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How Do I Finish My Body


mesadualrec

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Hi Its my first post here guys

Im a resident member at the ernie ball and mesa boogie forum

but,

They dont specialize in building guitar talk really

so thought I would be best asking here :D

Im just about to buy a guitar body from a friend,its an Ibanez JPM style from monster guitar.

It has a 3 quarter inch flame maple top on an alder body,and Im told it looks fantastic!!!

here's my question;

I want to finish the guitar myself as its both pleasing and cost effective

What I want to do is either finish it in a bright pink/purple stain and the tung oil it

or

Just tung oil it and leave it natural

whats the best way to do this

I read that you need to apply a black stain first off and sand it or something to that effect,but do you just sand it so the Flames/tops are present and are more 'highlighted' than the darker patches between the flames

and then apply the tung oil,and how should I go about that

I thank you in advance

any help is MUCH appreciated

I hope to use this site ALOT in the future

thanks guys

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Hi Its my first post here guys

Im a resident member at the ernie ball and mesa boogie forum

but,

They dont specialize in building guitar talk really

so thought I would be best asking here :D

Im just about to buy a guitar body from a friend,its an Ibanez JPM style from monster guitar.

It has a 3 quarter inch flame maple top on an alder body,and Im told it looks fantastic!!!

here's my question;

I want to finish the guitar myself as its both pleasing and cost effective

What I want to do is either finish it in a bright pink/purple stain and the tung oil it

or

Just tung oil it and leave it natural

whats the best way to do this

I read that you need to apply a black stain first off and sand it or something to that effect,but do you just sand it so the Flames/tops are present and are more 'highlighted' than the darker patches between the flames

and then apply the tung oil,and how should I go about that

I thank you in advance

any help is MUCH appreciated

I hope to use this site ALOT in the future

thanks guys

I take it nobody knows how to do this

any suggestions to where I might find out this information

cant find much at the project guitar site for tung oiling a guitar as a finish

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The easiest and, in my opinion, the most attractive way to finish a "flamed" wood is with clear coats of semi-gloss lacquer. The trick is to properly sand the wood. I hope this body is unfinished to begin with and uncontaminated with other finishes. Anywho... Block sand the body through all the proper grits; 120, 180, 240, 320. By the time you hit 320 the flame should pop on it's own. I like to seal with a coat or two of shellac. Burnish the sealer coat with some 0000 steel wool. Top coat with two or three coats of a semi-gloss lacquer. Both the shellac and lacquer come in aerosol cans. I like the WATCO lacquer. If you are finishing for the first time, this will work great. Since it is semi-gloss because you don't need to rub it with a compound. Tung oil is...a commitment. It looks nice but it takes awhile for the oil to polymerize. It smells funny and can provide some problems if you change your mind at some later point, like if you want to stain. For a first time finisher, don't monkey with stains unless you are willing to accept screwing up. Once you apply stain to a figured wood, there is no turning back. It soaks down and will require a great deal of sanding to remove the color. If you haven't sanded properly, stain will make every scratch pop. But if your heart is set on applying a stain, get yrself some alcohol soluble aniline dye. You can get it in the purple you are looking for. Carefully apply it after you have sanded to 320. Apply the shellac/lacquer spray and you will be happy with the results if you don't rush the process. What can help is if you apply a very dilluted stain to the wood before you sand, it will show all the scratches you missed. But if you stick with the clear, it will all work great.

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