jrstanford

I'm cutting out a new body this weekend for a Kramer style guitar that I am building... I'm thinking I want to just stain it and then seal it... but not sure. I've checked several of the topics here (been lurking for a quite a while) and haven't seen anything specific to this... Should I stain it first and THEN seal the wood with a good sealer (which seems logical to me) or does it make more sense to seal the body and then stain it... I know I read somewhere that the stain would be absorbed and I might have to do two or three coats. This is a swamp ash body blank and I'm taking my time with this first original project. I've done rebuild projects in the past on three guitars, but I've always done them in a lacquer finish with clear coats on top. On this project, I'm wanting to get the stain to a deep red color (thus the reason for multiple coats) but want it to be sealed and safe. Wondering if I should clear coat with lacquer over the sealer. Any ideas would be welcome. Thanks. Jim Stanford Garland, Texas, USA

Depending on what type of body you're working with, you can just use a random orbit sander. I just broke down a Peavey Raptor body and use the sander. You just have to be careful around the curved sides and armrest. You'll have to hand sand the inner surfaces of the horns, but I did an entire body in just under a couple of hours between the two methods. If you burn through the sanding sealer, just be sure to reseal the body or your new paint/finish won't adhere properly. It'll just suck down into the wood. Just be sure to wear a mask when you use the sander. I wore one even though the sander I have has a dust collection filter on it. Worked great and have already begun refinishing the guitar.