The Forestry Forum

Not too many people are interested in light coloured guitars, so here's my attempt at darkening Osage.  I put some steel wool into a jar of vinegar and let sit a couple of days.  Wiped the Osage once with a wetted rag, and this is the result after finish.  Am quite happy with this.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/31914/image~101.jpg)

Applying the solution more often gets the wood even darker.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/31914/image~99.jpg)

The black coloured binding you see happen to be Walnut, which I suppose has a fair bit of tannin too. (Notice the effect I got when sanding the top getting it ready for finish.  The staining on the Walnut edge was sanded off, so I got the actual Walnut colour there.)  Neat.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/31914/image~98.jpg)

This is an Osage back with Rosewood centre.

(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/31914/image~100.jpg)

Quite nice effects, there. Nice work, too. :)

I f you leave that solution on till it dries it will be blue/black. You can then apply bleach and bring it to a walnut color if you like. Applying straight bleach will get you anything from reddish brown to tan depending on how long it is applied and its strength. Expect some color change over time because sunlight will still affect the pigment that is there.

Very nice results and good photos. Would you expect similar results with other light colored wood? Poplar?

Any wood that contains tannins will darken to a black if treated long enough. I don't know about poplar.

Those are beautiful guitars and excellent craftsmanship. :)

The mix brought out some figure on the osage that normally would be missed and is quite pleasant to my eye.

I tried the vinegar mix some years ago on walnut and oak.  Eventually I tried India ink and dyes.  I thought both were easier to use with more consistent results.

Osage ray fleck... Only a highly talented Sawyer could pull that off.  ;D