie pink or should I just go for their turquoise dye? Thanks alot!

[@customizedguitars]

@@Unchainedmaple888 I don't dilute just for the sake of 'brightening up' I do it as it's far easier to apply the dye that way: seems to penetrate the wood much more easily and make blending of colors far easier (and you get to control how vivid/dark you want to go with multiple passes). I'm not sure if you can dilute with water, isopropyl alcohol works too. If you were to use Turquoise instead of the Light Blue like I did your purple is going to be much lighter and so will the blue - it'll look a lot more like the Violet/Blue finish. I'd get both their Light Blue and Turquoise to experiment with.

[@樽柖Tshao]

Hello, I would like to ask how many grits of sandpaper you used for sanding before dyeing. Is the grit of sandpaper used before the second dyeing the same as the previous one? Additionally, is a thickness of 0.5mm suitable for repeated sanding tasks like this?

[@customizedguitars]

Couldn't remember but if you pause you can see for a brief moment it was 220 grit. Would have been the same for both passes. No idea if veneer-thickness is adequate or not.

[@樽柖Tshao]

@@customizedguitars Thank you for replying me though this video has been posted after such a long time.Btw your works are awesome!

[@pchandrakant1]

What was the "fast drying sealer coat" you used?

[@customizedguitars]

Super glue

[@infamousshorebilly7519]

Seriously, you used super glue?? Have you tried to apply a polyurethane over that? Something to add a thicker more durable finish?

[@customizedguitars]

@@infamousshorebilly7519 This piece was never intended to receive a clear coat. Thin super glue is to rapidly show the figuring/color/contrast that's a lot closer to what you'd get with gloss lacquer/poly/epoxy compared to the dry stained wood. For actual parts it's also highly effective, both as sealer, and to greatly strengthen the wood (especially around those mounting holes for backplates) before applying a gloss finish.

[@MyBookmonkey]

Great video, watched many times and attempted but when I applied the blue the colors all blended into a blue which turned out great and I stuck with it but curious as to what you think I did wrong. Did I possibly overwork the blue into the pink? Thanks

[@customizedguitars]

I assume you used the same exact brand, colors, and dilution ratios ?

[@MyBookmonkey]

I sure did

[@customizedguitars]

@@MyBookmonkeythe piece I used was quartersawn, and with intense figuring; both help tremendously with color separation right after sanding back the pink layer. It's important to have a clear color separation already at that stage otherwise it's hopeless once you add the blue/turquoise. It could also be you sanded back too much, or the pink didn't penetrate deeply/strongly enough.

[@brianbeath8690]

These pieces are excellent have you tried found faded blue jean?

[@customizedguitars]

That's sort of like the first step + sanding of: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZjHfn6Hi5aij8U

[@johnl5585]

Going to try this method on my build. Grabbed, it won't be the same as it's swamp ash, but I'm hopeful it will still come out looking cool. (Doing some test stain jobs first.). If I want to add the green/teal color, what tint is the dye, and what is the order of the color application?

[@customizedguitars]

To be clear, this is not the kind of finish you would want to be using on swamp ash... It requires figured maple to get that kind of color separation.

[@johnl5585]

@@customizedguitars Yes, I meant to say "Granted" not grabbed. I am going to tint my clear grain filler, sand back and add the blue to see what happens. What tint do you use to add the teal/green?

[@customizedguitars]

Getting that indigo slightly more teal is in essence basic color mixing, you add yellow or use one of the other colors readily available from Fiebing's (see their test chart).

[@robn.7426]

Does the sealer coat then allow you to put on a clear coat to finish to a glass finish? I finished a veneer Mighty Mite body once with Rit Dye believe it or not in an attempt at a Anderson like Bora Bora blue. It came out great until I put on the clear, then it turned into a teal green blue which was not what I was going for. I'm getting ready to finish a old stock USA Peavey Limited real quilted body, not veneer. Any advice is welcome.

[@robn.7426]

Also, where did you get your test wood please? I'm looking to do the same before working on the actual body. Thanks for your time.

[@customizedguitars]

If your wood is dark it will shift yours colors once you apply a clear coat or sealer. That's why you ended up with teal instead of the blue you saw when the wood/stain was dry. I made the same 'mistake' when I stained my first body; it looked good either way but very different from what I anticipated

[@customizedguitars]

Any of the shops carrying figured woods like: www.curlymaplewood.com northridgehardwoods.com Todd from LaRose Guitars: @laroseguitars etc...

[@kieronmckay4276]

Well I tried this lol…I thought I did a great job and I did not. This is a hard one to nail on a carved top cause the sanding has to be nailed which is so much harder than it seems with all the rounded flowing areas, the wood has to be cooperative and if its a veneer instead of a full cap, good luck y’all.

[@customizedguitars]

This finish is most effective on quartersawn piece with intense figuring like this test piece. A carved top is indeed far more difficult for stains schemes where sandback is required.

[@mvyper]

Would this work with quilt instead of flame ?

[@customizedguitars]

Any stain works on either, it'll just look different, typically not as contrasty as this very tight/strong curly maple piece.

[@mvyper]

@@customizedguitars thank you a lot!

[@asdasdasdderp]

Hi, what do you dilute it with? Alcohol?

[@customizedguitars]

Isopropyl or denatured alcohol, depending on how fast I want it to dry

[@Turboy65]

Be aware, most Fiebing's dyes, particularly their blues, will fade in sunlight. Use true aniline or metal complex dyes instead for a more permanent solution.

[@customizedguitars]

I'm well aware, but none of the other dyes like Keda/TransTint come remotely close to the vibrancy achieved with Fiebing's. I did a test on a sample piece taped to a window exposed to sunlight/daylight all day. No clear coat on it though: - Blues were significantly faded after less than 10 days, completely gone in 30 days. - Reds didn't show any fading after 1 week but the diluted Red to make pink did show fading after a month. Well known issue with PRS USA guitars as many of their stains also use organic dyes that are very sensitive to light. I'll update the description though to make a note about it for others. Thanks.

[@mrdeer5585]

@@customizedguitars That's a great info to know. By the way, I heard that you can use ceramic coating - that used on cars - to prevent sun bleaching. Apparently, it blocks UV rays. Can you do an experiment with that? Also, I am curious to see what would happen if you use sunscreen on it. Hahha...it would a great content for your next video.