Color Time
Oak flame veneer on mahogany with cream binding for the Twelver. I used the cut offs from the rectangular body blanks after the prelim tests on scrap veneer.
After a few hours of fun and games I decided a red background would be best. A fifty cent bottle of latex craft paint from Wally World to be specific. They have at least a jillion colors.
Let dry for a few minutes and sanded back with 180
'Artisan' dye thinned about 10:1 with denatured alcohol. One ounce for around $4 and it goes a long way. Reasonable shipping, too.
Grain is starting to pop after a few minutes.
Money shot! A few coats of clear over the stained woods and binding. Mohawk 'Red' Ultra Penetrating Stain for the mahogany.
Trick of the light, note how blue the purple stain can look depending on what is or isn't under it.
BLART!