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I have a back and sides set i bought from a wood supplier and, as a matter of personal taste, i just don't like the mousie brown color-- it's called "Boire." I can't really afford to throw sets away. Grain and back bookmatch are nice and i'm thinking that darkening the wood will help quite a bit. However, I'm not sure of the sequencing. When I glue the binding on to routed boxes, it seems inevitable that i get some glue into the side pores below the binding. This would make staining uneven I imagine. So, do I dye or stain, and do I do that before the binding? Does anyone have a recommended stain or dye make? I've used minwax before and for guitars it's awful (not so great for other stuff either.) Thank you in advance. Picture attached.

try stain first I think you should be able to find something you like

Just finished a 'boire' project. Positively luminous, it pleases me no end. I think of lively mahogany with dark streaks. But that's my perception and those particular pieces of wood.

I did find a very big difference between the finished wood and samples wetted with naphtha. Maybe before staining commences applying the finish that will be used on some scrap.

this is true
often the finished end product won't look like the raw
test finish a piece of scrap

Thanks so much. Mr. Havriluk, would you be willing to post or send me some pix of the guitar?