Black Korina finish -- many questions!

[dbw]

I'm trying to plan out finishing my Black Korina strat body which is coming to me soon.  I'm going to use tung oil, based on pictures I've seen and what I've read.  Here's the plan I've put together based on various websites and posts on this forum:

Day 1: Apply water-based "natural" (clear) grain filler.
Day 2: Sand off grain filler with 320 grit sandpaper.  Reapply grain filler.
Day 3: Sand again with 320.  Sand smooth with 400.  Scuff with 0000 steel wool.  Apply 50/50 tung oil/mineral spirits.
Day 4, in the morning: Scuff, apply 50/50 tung oil.
Day 4-9: Scuff, apply pure tung oil.  (That's 8 coats total.)
Day 13, 16, 22, 26 : Rub 'till it shines.
Day 30: :guitaristgif:

And when I say apply oil, I mean:
Spread oil liberally over surface, wait one hour, wipe off excess oil, and rub the body with a cloth.  Repeat for back of body.

:help: :help: :help:

How does this sound to you experts?  Am I missing something?  Am I going too fast or too slow?  Finishing too much or too little?

How should I suspend the body during finishing?  I was thinking of suspending it by a "dummy" neck---just a piece of scrap in the neck pocket---but I'm worried that'll be too hard on the neck pocket.  Unfortunately there's no good way to set it down without messing up the drying finish... the only places I can rest it are the control cavity on the back and the pickup routs and neck pocket on the front.  Is that my best option anyway?

Finally...  Do I need to put any oil in the neck pocket, control rout, or pickup routs?  If so, will one or two coats be enough to protect it, or do I have to go through the whole ordeal for the non-visible parts of the body too?  Thanks for any and all advice you can give me!

 

[jackthehack]

I'm trying to plan out finishing my Black Korina strat body which is coming to me soon.  I'm going to use tung oil, based on pictures I've seen and what I've read.  Here's the plan I've put together based on various websites and posts on this forum:

Day 1: Apply water-based "natural" (clear) grain filler.
Day 2: Sand off grain filler with 320 grit sandpaper.  Reapply grain filler.
Day 3: Sand again with 320.  Sand smooth with 400.  Scuff with 0000 steel wool.  Apply 50/50 tung oil/mineral spirits.

Need to sand grain filler back with #220 first, then #320

Day 4, in the morning: Scuff, apply 50/50 tung oil.
Day 4-9: Scuff, apply pure tung oil.  (That's 8 coats total.)
Day 13, 16, 22, 26 : Rub 'till it shines.
Day 30: :guitaristgif:

And when I say apply oil, I mean:
Spread oil liberally over surface, wait one hour, wipe off excess oil, and rub the body with a cloth.  Repeat for back of body.

=> Don't wait an hour when wiping back excess tung or Tru oil; wipe/blot off any excess upon applying it; depending on temp/humidity it can start to set up/harden a bit in less than an hour


:help: :help: :help:

How does this sound to you experts?  Am I missing something?  Am I going too fast or too slow?  Finishing too much or too little?

How should I suspend the body during finishing?  I was thinking of suspending it by a "dummy" neck---just a piece of scrap in the neck pocket---but I'm worried that'll be too hard on the neck pocket.  Unfortunately there's no good way to set it down without messing up the drying finish... the only places I can rest it are the control cavity on the back and the pickup routs and neck pocket on the front.  Is that my best option anyway?

Finally...  Do I need to put any oil in the neck pocket, control rout, or pickup routs?  If so, will one or two coats be enough to protect it, or do I have to go through the whole ordeal for the non-visible parts of the body too?  Thanks for any and all advice you can give me!

 

[TroubledTreble]

It sounds like you have a good plan of attack. The main thing to remember is patience. Waiting long enough for something to dry completely before moving on is always quicker than going back and fixing things. But seeing that your plan takes 26 days, you have that part of it well in hand.

Jack is correct. Don't wait too long to wipe off excess.

A dummy neck is the best way to finish the body. A cheap piece of wood with a hole in the tuner end so you can hang it is all you need. I put two screws through the neck holes diagonaly from each other to hold the pseudo neck. I would take them out and move them to the other two holes between finishes so there was not build up around the screws and so the area around the holes got finished.

Finishing the control and pickup routes is up to you. I think most people put at least one coat in there to help protect the wood. One is plenty.

The neck pocket does not need to be finished and should probably be left unfinished. Later if you should want to remove the neck there won't be any sticking problems due to the finish sticking to the neck finish.

Overall finishing you may want to incorporate the "French Polish" method. This method can be used with finishes other than laquer and leaves a nice shiny finish that requires less sanding in between coats.

Oh and steel wool. It's good but can leave tiny metal particles behind. You may consider using synthetic steel wool, "Scotchbrite", instead.

Good luck and post some progress pics.

-TT-

 

[dbw]

Thanks for your suggestions, guys!  Pictures will come soon...

 

[dbw]

Another question--- is it necessary (or advisable) to use a sanding sealer before I use the grain filler?  This is the stuff I'll be using: http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=4493

 

[jackthehack]

Sanding sealer goes on TOP of grain filler, usually used before applying toner/lacquer, don't need it under an oil finish

 

[boogie2]

What he said...

I think the sealer would prevent the oil from soaking into the body.
Wouldn't be the effect you're looking for.

Boogie2

 

[confederatewk]

tun oil can only be aplied to a water based stain to do it corectly, and you arent supposed to use filler when u use tung oil

esspecialy on a warmoth body without a transtint dye kinda of stain, you can strait tun oil it, and it will work, all my bodies ive tung oiled right out of the best no sanding nothing, and the finish is super silky and smooth

the tung oil build a surface and after you steel whool it, its soo flat you cant tell if u neded a grain filler or not

and it gives more depth, without grain filler