Finishing with no spray equipment

Peegee

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Hi folks,
I'm new to this forum and to guitar building although my 60 years of DIY and woodworking do mean that I'm not without experience including shellac finishing.
Finishes have been discussed all over the place and I find the amount of information as confusing as it is helpful so I could really use some help here.
The guitar in question is based on a Tele Thinline:- it has a laminated (mahogany, maple and wenge) neck and body with a book matched maple drop top and headstock veneer. Both the drop top and the headstock have plastic binding and are in the process of being stained with a water based colour.
I would like a high gloss finish but I have no spray equipment.
I had thought about using Solarez "I can't believe it's not lacquer" but a number of adverse comments have made me very nervous about this.

So, bearing all this in mind does anyone have a suggestion as to what may suit my project, my "experience" and lack of spraying equiupment please?
Thanks,
PeeGee
 
Thanks for your time Bill - never used it before but I'll research it.
I'd be very interested to hear what results you've achieved.
PeeGee
 
well impressed with that!
I'll be happy if I can get that finish.
I'll let you know how I get on but don't hold your breath - I work kinda slow; but I will get there.
 
After the stain has set use an oil and buff it. Gets pretty shiny. Like tru oil
 
Thanks for that, Rick.
I think I'll steer away from spraying because that seems to be the option that is hardest to get right, and since this is my first effort I probably won't be happy with results.
I have been considering wipe on polyurethane though - have you any experience of this?
 
Thanks for that, Rick.
I think I'll steer away from spraying because that seems to be the option that is hardest to get right, and since this is my first effort I probably won't be happy with results.
I have been considering wipe on polyurethane though - have you any experience of this?
After the stain has set use an oil and buff it. Gets pretty shiny. Like tru oil
Thanks for that, Rick.
I think I'll steer away from spraying because that seems to be the option that is hardest to get right, and since this is my first effort I probably won't be happy with results.
I have been considering wipe on polyurethane though - have you any experience of this?
 
The thing with finishes is, regardless of the medium, to do a good job requires preparation and patience. Whether you use spray cans, wipe on poly, tru-oil, Danish oil or some other type, I would suggest you get some scrap wood and practice your techniques with the medium of choice before committing to using it on a body if you do not feel confident.

For Spray can finish StewMac has about three videos on their YouTube channel showing how to go about it.
 
I did a spray can nitro finish on my single cut build. It was a lot of work and I screwed it up pretty bad the first time and had to sand back and start again. However it did eventually come out awesome!

If you go that route make sure that you have a low humidity environment to spray in! That can be outdoors, but the weather has to agree with your plans. Here in Florida I had to be very selective about when I sprayed.

Also for the final polishing I used a 4in rotary polisher (for detailing cars) that I got on Amazon which got me a high shine finish without the massive effort of doing it by hand. (y)
 
The thing with finishes is, regardless of the medium, to do a good job requires preparation and patience. Whether you use spray cans, wipe on poly, tru-oil, Danish oil or some other type, I would suggest you get some scrap wood and practice your techniques with the medium of choice before committing to using it on a body if you do not feel confident.

For Spray can finish StewMac has about three videos on their YouTube channel showing how to go about it.
Thanks Stratomania. I'd already picked up on the intensive prepping and sanding before I start and I have a number of offcuts from the build to use as test pieces - but I'll also practice my technique ( or lack of it) on other scrap pieces.
Thanks for your help and advice
Peegee
 
I did a spray can nitro finish on my single cut build. It was a lot of work and I screwed it up pretty bad the first time and had to sand back and start again. However it did eventually come out awesome!

If you go that route make sure that you have a low humidity environment to spray in! That can be outdoors, but the weather has to agree with your plans. Here in Florida I had to be very selective about when I sprayed.

Also for the final polishing I used a 4in rotary polisher (for detailing cars) that I got on Amazon which got me a high shine finish without the massive effort of doing it by hand. (y)
Thanks for your time and response Ragamuffin - I've decided not to go down the spray route and have opted for a wipe-on polyurethane finish - but that still needs polish ingredients and buffing and I have a 7" rotary car buffer ready. What polishing medium did you use please?
 
Thanks for your time and response Ragamuffin - I've decided not to go down the spray route and have opted for a wipe-on polyurethane finish - but that still needs polish ingredients and buffing and I have a 7" rotary car buffer ready. What polishing medium did you use please?
I used Stewmac's "Fine" and "Swirl Remover" compounds. I'm sure there's a more economical option, but I went with those for predictability
 
Now that we're bros in the south, and I can identify with this. Up in the PNW I never gave it a lot of thought. Down in Georgia....it's all I think about. LOL.

I used Stewmac's "Fine" and "Swirl Remover" compounds. I'm sure there's a more economical option, but I went with those for predictability
Thanks, that's a great help.
I live in France so Stewmac stuff is too expensive for me with the shipping costs but I'm sure I'll be able to get an equivalent over here.
Thanks again for your time.
 
@Peegee if you live in France, this thread will be useful to you.


Also check the Welcome to the forum link in my signature which has lots of links to other threads and information.
 
@Peegee if you live in France, this thread will be useful to you.


Also check the Welcome to the forum link in my signature which has lots of links to other threads and information.

@Peegee if you live in France, this thread will be useful to you.


Also check the Welcome to the forum link in my signature which has lots of links to other threads and information.
You're so right. Most of yhe stuff I'd like to buy is US made so being able to source in France is brilliant.
Thanks again and you have a good day!
 
Oil is easiest, can be built to gloss but its a LOT of work to get it there.

I tried shellac but was never happy with wiping. I just couldn't get any build without blowing through sanding until I started spraying it.
 
I'm in the midst of a spray can finish and so far it's been time consuming but looks great.

This is what 8 coats of clear spray shellac look like on a Swamp Ash body.

No stain. No grain filler. Took one can and just a little bit of another.

Sanded lightly between each coat with 1000 grit paper soaked in water with a few drops of dish soap as a lubricant.

With each coat the color keeps deepening and looking more even.

I'm going to let it sit now or a few days and then spray it with StewMac gloss lacquer.

You might wonder what is keeping the guitar from rubbing on the closet door. There's an apple stuck in the tremolo cavity that's keeping it off of the door.


Here's a mock up with the parts laying on the guitar body just to get a feel for what it'll look like completed.

 
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