Finishing An Alder Body

[ryema22]

Hi,

I've read in a couple of places (Stewart-MacDonald for one) that Alder has a fairly closed pore structure and I don't need to fill them prior to spraying laquer. Can anyone confirm this through their own experience? I'm considering using a grain filler anyways just to be safe but if I really don't need to then I'll save myself the extra time and effort and go straight to spraying.

Thanks!

[Prostheta]

No direct experience myself (yet) but I'd consider a precautionary a couple of grain fills and sandings out of course. A lot easier and less time-consuming than taking off or trying to repair a bad paintjob! The first grain fill and sand back will soon tell you whether the alder you have needs it or not :-)

Edited August 16, 2006 by Prostheta

[mammoth guitars]

No Alder does not require pore or grain filler. You can apply it anyway if you prefer.

[Drak]

Alder doesn't REQUIRE a grain filler, but if you don't use one, you will not be starting out with a dead flat surface like you would be with properly applied grain filler, you will need to shoot additional coats of lacquer to bring yourself up to a level finish, so it's really your call.

I don't use grain filler on my Alder 'usually', but I don't mind shooting the additional coats, some other people might find it bothersome compared to starting out with a nice flat finish.

Your call really, you can go either way.

Or you can use CA glue to grain fill, which I've done before with positive results.

[matttheguy]

Sorry to go off topic a bit, but, excluding epoxy, what do you all recommend for grain filling mahogany, such as on Les Pauls?

[prs man]

I have finished alder with no grain filler and had no trouble.

you might need to spray a few more coats of finish to get the results your want.

[vaxination]

i, too, don't grain fill alder. however, i shoot a couple of coats of sanding sealer (and lightly sand) and that seems to level the surface in preparation for my clear coats.

[Prostheta]

I was pondering - the common automotive trick of using a dark colour as a dry marker when finishing sanding to highlight low spots or scratches might work using grain filler instead in the case of wood. Any opinion on this? Wood - being inconsistent in appearance - can hide scratches and voids easily, so I put to the vote that at least one grain fill pass (whether it all sands back or not) is a good acid test prior to paint?

[Maiden69]

Sorry to go off topic a bit, but, excluding epoxy, what do you all recommend for grain filling mahogany, such as on Les Pauls?

You can use grain filler from stewmac, CA glue, but i find that epoxy is the easies, if you apply it very thin and nice.

[Racer X]

Just did an alder Soloist body a couple months ago. Zero grain filler. Great tone, too. Man, I love alder!

[ryema22]

Thanks for the responses guys. I'm going to go without the grain filler and if I have to shoot a few extra coats of laqueur that's fine.

Pictures of the finished project to come next week

[Prostheta]

Cool - keep us posted on your progress. Always good for reference!