before staining the guitar

now that i'm happy with the shape and contours of the guitar i can stain it. i'm using real wood stain for the dark stripes - mulberry - and just normal clothing dye for the lighter red parts. but before staining the wood you have to wet it with a flannel/cloth soaked in hot water. then vigorously rub the wood where you're going to stain - why? because when wood gets wet the cells swell and when it's dry you can sand it off to nice smooth surface. after you've sanded back the raised grain - wait till it's dry - you can stain! i used the back of the guitar to test the stain because the longer you leave wood stain the darker it gets. it's not the same for the clothing dye.