I just sent two new C# mandolins off to their new owners. The first one went to a person who wanted a gray mandolin. This was a very tough color to do (slight understatement). I used Fe(II) acetate (= steel wool dissolved in vinegar) to color the maple, but that didn't work well at all for the spruce top. I used a mixture of TiO2 white pigment and black and brown Transtint dyes to do the top. Went with a "two-tone" gray approach to coloring this mandolin. Might be called "gray-scale"? Binding is multi-layer wood with rosewood outermost. Finish is nitrocellulose lacquer, but the neck shaft is finished with a long-oil wiping finish over the Fe(II) acetate coloring.
http://www.Cohenmando.com
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