Grain filling alder?

[gdgross]

Hey guys, finishing a second body for my main strat sometime soon.

The strat currently has an ash body with a usacg maple/RW neck. It's a Floyd setup w locking nut and the whole 9 yards. I've felt this guitar was a bit on the bright side, so I bought a new warmoth ash body to try. I'll finish it and sell whichever body I like less.

On the ash body, which is on the guitar now, and a warmoth body, I did a translucent butterscotch blonde finish, and I really love the look of it. Did grain filling, etc and it really looks great.

I'd like to try and achieve something similar on the new alder body. Question is how feasible is this? I've already got the body, and the grain doesn't have manyplace sfor grain filler to fill up... Any ideas how to get alder grain to pop underneath a translucent finish?

In the past I've stained the whole body with a dark stain, then sanded down a bit to expose some lighter wood, leaving the dark stain in the valleys. But that was on an ash body which has more hills and valleys to play with. Would this work on alder? Seems like its my best shot...

 

[bagman67]

One of the advantages alder confers on the intrepid wood finisher is that it doesn't require filling because of its tight-pored structure.  This makes a smooth, glossy finish easier to obtain with a whole lot less swearing.  But that tight grain and comparatively uniform coloration means alder is not generally looked at as a great choice for clear-finished bodies.  In short, if you want an alder body with interesting grain, your best bet is probably to start with a body that has interesting grain when it's not finished.  There just isn't very far you can go from the original object.


Now you could try staining or dying the body with black or some other dark shade and then sanding back, but I wouldn't expect awesome results.

 

[Cagey]

What he said.

Alder generally gets an opaque finish. It's fast and easy and good and difficult to improve upon.

 

[gdgross]

Thanks guys - I know it's barking up a hard tree but I just love the look o that butterscotch ash strat body! Heh. I think I'll try staining and sanding down a bit - have nothing to lose other than my time I guess.

I know it won't look like my ash body, but I am hoping for SOME kind of grain showing through the finish...

 

[gdgross]

Here's a pic of a tom anderson butterscotch with alder - wonder how they did it?

 

[Cagey]

You're right. Wood can be funny stuff. I've got an old Warmoth "VIP" body here with a curly Maple top on a Mahogany body that just defied a fancy finish. Busted my ass on that thing, as did the previous owner. Ended up shooting it with an opaque cream and covering it. Damned thing just wouldn't suit up. On the other hand, I've got an Alder "Velocity" body in the house similar to this...

...with an Alder body that's just gorgeous. Lotsa grain exposure, which is unusual in Alder.

So? Knock yourself out. Worst thing that can happen is you have to finish it twice.

 

[gdgross]

Yeah, that's kinda how I'm leaning.
It'll just cost me my own time and a can of finish if I screw it up

 

[Cagey]

If you're careful and patient, you won't screw it up. But, you may not be impressed with the results. That's the hard part to take, due to the amount of work you have to do. Finishes aren't easy. Still, it should be obvious early on if you're wasting your time or not, so you can change direction without shedding too many tears.

 

[croquet hoop]

Here's a pic of a tom anderson butterscotch with alder - wonder how they did it?

Tinted lacquer, I guess. Given the fact that alder does not always takes stains uniformly (search for "alder blotchy stain"), it seems safer to shoot the alder body with a wash coat (to get a perfectly flat surface) then with tinted lacquer.

 

[fdesalvo]

I have an alder G&L Legacy with a nice burst finish on it.  A decent slabba Alder does the warm bursty thing like nobody's business. 

 

[dmraco]

No grain fill.  It will not not do anything.  You will sand 99% of it off.  I usually shellac and sand before the nitro goes on to fill any grain that may not be flat.  I only started doing this because if think it leads to less final sanding. 

Like previously mentioned, it is highly dependent on the slab of wood you get.  Some Alder can be more figured than others.

Here is an alder burst I did.  Still wet on the stick and before final clear and buff.

 

[s1player]

The alder back on the guitar pictured really needed grain filler. As a rookie - I didn't use it. But, guy shooting clear had to do many, many coats to get it to fill in.

So, I suggest going by the piece of wood itself. If you start finishing sanding and you still have deeper spots, you may need grain filler on the particular piece of alder.