Jon Bell Posted April 22, 2004 Report Share Posted April 22, 2004 Hi, I thinking of building a replacement body for a guitar I recently picked up cheap (a BC Rich Platinum series superstrat). The hardware and neck are ok and I'm going to rewind the pick ups to my specs and change the magnets. The body is currently made from plywood so it sounds, as you'd expect, rather boxy and dull. I'm thinking of going with a padouk body for 3 reasons. 1) It has a bright sound which I'm after. 2) I've got a local source for the wood. 3) I'm read it doesn't require finishing, it can be polished to a natural sheen. Has any ever had any experience using padouk? Does it require a finish or can it be left natural as I've read? Thanks, Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdog Posted April 22, 2004 Report Share Posted April 22, 2004 Padouk can be left unfinished, but the color will tend to shift from that brilliant orange color to a rust color quickly........I've had success on non-guitar projects just buffing and waxing Padouk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themikestro Posted April 22, 2004 Report Share Posted April 22, 2004 I'm working on a padauk body at the moment, there a few things you need to look out for..... I find the dust quite irritating, so wear a mask especially when sanding/routing, it is also bright orange and gets EVERYWHERE! The block i've got is a funny one, half is is darker and brown, it works really easily but the other half is very orange and hard as rock! Seriously tough! It can get a good shine on its own but I think a few good coats of wax certainly wouldn't hurt, and if you want it to retain its colour a uv inhibitor of some sort is advised. Lastly it is very heavy and has a quite open grain that you might want to consider filling. Hope that is of some use to you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdguitars Posted April 22, 2004 Report Share Posted April 22, 2004 I have made a couple of paduk bodies. The dust has never really bothered me all that much, but I do wear a mask. sometimes. Paduk is very open grained, and I have used teak oil on it. For some reason this oil stays better than tung oil and it gets deeper into the wood. I don't know if I would ever fill the grain and lacquer the top... its too pretty to do that. Paduk is quite heavy, so you may want to chamber the body if you can. here is one guitar: here is the other recent one: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themikestro Posted April 22, 2004 Report Share Posted April 22, 2004 Yep chambering is absolutely the way to go wherever possible, i'm doing mine chambered with a maple cap, not finished it yet so I can't comment on tone. But it would weigh a ton without the chambers! Lovely looking wood I would agree, does anybody know the best products to keep it's natural colour for as long as possible? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdguitars Posted April 22, 2004 Report Share Posted April 22, 2004 the first guitar that is posted there has has tung oil on it for over a year now and the color is great... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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