From Doug:
OOOOH! Color! Starting from a pure green base, sample swatches are tested on a scrap veneer. Colors are mixed in increments until the target color is reached. Dyes are mixed in 2 oz of plain water. 22g means 22 drops of green while 12b indicates how many of blue. Without clear finish, it looks rather drab but the color will darken with finish coats. I may also add a similar recipe of dyes to the first coats of finish to "warm" it up and further intensify the color. The wood has a blondish cast I dont care for so this will also get rid of that. I kept thinking of my vacation in the Keys and remembering the color of the water as we drove the Rt 1 bridge as I mixed the color.......
That's about as dreamy a connection as I would've come up with. Blessings from Key West!
3 coats of stain should do it for this phase. A light sanding between the first 2 coats will intesify the contrast.
Next a few coats of finish will be applied to help protect the wood as I finish sanding and shaping the rest of the instrument.
For those fellow dulcimer enthusiasts and luthiers who are reading this - I'm not putting every last bit of detail in the e-mail - some things have to remain magic.
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