First Ever Warmoth Project - Progress Made....

[Maka491]

Hello and thank you for taking the time to read this post,

I have just received my very first Warmoth Parts to put together a Tele/Strat type body and neck. I would appreciate some advice on the body finish. The specs are:

1-Piece Swamp-Ash
Tele Body with contoured front and back
Strat Routing for 3 Strat single coils

I am aiming for a natural, simple finish that will achieve two things:
1. Bring out the character of the grain without the need for colouring.
2. 'Breath' as much as possible while giving the wood a basic level of protection. The aim to have a instrument that is focused more on Tone, rather than looks.

I have read quite a bit about oil finishes like Tung and Tru oils, however I am seeing slightly contradictory posts on whether these are ideal or not for Swamp Ash.

Can anyone kindly clarify this for me as well as maybe advise on what and how to apply a finish?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Scuffcakes]

Welcome.  You'll get lots of great advice from some guys who are way better at finishing than they'd admit but I'll get the ball rolling.  The first step for Swamp Ash is grain filling.  Read everything you can about grain filling to start.  Do a search on this forum for "Grain Filling Swamp Ash" and you'll find lots of great info.  Good luck with your new project and remember to post pics for everybody.

 

[AutoBat]

Tru-oil is an excellent solution for finishing the neck. You may choose to use if for your body as well (after grainfilling and all the other steps that requires).
I don't think your wood is worried too much about breathing anymore, it's slightly disconnected from the earth now, but protection can be quite useful.

 

[Maka491]

Thanks for the replies so far.

Can I use tung oil to 'grain-fill'? If not, what can I use? This will be a DIY project and although its my first, I am quite confident with this kind of thing having worked on customised car body parts/kits.

The body wont be sprayed but I want the grain to show through. As Scuffcakes advised I am also doing some research through the boards here, but if you do find a good relative topic, please feel free to point me towards it.

Thanks again,

 

[Cagey]

Tung oil will grain fill, as will any finish given enough of it. But, usually, one uses a grain filling product to keep the finishing time/effort down to reasonable level. If you're not interested in any coloration, you can get fillers that match the wood's natural color, or for even less influence there are "neutral" fillers such as this Timbermate product.

There are a lot of YouTube videos where they show how fillers are used. This guy uses drywall compound rather than a commercial grain filler, but the process is the same.

After that, the simplest finish is probably one of the polymerized oils. They produce a hard finish, but can be hand-applied and levelled/polished to the point where you have a pretty fine result that doesn't look like a basement project. It's probably the least robust finish you can apply, but for apartment dwellers or those who don't have access to spray equipment, it's a viable alternative.

It won't "breathe", though. I'm not aware of any finish that does. Actually, one of the points of a finish is to prevent that. Besides, there's no reason you'd want it to, regardless of what you hear from some of the more over-zealous fanatics.

 

[Maka491]

Hi Cagey,

Thanks for the help. What I meant by breathe was that I didnt want to use too many materials on the body. The reason is that raw instruments sound better to my ears as do lighter ones. But hey, that applies to my ears only and I can understand if others hear other things ;-)

So far I think this is what I will do so please comment or correct me if I am wrong:

1. Use natural grain filler and sand back
2. Apply 4-6 coats of Tung-Oil with a dash of dye
3. Play some SRV-style Blues - lol

 

[Cagey]

You'll probably want to seal the wood before you fill the grain, or you'll end up grain-filling more than you want/need to. Also, if you want any coloration at all, you'll probably want to stain it before you start oiling. Then, if you want a nice, smooth finish, you'll need to sand between coats of oil. Something finer, like a 320 grit, just to knock the tops off things. Once you're comfortable with the thickness, you can start with some finer papers to get the show finish.

I'm not an oil guy, so I can't get into too much detail. I suspect the time between coats is longer than it is for lacquer. You always want things to be pretty hard before you sand on them. I'm sure it also depends on how fine a finish you want. I've seen a couple oil finishes here that were unbelievable, but I think those guys spent half their lives getting them there. Maybe somebody else will pipe up who has more experience.

 

[Tonar8352]

I'm doing a step-by-step thread on grain filling right now so you can watch it .
Here is the link.
http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=20976.0

 

[Maka491]

Thank you Cagey and Tonar.

