# Vintage amber for necks



## Spellcaster (Jan 7, 2008)

One of the things that's always bugged me about living north of the 49th parallel is not being able to easily access some guitar making products. StewMac won't ship finish products into Canada and neither will Guitar Reranch. I just found (and bought) an alcohol-based vintage amber stain on eBay that does ship here, and it wasn't a lot of money....under 15.00, and it looks gorgeous in the ad picture. Anyway, if you're looking for a better answer than the Kiwi shoe dye route, check out eBay item number: 360269452244. I have no connection to the auction or seller....Just wanted to pass on the tip.....


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## erikm5150 (Mar 3, 2006)

Thanks for sharing the info.
I'm gonna try this out.

Have you actually used it?

Just a curious question, isn't there anything available at the local hardware stores, like minwax wood stains, that is close vintage amber?


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

not sure if somethings changed, or its the area you live in, but ive had the stew mac amber shipped to me here, no problems.
in any case, here is one succesful attempt i made using cheap dollar store fabric dyes mixed in water for the tint, clear coat is tru-oil


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

U can also use tru-oil with just a bit of amber dye. works like a Charm also.


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## Spellcaster (Jan 7, 2008)

I've got some of the stuff from eBay ordered, but probably won't receive it for a couple of weeks. I'll post again after I've tried it.

Haven't had much luck finding anything locally that looks right. I did one neck in Minwax "Puritan Pine" and it's close, but just misses the mark.

It was pointed out to me on another forum that StewMac's ColorTone Liquid Stain (which appears to be a dye that you reduce with water or alcohol) isn't a prohibited product and does ship here....which is a bit strange, because a couple of years ago it did show as prohibited in their catalogue. I'll probably try it sometime down the road when I'm ready to place a StewMac order again.

I never thought about fabric dyes being suitable. When I asked in the paint stores, they looked at me like I was from Mars. So, am I understanding this right - Are you talking about adding fabric dye to a clear stain, or a clearcoat product?


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

> I never thought about fabric dyes being suitable. When I asked in the paint stores, they looked at me like I was from Mars. So, am I understanding this right - Are you talking about adding fabric dye to a clear stain, or a clearcoat product?


nope- these were powder type fabric dyes, i got them at a dollar store.
i simply mixed them with water, then applied them to the bare wood.
alain mentions mixing the aniline dye, like the amber that stew mac sells, with tru-oil, because you can do this very successfully, just as you can with lacquer or shellac, or most clear coats i suppose.
i never tried mixing the fabric dyes with anything other than alcohol or water, because i had the stew mac amber for that.
the fabric dyes are mostly salt- so if you mix up a batch, it solidifies rapidly, and is unusable after a day or so.
a $20 bottle of the stew mac stuff is easy to prepare and lasts ages.
it is however a bit yellow, so you need to experiment-
this is stew mac amber on bare wood, then several coats tru oil lightly tinted with stew mac amber-


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

U guys need to start getting stuff in Canada..LOL..i deal with Jeff at WoodEssence, he has everything needed for finishing

https://www.woodessence.com/ColorFX-Dye-Concentrates-C12.aspx

Check his site..he has a LOT of stuff. you can buy kits or single color dye bottles. 

Get a small bottle of the AMBER one and Burnt Humber, i use those when not using nitro. they they work very well with tru-oil or other products


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## KGreen (Aug 3, 2010)

In Vancouver there's Mohawk Finishing Supplies. They have an amber NGR stain that's perfect for such things, as well as anything else needed for guitar finishing.


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