weezerboy Posted November 2, 2003 Report Share Posted November 2, 2003 i was just wondering if there is any finishing technique where you don't have to use varnish...cos it is a lot of hard work and i never get very good results dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pushead Posted November 2, 2003 Report Share Posted November 2, 2003 On the explorer in my avatar, I used tung oil and beeswax. (not exactly a varnish, but sort of the same thing) It was pretty easy, no runs or anything, it worked in 2 coats. It's a nice "satin" type finish. The wax really helps bring out the grain, and evens out the finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weezerboy Posted November 2, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2003 cool ,thanks is it expensive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted November 2, 2003 Report Share Posted November 2, 2003 You could use shellac. But if you do, buy the flakes and make your own, shellac has a shelf-life, I wouldn't trust anything pre-made in the stores. Remember to de-wax it, but past that, it is a good wipe-on finish. Completely safe and non-toxic, buffs out well, repairs easily, lasts for at least 100 years... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyG Posted November 2, 2003 Report Share Posted November 2, 2003 I know that you can use the tung oil/beeswax finish on stained wood and i was wondering how you could go about having a burst finish with dark edges and still use this method to finish? does it work over paint or would you have to do the burst in a stain?? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pushead Posted November 3, 2003 Report Share Posted November 3, 2003 Yeah it was pretty cheap. Less than $20. The nice thing is that it seals the wood pores. I like how it feels, they use a light tung oil on a lot of "natural" necks too. I don't know much about using it over stain, but I know someone used a coat of tung oil over a black stain (or flat black paint) on a guitar of the month earlier this year, so I imagine it could be done pretty easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyG Posted November 3, 2003 Report Share Posted November 3, 2003 yeah it was the black mockingbird. lots of black stain and then a coating of tung oil. thats where i saw the idea. im very new to building guitars (much more into the electronics side, stomp boxes and FX etc) and so i was looking for a realativlly easy way to finish off a guitar body Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weezerboy Posted November 3, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2003 hey, thanks for all the info (cool explorer)....just wanted to know if any one knew of any tutorials for the above finishes? thanks again dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westhemann Posted November 3, 2003 Report Share Posted November 3, 2003 that's the guitar that was once cut in half,right?gorgeous restore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pushead Posted November 4, 2003 Report Share Posted November 4, 2003 that's the guitar that was once cut in half,right?gorgeous restore Yeah. Thanks Wes. That was my first "build" (or rebuild I guess). I'm same as you Johnny. I've done electronics for a long time. I found the project guitar on ebay, and just sorta started it. I'm not sure you need a tutorial, it's pretty straight forward. I brushed on 2 coats of tung oil (about 6-8 hours inbetween coats). Then two or three days later, I used a block of beeswax that I found at a knitting store (of all places) and "colored" it on, and buffed it out with a rag. I assume you can use a paste wax too, but never tried. Here's the in-production stuff on the explorer: Phil's Page of Explorer Fun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyG Posted November 4, 2003 Report Share Posted November 4, 2003 Amusinglly enough the project that im planning atm (but which i almost certainlly wont be able to start for a while bcs of school) is an explorer body as well lol. id like to get some sort of burst effect with regards to finish. im also actually planning on building a fuzz face distortion effect into it that i can switch on and off and adjust with controls on the guitar. atm however im just trying to sort out all the basic stuff like how to build everything lol. thats why ive spent the last week and a bit cruising round this site to try and find all the info i can lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pushead Posted November 4, 2003 Report Share Posted November 4, 2003 Yeah, explorers are sweet. I've got two of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyG Posted November 4, 2003 Report Share Posted November 4, 2003 im having a shuftie round ebay to see if there's a body or a whole guitar that i could nab tho atm its a little pointless since i havnt really got the spare cash student life can really suck sometimes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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