Workbench Stories My journey tackling a StewMac T Style Guitar Kit Body Part 4

If it’s a day called today, we’re talking guitars and life! In Part 4 of the series, things get real at the workbench. After staring at a "honey" finish that kept turning a strange shade of green, I had to make a choice: "Should I stay or should I go?" I decided to go full-tilt on a "Plan C" pivot. We're moving away from the green tint and embracing a richer color. I'm walking you through the "long shot gamble," how to handle "ashy" Rit dye, and why I’m using Danish Oil to make the color pop before we even touch the Tru-Oil or clear coat. What we cover in this episode: The Mid-Project Pivot: Realizing the color isn't working and deciding to start over. The Sandpaper Trap: Why 400 and 1,000 grit were way too aggressive for this stage. Dyeing & Grain: Applying Wine Red dye and using 0000 steel wool to tame the raised wood nibs. The Ashy Phase: Why dry dye looks gray/dull and how to fix it. The Danish Oil Trick: Using a T-shirt to apply a thin matte sealer to bring back the richness. Building a kit is never a straight line, but that’s where the best stories happen. Drop a comment: Have you ever had a "perfectly good" project turn green on you? How did you save it? Timestamps 0:00 - Guitars, Life, and the "Should I Stay or Should I Go" Moment 1:12 - Why is it Green? The Honey Dye Struggle 1:33 - Embracing Plan C: Going Full-Tilt Wine Red 2:28 - Matching the Body to the Headstock 4:33 - Taking the Gamble: Applying the New Dye 6:30 - Better Than Green? (Judging the Results) 8:21 - Learning from Mistakes: Sandpaper vs. Steel Wool 10:14 - Sanding Down the Raised Grain 12:03 - Fixing the "Ashy" Look with Danish Oil 15:15 - Before vs. After: Does it Pop? 18:15 - Side-by-Side Comparison 21:11 - The Plan for 15 Coats of Tru-Oil or other clear coats ____ Shoutouts: @eddietrunk Checkout our playlist page for more series and journeys https://www.youtube.com/@TedTalksGuitars/playlists Special Thanks to our channel members "The Jacks" Want to support the channel? Feel free to explore Channel membership options: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBr6kaWeOvldTHvntB3tnMg/join Ted Talks Guitars & Life Merch Store: https://tedtalksguitars-shop.fourthwall.com/ Amazon Affiliate Link: https://amzn.to/3W3PZox *If you click on this link to shop at Amazon the channel will receive a modest financial commission from your purchases. Guyker Referral Link: https://www.guyker.com/?ref=tedtalksguitars If you use the link you will save 15% at Guyker Use the coupon code: TEDSMITH #GuitarBuild #StewMac #WorkbenchStories #DIYGuitar #GuitarKit #Telecaster #GuitarFinishing #WoodDye #ProjectGuitar #Luthier #GuitarRestoration