So, I'm taking up the hobby of luthierie. I've always done my own maintenance on string instruments but now I've just finished my first viola and I've got more in the works.

Anyone familiar with classical string instruments knows about the fuss and secrecy around traditional oil varnishes
I'm looking for pigments to colour my own amber varnish, particularly natural reds and browns with good transparency. Now, instrument-making pigments are easily available online, but they're kind of expensive and I'm obsessed with making everything myself so here's what I'm thinking to try:

I have a year-old extraction jar with mimosa sludge in it. My plan is to neutralize it with vinegar, boil it all down to a workable volume, and then try precipitating the dyestuff with alum mordant for use in varnish. Does anyone know if this actually works? I know mimosa is colloquially called "purple dye" but I have never heard of anyone actually using it as such.
It makes quite a nice red in acidic conditions, and having a "DMT-coloured" violin would be simply epic.

Greetings

While i don´t really know anything about that process, i instantly thought of mimosa.
Please post a pic if you succeed.
That would be so dope!!!

Have a gud one dyoode!!!

Don't know about dying with bark sludge.

I am a journeyman guitar tek myself. I've never had the woodworking setup to build a guitar from scratch, but I've done several partscasters (stratocasters and teles assembled from parts) and repaired countless.

I've finished several necks and one swamp ash tele body in Tru Oil. It is a wipe on oil based varnish, made for gun stocks and whatehaveyou. I love a maple neck with a Tru Oil finish, it is a beautiful thing.

have the sludge evaporate down to a powder, you may be able to add an acid to neutralize the result. then adding anything permeable and nourishing to the wood. linseed oil, some other oil a wood expert knows more about even orange oil.

Maybe do a test bit of wood first. See how well it stains and how it holds up to UV over time.

I read that mimosa was/is used as part of a dye recipe, not as is.