Guitarophile

Wow, I just priced the Waterlox. Expensive!

+1!

I would--unfortunately, since it's a kit, it didn't come with scraps!

Here's another option I've been considering: J.E. Moser's Mahogany Aniline Dye This would be dissolved into the first coats of tung oil. Of course, it would bring me back to the uneven application problem I had on the edges with the Woodburst the first time around . . . and the question of how to ensure even application. MiKro mentioned denatured alcohol wash to blend it in.

Doug, here's where I first read about the wet-sanding technique (I couldn't figure out how to post the file here, so here's a link. It's an article on finishing drum shells, but I was directed there in connection with guitar finishing. I've read other procedures that mention wet-sanding the final coats of wiping varnish, as well. I can't vouch for them, though, as I've never tried them.

Welcome to the foray Buz, First, thank you for serving our country. There are many here that are more than willing to help. So use the search function and ask away! Mike +1 on the welcome and the thanks--though I'm about 1,000 miles away from being able to offer anyone advice at this point.

Not entirely true. You can add the dye to the grainfiller, which is what Gibson did to the Cherry Red SG's. If you use water based grain filler you can use any type of dye, and it will take. If you use oil based grain filler you have to use a solvent based (laquer thinner, denatured alcohol) dye. You are dying the wood and the grain filler. I have to go back and look, but I think Gibson dyed the grainfiller, applied a sealer coat, applied a toner coat and then cleared. If you get the Finishing, Step by Step book that Stewart MacDonald sells, they have the recipe that Gibson used on the original SG's and V's. If it in not exact it is extremely close. But they do say, one of the keys to getting the color right is the dyed grain filler. Thanks, this is very helpful. I will have to get that book (I'm getting quite a stack of them!) for when I graduate to sprayed-on finishes, which I'm planning to do on my next guitar. My grain filler is water-based (it's ColorTone, like my cherry red dye), so I could dye it, no problem. But after that I'm going on to a soft-looking oil finish, rather than spraying anything. Do the other steps (sealer and toner) have any application to my tung-oiled project? I'm thinking that after the dyed filler, my next (and only) steps would be to rub in about 8-12 applications of wiping varnish over two weeks, wet-sanding the last ones. I admit to being clueless, though, so feel free to correct me.

Thanks, MiKro. It sounds like your method is simpler. How do you ensure that the stain covers evenly? I had a lot of problems last time with the Woodburst leaving clear spots on edges. I've read some about using a much more concentrated version of the stain instead of grain filler, then sanding down to the field, as a way of making the grain darker and deeper-looking. I'm not sure how that differs from doing the same thing with a colored grain filler, as long as you sand back to the field of the wood.

OK, that's news to me, so I've learned something already. What should I do instead, to ensure that the stain absorbs evenly over the whole body? Dye the wiping varnish?

I built a kit guitar last year and have got the bug. (So I'm not a total newbie, but close enough.) I'm going to build another kit while I tool up my workshop and then try to move on to building from scratch. For this next kit guitar, I've got a mahogany body I'd like to stain slightly with cherry red, then finish it with low-gloss tung oil. My goal is the heritage-cherry satin finish Gibson is currently putting on some of its SGs and Vs. This finish has a soft look but still has a nice, deep-looking grain, even on mahogany. Can anybody point out regrets I might have with the following plan, or offer any advice? 1. Sand, fill the grain with medium brown water-based grain filler. Sand to clear the wood field. I'm hoping this will both make the grain a little more pronounced and even out the color produced by the stain. 2. Stain with a fairly dilute mix of ColorTone cherry red dye dissolved in water. I really just want a hint of red to accent the mahogany. 3. Finish with 8-12 coats of Minwax tung oil (which I know is really wiping varnish), a day apart, wet sanding the last 4 coats with 800 grit sandpaper. On my last kit, which had an alder body, I mixed green Woodburst stain with my tung oil and did not wetsand at all. I was only halfway pleased with the result--it was a little uneven, especially on the body edges. I really want a uniform color this time. My first idea was to dissolve a powdered dye in my tung oil, but I'm afraid that would turn out the same as the Woodburst. Thanks for this incredibly helpful board.

Thanks, I will try him if I can't find a way to do it myself.

Yeah, I was prepared for the additional routing--the p-90 is narrower, but longer, than a humbucker. It's the underside mounting and the ring I'm thinking about. It's a completely different mounting system.

Not an option--I'm using Lindy Fralin's, which don't come in that size.

Does anybody know of a kit (or a posted set of step-by-step instructions) for mounting p-90s in a body routed for humbuckers? Thanks for any help.