Argh....longest finishing debacle ever

jmohil

Junior Member
Messages
91
ROUND 1: So, I'm building a black korina V and was planning to do a pure tung oil finish with only partially filled grain (black grain-filler).    I did one fill with black, which left me with fairly open grain.  Then I started on the tung oil (Behlen).  I was SUPER careful and followed all of the guidance peppered throughout the forum (let it dry 4 days between very light coats, used a sanding block etc.).  Unfortunately, once I was pretty much done with tung oil (about 15 coats), I came to the realization that I wasn't totally happy with the way it was looking...the grain filler didn't look as even as when I started and it was a little splotchy, especially around the end grains areas. 

ROUND 2: sanded it back a ways, did a light grain fill and then was extra-extra careful sanding to make sure that the black grain filler looked extra-extra consistent before I started going with the tung oil again.  Went through another 15 super-light coats of tung oil, and dang it....I'm still not happy with the way it looks.  There must be some evil combination of factors here that are simply not going to work to my liking (at least for someone with my limited skills).

ROUND 3 (pending):  So, I've decided to abandon the tung oil and go with some stewmac aerosol lacquer.  I'm thinking that the body could look pretty cool with a glossy finish, and frankly, the open grain experiment doesn't appeal to me as much as it initially did (could have something to do with the 30 or so coats of tung oil....I don't want to see that stuff for a while).   

So here's my plan...based the guidance I've gleaned from combining input from  several of the threads here. PLEASE - if anyone thinks I'm off base with this, chime in and correct me.  It sounds like I need to:
1) wash the body with acetone and/or sand the hell out of it to get as much of the tung off as I can 
2)  let it sit for about a month to ensure that any remaining tung that's soaked in is as dry as possible
3)  completely fill the dang pores....I'll start with a fill or two of black and then switch to clear once I have the evenness I'm looking for with the black.
3)  spray it with some shellac to create a barrier and minimize any potential issues with the tung & laquer not playing nice
5)  sealer
4)  lacquer
5)  let it dry for a month
6)  buff & polish

To make a long story short, this is one stupid long finishing job (or not-finishing job, if you will).  It'll probably be over eight months from start to finish by the time I wrap it up....assuming I don't jack something up on round 3!  :doh:









 
Alternative: bolt it all together and enjoy it for a year or so. Play some rock and roll. Who cares if it doesn't look exactly right?
Then when you get the itch again, go ahead and strip it all.
 
tfarny said:
Alternative: bolt it all together and enjoy it for a year or so. Play some rock and roll. Who cares if it doesn't look exactly right?
Then when you get the itch again, go ahead and strip it all.

Believe me, I've thought about it.  If I wasn't already planning to refinish my Warmoth LP at some point in the next year or so (it's tru-oil is starting to wear through to the bare wood in a couple of places), I'd already have this sucker put together.  I just don't want my "gee I'd like to refinish" queue to get too long!
 
Back
Top