Staining?

[Adam Tracksler]

is there any super advantage to spraying a stain rather than wiping it on?

Thanks, ad

[sunburst]

Not really. The look is a different depending on spray or rub, and some find one or the other easier or prefer the look of one or the other.
Try it on scrap and see how it goes, then pick the one that works the best for you.

[Adam Tracksler]

Thanks John, you are always a wealth of information!

do you think water or alcohol is better to cut the stain with?

[sunburst]

I prefer alcohol (in moderation, of coarse), but I wouldn't say it's better. There are those who prefer water.

[Geoff B]

Along with what John said, the main difference is in the color transitions. Wiping the stain is hard to get as good a transition as spraying. Of course, which is better is completely subjective. Sometimes the sprayed transitions look a little too good (to me at least).

A good case for using water-dyes is if you are going to use an alcohol based finish. I've had issues spreading alcohol stain when french polishing (shellac in alcohol solvent). Spraying a sealer is always a good way to avoid this, but never-the-less I've still had issues with it. Of course, you'll need to raise the grain a few times in either case, but with water-base stain, you may still get some gain-raising. So a little this-for-that...

Do show pictures once you've decided!http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Mark Franzke]

Or a little bit of all of the above. I wipe the stain on overall, a little darker than I want to end up, using alcohol as the solvent. Then I wipe off the center with alcohol to lighten it. This seems to enhance the flame. Then I darken the outside, still wiping it on, trying to keep it blended. Then I use the airbrush to darken the areas around the heel or to adjust the overall color. Too much spray can start to hide the grain and the flame. I use a very light spray of satin lacquer to seal the color, and then scrape the bindings. This keeps it somewhat protected from hand smudging.

Always check the hand you are holding the instrument with. Stain can get on your fingers and then leave an imprint. It's hard to remove if it is a dark color and you don't see it right away. Wear vinyl gloves to mix the color and a white cotton glove to hold the instrument.
Post pictures when you can.