Maple Cap / No Binding - Edge Finish?

Nomad

If I want to make a body with a maple cap but no binding, and want the body stained one colour and the cap another (say, cherry red and amber respectively), how do I get the edge of the cap to show as a faux binding when the body is viewed from the side?

Stain would be Crimson, with a Crimson Guitar Oil finish.

I assume scraping back the first (darker?) colour is unlikely to work because the stain will likely be absorbed into the wood a little. The alternative seems to be masking in some way. If so, is there a trick to getting tape to follow a neat line? Is edge bleed a potential issue? How about masking fluid (rubbery stuff that's used in watercolour painting to keep bits of the paper white)?

Andyjr1515

I think most people use car detailing stick-on strip (the thin 'go faster stripes')...people like Halfords stock various widths.  Make sure it is well stuck down, then stain, then remove.  Depending on the grain, you may have a little bit of stain creep at the edges to scrape off using a single edged razor blade or sharp hobby knife

Corvus

3M Fineline tape is a plastic tape with good edge but sticking to bare wood isn't ideal and it gets tricky with a bevel, if the cap's thin and there's sharpish horn shapes. 471 is the product code. If trying that be careful on eBay, I've had some fake from there so I get it from paint/bodyshop suppliers since then.
I didn't do the faux binding thing but used that to mask top & body and stain them separately because the edge is good, used loads of it on cars & bikes too.

Also Jammydog does good tape in various line widths, sticks more strongly but not quite as fine an edge.

scottygilbert

Look up the stewmac dan erlewhine tutorial, does a great step by step set of pics and text, will post a link if I can find it

scottygilbert

scottygilbert said:

Look up the stewmac dan erlewhine tutorial, does a great step by step set of pics and text, will post a link if I can find it

http://www.stewmac.com/How-To/Online_Resources/Learn_About_Instrument_Finishing_and_Finish_Repair/Finishing_a_Blue_Guitar_A-BLUEGUITAR_2.html ;

paulnb57

Ive done faux binding with ink on a mahogany Strat with a maple top, but I didnt stain the mahogany, sanded back the esge of the maple and around the edge to make it look like binding, worked well, but a bit fuzzy where the stain penetrated the grain differently..
Gut feeling is you will struggle to keep the stain colour apart at the join between the top and the cap, the Crimson Stain is very good, but it penetrates quite a long way, just my gut feeling....
If you could live with it Id stain the whole thing the same colour and let the colour of the wood create the contrast, Id do the top first and rub it back a couple if times then final coat everything with the stain....
I have a mahogany tele with a walnut top, I stained everything with a mix of antique pine and light oak, the cap is only about 5mm thick and had been radius routed fight to the join, looks great, no faux binding, but I really like it...

paulnb57

@Nomad

 A visual of the above reply

The green ink done a few years ago, Quilted Maple on Mahogany, I know better now and it needs a refinish, note how the ink has penetrated into the grain and when scraped back is a bit fuzzy on the edge of the body and in the f hole....

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii21/paulnb57/fullsizeoutput_10bb_zpshwmlwusz.jpeg


On this Thinline Tele which is Mahogany with a Walnut cap, the edge is radiused and the whole thing was stained the same colour......

http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii21/paulnb57/fullsizeoutput_10bc_zpsuwmxfyvk.jpeg

alcxam

When applying a finish like you want, it is usually a good idea to use colour tints on top of a clear coat. Then you can tidy up the masking lines with a razor blade without having had the colour bleed in to the  raw wood...

Nomad

Thanks for all the pointers, folks. Paul, the fuzziness in the green top is what I'm trying to avoid. I'm beginning to think that it's all a bit of a hassle anyway, and that fitting binding might be the better option, if only because it should produce a cleaner end result.

@alcxam, water-based stain and oil is the finish - I hate spraying and I'm crap at it.

Nomad

Had a change of mind and decided to go with a single colour of stain all over. I did look out a strip of binding I had lying around, but it's about 50mm too short. Also applied the stains to the body wood (basswood) and I reckon a mix of amber and yellow will be fine (probably amber first, sand back, yellow on top).