MikeB Posted August 6, 2004 Report Share Posted August 6, 2004 hey guys, have been collecting my thoughts in PMs to several members, you know who you are! and now i know EXACTLY what i want i will ask here, theres nothing worse than reading through a heap of posts from someone who doesnt know what they want! well, the end result i want is: several questions. what sort of grain filling procedure will i need ti do? what is the best way to burst on both sides? what order should i apply my finish? how much stain and does it need thinned? what are the implications of end grain, have been told to wet the end grain, but not sure how much. the order i was gonna work was: stain------>grain filler(if needed)------>clear------>burst top and sides------>burst back------>clear top coat does that seem reasonable? are there any tips that anyone has? and thanks for the PM help guys! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted August 7, 2004 Report Share Posted August 7, 2004 Grain fill before staining. You will need to level your fill by sanding, and if you've stained already you risk sand-throughs which will make the colour patchy and uneven. As such you'll need a stainable grain filler, or a tinted one which is coloured to match your intended stain colour. Alternatively you could apply the colour using tinted lacquer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeB Posted August 7, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2004 i dont know if i can get my hands on stainable filler here, would using extra PE and sanding flat work? it would probably be more expensive, but thats all i can think of atm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted August 7, 2004 Report Share Posted August 7, 2004 Look at GuitarFrenzy's strat. That's an Ash body, and done magnificently, although I know he didn't do the finish, he's probably got a lot of tips for you. Sounds like you're doing a body like his only green instead of blue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeB Posted August 7, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2004 yeah, pretty similar. i have just been through his tut. he used black epoxy for grain filler, would clear epoxy work also? i dont know who sells black epoxy close to me. im gonna wait till i get my dye, and experiment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted August 7, 2004 Report Share Posted August 7, 2004 I'd be concerned that the pores won't accept stain, and will look nasty if you use clear epoxy. You can add powdered dye or indian ink to regular epoxy to colour it, then the undyed pores will look darker than the surounding wood (good) not lighter (bad!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted August 7, 2004 Report Share Posted August 7, 2004 yeah, pretty similar. i have just been through his tut. he used black epoxy for grain filler, would clear epoxy work also? i dont know who sells black epoxy close to me. im gonna wait till i get my dye, and experiment. yeah, pretty similar. i have just been through his tut. he used black epoxy for grain filler, would clear epoxy work also? i dont know who sells black epoxy close to me. im gonna wait till i get my dye, and experiment. It really just depends on how well you want the grains to show. You don't have to use black epoxy, that was just used since we wanted the grains to have a certain depth to them. Since your going for Green, which is the color my Driskill copy will be, you could go with the black epoxy to really show off the grain pattern. You certainly don't have to do it this way. You could mix some green concentrated dye with the grain filler also if your wanting a good grain pattern, but more subtle. But clear epoxy will work for you, I would just recommend you getting the slow setting Epoxy (90 min) to have time to grain fill a whole body with it. Here is a perfect example of a body like Driskill does. That's what we was going for, the black dyed grain look. Paul Reed Smith's ash bodies are just clear grain filled and sprayed, which looks great, but it doesn't show the grain off quite as much. Here is a swamp ash body like they do them, with clear filler. Whichever method you use, you should practice on scrap pieces of wood first. Your gonna need to mix the dye with your lacquer if that's what your gonna use. Staining Ash directly to the wood results in botchy spots, and gives terrible results. That's why you need to grain fill, and spray a toner color over it. Hope this makes some kinda sense. Good luck with your project.. Matt Vinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeB Posted August 7, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2004 Thanks alot Matt! exactly what i was after! i am not in access to many things here, dont know where id get any indian ink or powdered dye. i was planning on using PE, from a spray can, but i will order in nitro if i have to, though i would prefer to use PE. can i mix the green dye with the epoxy? will that work as a grain filler? the finish i really want is like the driskill. if anyone has a link to where in the uk i can get black epoxy do send me it! thanks Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted August 7, 2004 Report Share Posted August 7, 2004 That has got to be one of the prettiest green guitars I've ever seen, thanks for the pic GF. Maybe I'll have a shot at a Driskill knockoff too, I am absolutely enraptured with that guitar. ...and I don't get enraptured very easily... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeB Posted August 7, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2004 heres what i have bought: http://www.behlen.co.uk/Merchant2/merchant...Code=B503-08A75 would this grain filler work? and will i be able to mix them? this looks like the answer http://www.behlen.co.uk/Merchant2/merchant...gory_Code=FILLE they have many fillers, this is the neutral one. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted August 7, 2004 Report Share Posted August 7, 2004 My experience is that I don't like the water-based filler, when you tint it, it doesn't come out with any 'depth' when lacquered over, so my recommend would be the oil-based filler. You have to give it (oil-based) like 2 weeks to completely cure before you move on to the next step tho... Also, I use Tints-All as my 'tinter' for pore fillers, I think Stew-Mac carries it, look for Lamp Black Tints All...it's cheap too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted August 7, 2004 Report Share Posted August 7, 2004 When I was doing alot of testing on scrap wood. I always found that grain filling with epoxy worked perfectly, but you should use two applications. We was gonna use a waterbased grainfiller, but decided not too. If it was me I'd mix some color dye like Stew Mac sells with just everyday epoxy you can buy from a store. Stew Mac Concentrated We just used the slow setting black epoxy that Stew Mac sells. When you check here you'll want to get item number 5179-B if you go this route. Just depends on where you want to buy them. If ordering from Stew Mac is out of the question I'm sure there are places that sell dye that you can use to mix with the epoxy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitarfrenzy Posted August 7, 2004 Report Share Posted August 7, 2004 That has got to be one of the prettiest green guitars I've ever seen, thanks for the pic GF. Maybe I'll have a shot at a Driskill knockoff too, I am absolutely enraptured with that guitar. ...and I don't get enraptured very easily... Yes I have always wanted one of those guitars. I used to call him some, but he's a very busy person. He works some ungodly hours, and is a super nice guy. I even asked him for permission to make one and he told me that I could. Stangely though, he said as long as I didn't go into production of them.. haha I'm gonna send him some light weight swamp ash when I get my hands on some more, just for letting me do that. If you look real close you'll notice that he uses a 1/2" piece of wildly figured swamp ash for the tops and a more straight grain on the back. Very impressive. I'd love to see the results of a Drak made one though.. that would be nice!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted August 7, 2004 Report Share Posted August 7, 2004 As long as you can dye it, I'm all for the epoxy pore filler too. Again, I tints mine with the Tints-All Lamp Black, a little dab is all you need to get 'blackened'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted August 7, 2004 Report Share Posted August 7, 2004 I've talked to my fair share of pros in this business too, from Ted Weber to Jason Lollar to Bill Lawrence to Tom Holmes and many others over the years... and y'know, it never fails to amaze me that -every- -single- -one- of them are like the hands-down nicest people you could ever want to talk to. As polite and hospitable as a person could possibly be they all are. Guitar guys are kewwwwl beans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeB Posted August 7, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2004 im contacting stewmac about shipping to northern ireland and import tax and vat and all that **** i dont need! money isnt in abundance, so if i dont find the epoxy ill have to go with the waterbased stuff. thanks for the help! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.