X1TX Posted July 19, 2008 Report Share Posted July 19, 2008 I've searched and haven't found an answer for this. But I have an unfinished ash Mighty Mite body. But MM apparently applies a 'sealer' to their unfinished bodies. I'm ASSuming it's mainly a 'sanding sealer', but I don't really know. All the finishing tips I've read start on the basis of having a bare wood. So does anyone know how to deal with this sealer? What I'm trying to do is simply highlight the grain in the piece, then get a little black tint to the natural finish. Also, I'm ASSuming that I will need to grain fill, but not totally certain given the application of the sealer. I think that I can simply open a tub of elbow grease and sand the body a bit and then treat it as if it's bare wood. Am I correct here, or do I deserve the Oscar for best performance as the village idiot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jer7440 Posted July 21, 2008 Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 Unless you want to wipe dye directly on the ash, (which I've read doesn't work our very well with ash)the sealer shouldn't be a problem. You should see if you can find out what kind of sealer MM is using, and if there are any compatibility issues with the finish you want to use. If there are not compatibility issues...just leave the sealer...it can be a real pain to sand off. You should be able to grainfill right over the sealer. This should highlight your grain. Then add some black Color tone or Transtint dye to your clearcoat...this will give you the black tint. Once you have the shade of black tint you want, swithch to straight clear to finish building your finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X1TX Posted July 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 Was thinking about using a black grain filler, then seeing what it looked like. After that, either a stain or aniline dye. Thanks for the response. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jer7440 Posted July 21, 2008 Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 I have read the Ash can be very blotchy if you try to dye the wood directly. If you tint your clear you avoid the blotchiness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syxxstring Posted July 21, 2008 Report Share Posted July 21, 2008 Why not paint it transparent black over the sealer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X1TX Posted July 28, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2008 Why not paint it transparent black over the sealer? Also wanting to accentuate the grain. So I think I'm going to try some black grain filler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted July 28, 2008 Report Share Posted July 28, 2008 by sanding off all the sealer you are wasting time and money. you are going to have to re seal it all the way back to the same as it was in the first place. why do people always want to sand the sealer off? its there for a reason. it is the best base for spraying you can get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar101 Posted July 29, 2008 Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 I've searched and haven't found an answer for this. But I have an unfinished ash Mighty Mite body. But MM apparently applies a 'sealer' to their unfinished bodies. I'm ASSuming it's mainly a 'sanding sealer', but I don't really know. All the finishing tips I've read start on the basis of having a bare wood. So does anyone know how to deal with this sealer? What I'm trying to do is simply highlight the grain in the piece, then get a little black tint to the natural finish. Also, I'm ASSuming that I will need to grain fill, but not totally certain given the application of the sealer. I think that I can simply open a tub of elbow grease and sand the body a bit and then treat it as if it's bare wood. Am I correct here, or do I deserve the Oscar for best performance as the village idiot? If you go to the Mighty Mite web page, they have a user forum. There is a guy there, MJW customs. He is the resident expert on Mighty Mite parts. He should be able to answer your questions.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X1TX Posted July 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 by sanding off all the sealer you are wasting time and money. you are going to have to re seal it all the way back to the same as it was in the first place. why do people always want to sand the sealer off? its there for a reason. it is the best base for spraying you can get. If I wanted to simply spray on a color, I'd agree. But I want to add some highlight to the grain since the one I have has a decent pattern in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
syxxstring Posted July 29, 2008 Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 I'd still go transparent, it will darken the grain and save a ton of work. If you don't get your desired result then you can torture yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X1TX Posted July 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 I'd still go transparent, it will darken the grain and save a ton of work. If you don't get your desired result then you can torture yourself. Perhaps. But I'm really trying to learn: 1: Patience and 2: Finishing technique This is my 3rd 'project' leading up to a scratch build. The first two ended up with sucky finishes because I ran out of patience and realized I didn't have a great grasp of finishing. So a little self-torture to learn something is worth it in this case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jer7440 Posted July 31, 2008 Report Share Posted July 31, 2008 You should be able to grain fill right over the sealer. Unless there is so much sealer on there that the grain is already leveled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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