# Is it possible to stain spalted maple?



## toiletstand (Jan 12, 2011)

Ive been looking around, some say yes some say no. Ive seen a few pics not enough to get a decent idea. 

do you mens have any pics that i can look at so i can get an example of what it looks like?


----------



## technomancer (Jan 12, 2011)

I don't have any pics. 

It is possible, though it's really dicey as the inconsistent hardness / density of the wood makes it tough to get an even color.


----------



## Mvotre (Jan 12, 2011)

can't you just use stained lacquer? 

would work damn nice, i think


----------



## Neil (Jan 12, 2011)

Coloured lacquer seems like the easiest way to go.


----------



## TXDeathMetal (Jan 12, 2011)

^  those are gorgeous!


----------



## scherzo1928 (Jan 12, 2011)

Wow, those pics should be labeled NSFW.


----------



## thewildturkey (Jan 12, 2011)

I am fairly sure I saw a custom Agile 8 with a spalted veneer stained trans-black.

It looked amazing, I have wanted a trans-black spalted capped guitar ever since!


----------



## All_¥our_Bass (Jan 12, 2011)

scherzo1928 said:


> Wow, those pics should be labeled NSFW.



It's borderline pornographic


----------



## thrsher (Jan 12, 2011)

i know bernie rico did it and i believe when his new webstore opens he will have it for sale


----------



## adrock (Jan 12, 2011)

wow, those two guitars are gorgeous. who's the luthier?


----------



## scherzo1928 (Jan 12, 2011)

adrock said:


> wow, those two guitars are gorgeous. who's the luthier?


from the pickups I'd say carvin

edit: and the pics say carvin


----------



## toiletstand (Jan 12, 2011)

thanks for the help and pics guys. the only ones i had seen before were a darker color but im guessing they were spalted walnut or something.



thrsher said:


> i know bernie rico did it and i believe when his new webstore opens he will have it for sale


nice! id love to see that.


----------



## adrock (Jan 13, 2011)

scherzo1928 said:


> from the pickups I'd say carvin
> 
> edit: and the pics say carvin



hahahaha, damn. fail. i was on my phone, didn't notice


----------



## bostjan (Jan 13, 2011)

Are you sure those first two guitars aren't photoshopped? The tops are absolutely identical.


----------



## SirMyghin (Jan 13, 2011)

bostjan said:


> Are you sure those first two guitars aren't photoshopped? The tops are absolutely identical.



The yellow one is not photoshopped, the blue and green one is photoshopped from the yellow one.

Staining spalt kind of defeats the purpose imo, it takes away from the ink lines and such. I don't much care for spalt to begin with.



Neil said:


> Coloured lacquer seems like the easiest way to go.



PHOTOSHOPPED!^^ (for added clarity)


----------



## tacotiklah (Jan 15, 2011)

^ I don't care if it's photoshopped or not, that is beautiful as fuck. I would love to own that guitar.


----------



## SirMyghin (Jan 15, 2011)

ghstofperdition said:


> ^ I don't care if it's photoshopped or not, that is beautiful as fuck. I would love to own that guitar.



The point of it being photoshopped is that it is not necessarily a realistic representation of how that schemed guitar would turn out.


----------



## scherzo1928 (Jan 15, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> The point of it being photoshopped is that it is not necessarily a realistic representation of how that schemed guitar would turn out.


 
I think you could get that kind of finish. If you clear it, and then do the "paint" job... Only one way to find out though.


----------



## Neil (Jan 15, 2011)

Sorry I didnt actually read the Carvin forum thread, I just copied and posted pics out of it, turns out BOTH the Carvins are shopped from an original unstained Carvin.


However Carvin have stained spalted maple, 






Apparently the factory very rarely has spalt in, heres the thread,

http://www.carvinguitars.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=8488


----------



## elq (Jan 15, 2011)

Neil said:


> Apparently the factory very rarely has spalt in, heres the thread,
> 
> Carvin.com BBS :: View topic - My new TL60 Spalted Top and Claro Walnut DC125



That thread is from 2008. Carvin now offers spalted maple as a normal option, it's not limited.


----------



## toiletstand (Jan 15, 2011)

that looks amazing.


----------



## scherzo1928 (Jan 31, 2011)

was browsing the dingwall gallery, and found this:


----------



## SirMyghin (Jan 31, 2011)

Neil said:


> Sorry I didnt actually read the Carvin forum thread, I just copied and posted pics out of it, turns out BOTH the Carvins are shopped from an original unstained Carvin.
> 
> 
> However Carvin have stained spalted maple,
> ...




That axe is vintage yellow, vintage yellow is a coloured transparent paint, not a stain. This is very important due to the variant density and likely porousity of spalt.


----------



## Ketzer (Feb 1, 2011)

Man, I saw those shops and literally said "God-dammit, Carvin" out loud. Shame they're not real, that Dragonburst one is fucking gorgeous.


----------



## MapleMan (Feb 1, 2011)

There are some guys out there who do some amazing stained spalt.

Was fortunate enough to talk to Jens Ritter about this beauty at NAMM'10
As you can see the bottom section of the spalt is stained along the spalt lines.






Saw another example the other day, can't recall who it was.


----------



## Ketzer (Feb 1, 2011)

ho-ho-ho-holy FUCK!


----------



## Malkav (Feb 28, 2011)

Seriously though is that awesome blue and green carvin possible?

I'm so in love with that finish I need to know if it can be achieved and how someone would do so...


----------



## Customisbetter (Feb 28, 2011)

I believe Agile has done dyed Spalt top ALs.


----------