I am really liking these boards. Everyone is so helpful and friendly  :icon_smile:

Cagey you previously mentioned sealing the body before grain filling. Can you please clarify this? What should I use to seal it?

Thanks again for your kind help and patience.

Regards,

Sam

 

[Cagey]

There are a couple different ways you can do it. One would be to use a sanding sealer such as this Seagrave product. Another would be to apply a "wash coat" of finish. Usually, this is just a light coat of lacquer or shellac that's been thinned about 50%.

Wash coats are easier, of course. But, sealers usually have more solids in them so you can do some finish building prior to the money shots. One way to choose would be to base it on the wood. If you're shooting something like Alder that doesn't particularly need grain filling, the sealer is probably the better way to go. You'll get a nice flat surface right off the bat. With more open-grained woods such as Mahogany, Ash, Limba, etc. that you're going to have to grain fill no matter what, a wash coat is probably the better choice.

 

[Maka491]

Thanks again guys,

What do you suggest I use to achieve a satin feel for the back of the neck? Its birds-eye maple with a Rosewood fretboard.

 

[bagman67]

Satin lacquer?  If you're using a spraygun or a preval, there are flattening agents you can mix in  - or you can just use a satin-sheen rattle-can lacquer.  Or scuff up a gloss lacquer with steel wool or scotchbrite pads.  Or do the same with Tru-oil.


Alternately, tung oil (see, e.g., Carvin necks) makes for a very nice satin finish.

 

[Maka491]

Thanks Bagman.

I think I will go with Tung Oil although the Warmoth Warranty says no oils.

 

[Maka491]

So here I am a few days later and I have started on the project. As this is a similar to Tonars project on Fermandos guitar (both as Swamp ash), I am following that thread http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=20976.0 and then replicating with my own build.

So the fun in this is that I follow Tonars progress and learn how to work with wood.I should mention here that I do have extensive experience with sanding, filling etc... from my previous work customising car body kits. This is though my first time treating wood, so I have a bit to learn especially about treating materials.

So here goes....

1. Sanded back with 240 and 320 to smooth out any initial rough imperfections in the wood. Once done I used an air-gun to blow clean then used a mild spirit/acetone to wipe down.

2. Once dry I blown out again and then applied natural colour grain filler going with the grain.

3. Wipe down any excess with a rough cloth to remove all the excess filler. Do this against the grain as opposed to with the grain from previous step.

4. Repeat Process above on back and sides.
5. I used a weeding tool to remove the grain filler from the holes but as Tonar pointed you could use a toothpick.

6. Left to dry in a room temperature environment for a couple of days before I go back and repeat.


Now that I've started, I am very excited about progressing and finishing my very first W. I will keep you updated with pics etc.
:rock-on:

 

[Scuffcakes]

Just take your time and follow the great examples others here have set and I think you're gonna end up with an impressive result.  Looking great so far.

 

[Maka491]

Thanks Scuffcakes.

As this is my first build I will take it slow and do a satin finish with no special effects like Bursts etc..

I can see why others get hooked to building their own guitars. Its addictive and I'm sure the whole process makes it an even bigger pleasure to play the instrument when finished.

 

[Maka491]

While I wait for the second coat of grain filler to dry I thought I'd work on the neck.....

Rosewood fretboard masked up and maple sanded with 600 Grit

Rearview of the Birdseye Maple. This neck attracted me for the almost flame with birdseye spots, and the dark chocolatey Indian Rosewood. The reversed headstock is a bonus. I play 11s and 12s with a lot of bending so the 'shorter scale' of the top 3 strings with Flat E tuning makes it harder for my fingers to go to bits. Plus it give it a Hendrix vibe and looks cool!

Apologies for the lesser quality pics as I only had my iPhone at the time.

 

[Ddbltrbl]

Thanks Bagman.

I think I will go with Tung Oil although the Warmoth Warranty says no oils.

You should consider Tru-Oil versus Tung oil for this. I have used both and much prefer Tru-Oil.

Also, per Wyliee,

Hey Gregg, does Tru-Oil satisfy Warmoth's warranty requirements for necks, or not?  As CB always says, it's not really oil...

A properly applied Tru-Oil finish does satisfy our warranty requirements.

 

[Scotty2Hotty]

Loving the birdseye neck  :toothy10:

 

[Maka491]

Ah brilliant.

I have some Tru-Oil here so will do that instead.

Thanks for the tip!