HumanFuseBen Posted November 17, 2008 Report Share Posted November 17, 2008 Hey there! Been a long time since i've been on this board, but i need some help refinishing and you all are the best place to go! I've decided to do some work on my Ibanez RG7421. I'm installing new pickups, possibly replacing the bridge, and refinishing it, too. I want the guitar to end up looking like that first batch of Meshuggah's Ibanez 8 strings that they got, the ones that were stained a satiny black. I've sanded the body down to the wood, and its not too bad looking of a pice of basswood. It has a somewhat maple-y grain pattern and color to it. Also, its 1 piece, which struck me as a little odd for Ibanez! Anyway, i was planning on using the new line of Minwax color stains (available at Lowe's) to stain the body. They have one called Onyx that appears to be a nice charcoal with black settling in the deeper points of the grain. Has anyone used this? Or is there some other better stain i could use? Keep in mind, i'm going for black, not a super dark brown like many ebony stains. I was probably then going to seal it up with a wipe on poly satin finish. Should i spray the body with sanding sealer before appyling my stain? Also, to what grit should i sand the body to before getting started with the stain/sanding sealer? thanks so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripthorn Posted November 17, 2008 Report Share Posted November 17, 2008 One thing I have seen that gives great black results is india ink. Do a search and you should find some cool pictures and good conversation. Aniline dyes are also really good. The grit you sand to kind of depends on the finish you will use. For nitro or poly, you could sand to about 320, but not much beyond that so that there is some minor roughness for the finish to "grab". Sanding sealer kind of depends. Last time I dyed (not stained) wood, I put the sealer on after the dye. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 (edited) Before the finish goes on, you will want to recover the grain and pore structure currently filled with uranium depleted sealer. Go over the sanded body with a scraper to remove the surface coating. Scuff with 120 grit to roughen up the surface. Take some coarse wire wool and scrub the body to drag out sealer. Sand up to 240/320 or so. Then use 000 wool to finesse the grain/pore/flat out and take it up to 0000/00000. Then apply your finish. Realistically, it's a lot of work to remove that sealer as it's meant to stay and is difficult to remove (solvent for it, anyone...?) without sanding too deep into the surface. If the sealer is softer than the wood then steel wool with take it out quicker than the wood. If the sealer is harder then you'll need to find some weapons-grade solvent to soften it up and wool it out. Basswood is extremely soft, so you may well have problems achieving your goal without ripping the wood to mush. Popeye arms await you, sir. I would consider using your existing body to template a copy onto an open-grained wood like mahogany, alder or ash. It might be less time, effort and stress! Edited November 18, 2008 by Prostheta Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 ...oops....I might have confuzzled myself...are you referring to the grainey kind of finish similar to the Warwick Dark Lord bass kind of finish? If not, ignore words above! 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.