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I'd like to get a vintage look not a bright white on plastic bindings. StewMac sells white and cream colored, maybe it's better to start with cream? I figure there must be a way to age the look of the bindings. Any advice?

Thanks

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http://www.wideskyguitars.com
https://www.instagram.com/wide_sky_guitars/

Set them on a shelf for 20 years?
Sorry, couldn't resist,
Mike

The StewMac bindings are sort of peach in color.

The cream color binding from LMI looks more aged white to me but check the lengths they offer - I think they're too short to go all the way around a guitar, you have to make a joint above the tail graft & waste a lot of the binding .

I did an electric with the StewMac stuff but tinted it with lacquer & Color Tone amber.

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I'm not a luthier.
I'm just a guy who builds guitars in his basement.
It's better than playing golf.

If you're finishing over the bindings, I find shellac hard to beat for mimicking aged amber finishes, various mixes of blonde, orange, even garnet depending on the hue you're after. Aging artificially with tints can be a bit tougher, but you can go in with some amber/brown mixes in acetone sprayed directly on the plastics. Or there's the quick and easy wipe of Kiwi brown shoe polish which can get pretty close as well. We also keep a few jars of naturally aged and ambered lacquer around for touchups, but this of course is not an immediate solution if you don't have any old lacquer around.

With any of these approaches, the most important factor is of course test samples and judiciousness with experience. Always test on scrap samples first.

The StewMac amber can actually give surprisingly good results if used in moderation.

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

David, this is great thank you!

I am finishing with shellac and have an amber to experiment with. Great advice, thanks!

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http://www.wideskyguitars.com
https://www.instagram.com/wide_sky_guitars/

YOU you can stain the bindings with tea

Stew Mac color tone touch up marker, amber, gives good results. I use it all the time to blend in binding repairs.

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It will probably be alright.

Here's a Stewmac Trade Secrets video hope it's helpful.

http://www.stewmac.com/How-To/Trade_Sec ... stuff.html

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Formerly JJH

I learn more from my mistakes than my successes

All great ideas, I'm sure. I've achieved pretty good results using Ernie's approach. Tea will stain almost anything, including my stainless steel kitchen sink.

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George :-)

AllParts.com sells cream-colored plastic binding that looks like old, yellowed binding.

Tea works okay, but liquid Rit fabric dye works really well on white plastic. I've used a mixture of golden yellow and tan to age tuner knobs from bright white to yellowed.

It only takes a few seconds for the plastic to suck in the dye.

The SM cream binding looks yucky, kind of a pinkish putty color.
I got some Ivory colored binding through Amazon.
It does not have the aged yellow tinit, but really like it, much more than stark white.

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wah
Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah

I think the Stewmac binding looks fine, under the slight amber of the nitro I use, the pink disappears. I greatly dislike the look of the Allparts binding with the same finish and need to tone the heck out of it to tame the screaming yellow and then its no longer cream. Get some different types and work out what you like but remember to finish it like the end result to evaluate.

What type of guitar are you building? You stated white and everyone seems to be talking about ivory colored.

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Ken