MoreGearThanSkill

I used Danish Oil (by Rustins) which is mostly tung oil. It worked very well. I went from raw smooth sanded wood and applied it directly (after doing a little stain and sand back) Apply, pause and wipe off. Repeat process. Very nice. Not alot of darkening.

That pic may be crappy, but I really dig the composition... I hope you flushed first

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I'll have pics of the finished job, on her throne again....tomorrow

This weekend i finished up, and re-assembled the guitar. I decided to do a little stain job on the bare wood. Mostly because it looked so pale and was less attractive than my kitchen chopping board! So a little cherry-wood stain. It was one of those noxious alchohol-imbedded type (which is now in my fingernail binding). It looked blotchy, and took to the wood with vary-ing enthusiasm. Which would be fine in a one piece body. But in a 5-piece it makes the individual planks stick out. Oh well. I did not do this for the asthetics really. So i sanded it back a bit. Which made it look quite nice. I then did the danish oil thing. Then cut back. Then 0000 steel wooled the next coat. Then more Danish oil. Always wiping it off after about 10 min. Nice satiny finish. Yay. Then all bits back in. Blocked the trem. Tuned up and I'm certainly certain it sounds better. No heavy coat strangling the wood's resonance. She sings. Pics soon. Lesson learned: Not an afternoon's labor. Try a month's spare time!

Here is a pic of the crappy EX series Ibbie, stripped down, awaiting the final smooth sanding, (maybe stain) and tung oil coating.

My my, that pic is dreadful..

Mr MetalMan, I'm not so sure which EX it is. I got it off a buddy who had ruined it. Dropped it and such. It has a H S H pickup config. It has a TRS Floyd Rose Licenced trem. Those aggro triangle inlays on the fretboard. Rosewood board. Body was cream with a black scratchplate. Headstock is black. Neck is maple. Body is real pale. 5 piece. Quite savage. Not super pretty grade of wood. But i'm having fun with my first Project. Heck the stripping and sanding has been a horrible task. That coat sure is thick thick thick.

Now I'm looking at the smooth-sanded wood, which i've been lovingly sanding with progressively finer sanding paper... and I'm wondering about staining the wood a little darker. The wood, I think in the Ibanez EX series is poplar. It looks like PINE! Should/could i stain it to make it a bit more butterscotch? Will my Tung oil still work after a lil staining?

Rock on!

Amazing. I was looking and playing mine. It's a cheaper EX Series. It was beaten. So i thought to myself. "Hey that would be a cool, easy and rewarding axe to re-finish". It seems others have made this choice too. Especially the JEM ones with the handles.

Anyway, my question is: Why Ibanez's?

Is there some other factor I'm missing?

It surely can't be because the factory finish is a breeze to strip. Mine was a truely horrifing labor. Stubborn too. Unless other manufacturer's are meaner???!! Can't be....

nice one guys! I popped into the local hardware store. The one that has a nice "woodworking" section. I found some Danish Oil ( http://www.rustins.co.uk/Dano.html ). It seems mainly a Tung based oil. And i found the 0000 steel wool. I have not touched the Ibanez neck. Body only. I am busy with my final sanding, then wet sanding. Then I'll do the oil and work it off/in with the steel wool. Then again. then another wipe on. Then polish it a little.

Yay!

Tom

Any ordinary "clear-lacquer" can, sitting next to all the other cans at the local hardware? Or should i avoid certain types?

Its an EX series solid electric guitar, poplar wood, i think, which i heatgunn and strippered down to the raw wood. Now i want it pretty much unpainted and unsealed. Is this a bad idea? Should I at least wipe some wax furniture polish on it. The reason for this "leave it" approach is - lack of access to materials of any specialist nature. We have a hardware store here for general home/farm stuff. Postal system hardly works for letters, everything else gets "lost".

So i thought it might be okay to just leave it natural sanded finish. Unless i can use a little clear from a rattle-can. I don't want to fuss with fillers and stains and such.. Hope help cometh. Thanks in advance..... Tom