jrstanford Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 I'm cutting out a new body this weekend for a Kramer style guitar that I am building... I'm thinking I want to just stain it and then seal it... but not sure. I've checked several of the topics here (been lurking for a quite a while) and haven't seen anything specific to this... Should I stain it first and THEN seal the wood with a good sealer (which seems logical to me) or does it make more sense to seal the body and then stain it... I know I read somewhere that the stain would be absorbed and I might have to do two or three coats. This is a swamp ash body blank and I'm taking my time with this first original project. I've done rebuild projects in the past on three guitars, but I've always done them in a lacquer finish with clear coats on top. On this project, I'm wanting to get the stain to a deep red color (thus the reason for multiple coats) but want it to be sealed and safe. Wondering if I should clear coat with lacquer over the sealer. Any ideas would be welcome. Thanks. Jim Stanford Garland, Texas, USA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 Jim, I usually like to apply what finishers call a "wash coat" of either a thinned (50% or so) finish or a true sealer, like a vinyl or possibly shellac. That way the stain will absorb more evenly and you will avoid a blotchy appearance that sometimes happens when staining raw wood. This should be a light but even coat. Scuff sand the wash coat with 320 paper to smooth the surface before staining and wipe clean. Good luck, Chuck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gibsonsg26 Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 ya ive heard of washcoats i havent done that yet but id suggest stain the wood get it to the amount of coats you want ( probably a few with swamp ash) then use a clear laquer over it then depending on what you want you could wetsand and buff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tikvo Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 Hiya, I'm yet to build my first body as I'm off on hols for 3 months, but I did rebuild and restore an 8 seater solid timber dining table. Pity I don't have pic's on me, but basically it was a Malaysian medium density timber, not sure what type, and I rebuilt it with solid 150 x 150 furniture grade pine. After sanding down real fine, we stained with walnut stian with only 2 coats or so, then sealed it. When the sealer is dry, sanded that back just a little to get the roughness off the sealer, and this is the scary bit... the sealer turns an off white colour, thinking I had ruined it, but when I put the lacquer on it came up a treat. The more layers of lacquer you put on the more gloss you get. I put 3 coats on, so not much gloss at all, but the table looks unreal. This has given me a lot more confidence for when I get to stain and seal my first guitar. 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.