How does this sound?

[arjepsen]

Just got my body and neck.
Neck is canary with ebony fingerboard, and body is swamp ash with canary top.

Ok, my first quiestion is: Do warmoth give the necks some minor finish?
I ordered it unfinished, but when I compare it to the body-top, it looks like it's been given something that makes the colors stand out better. (check out the pics attached).

My idea is to somehow try to make the swamp ash resemble the coloring of the neck, and finish the body off with tung oil, since I've read so much about it in here. I'm thinking about going with Behlen products, since I live in Europe, and so it's cheaper to get that from UK, instead of using stew-mac.

So how does this procedure sound:
(back - swamp ash)
Grain fill 2-3 times with Behlen waterbased grainfiller (mahogany color) - sanding with 320 between (400+ after).
Then color it with Behlen light brown mahogany "solar lux stain". (or maybe lemon yellow??)
And as mentioned finish it off with a good many coats of tung oil.

Let me know what you think.

Here's a few pics of the neck and body.

 

[arjepsen]

Anyone?

 

[JaySwear]

wow! i don't know how i missed this, but i love top routed strats. that is extremely cool :icon_thumright:

 

[m4rk0]

Fantastic!! I love the Canary theme! and is something I have considered many times myself (there was a canary topped body in the showcase for months, probably over 2 years ago, that went very cheap)

on the finishing, I am not sure if the mahogany filler will mess a lot with the grain of the canary. I once used a mahogany filler that was actually pepto purple..  I think it was behlen, but not sure.
Before you use a stain, remember that just an oil finish will bring out a lot of colors in the canary that you won't see now. I once finished just the face of Luke's Canary neck with Tru Oil, which turned out fantastic!
you may want to slap on some naphta, so you will get an idea how it will look with just an oil finish.

 

[m4rk0]

oops, maybe I was reading it wrong.. so you just want to stain the swamp ash, not the top?

in regards to that, I personally like it, especially with exotic woods,when there is a contrast between neck and body, but that is just personal preference
it may look worse if you try to match it, and it is off just a little.

 

[-CB-]

I think I'd do a different thing...

Use a light brown filler, then try some very pale - and I mean VERY pale - amber on the body.  Then do the tung oil.  Alternately, try the "dark " tung oil.

 

[arjepsen]

Thanks for the replies
If I could, I would just buy a lot of ash scraps, and try the different products... but ash scraps are pretty hard or expensive to come by in denmark, and I don't have the funds to buy all the different colors to try them out...
So I have to turn to you guys  :icon_biggrin:


Marko:
Yeah, I want to keep the coloring of the canary top
I think mineral spirits is just as good as naphta to check out the coloring right?

CB:
a few questions:
Why light brown filler, and pale amber? Do you think it would be closer to the neck colors?
I would like to use Behlen products, since I can get them in Europe, and so I don't have to pay extra in tax and transport. But I think the Behlen only has Clear, Brown and Mahogany colored grain filler.....
My thought was to use the mahogany to try and match the grain with the red-ish grain in the neck.... and then maybe brown or red mahogany stain (or yellow).
But I don't have any experience in how these products would end up looking....
Which of the Behlen products would you use?
(and... uh... what do you mean by "dark" tung oil.....???)

Again, thanks for the help so far.

 

[-CB-]

CB:
a few questions:
Why light brown filler, and pale amber? Do you think it would be closer to the neck colors?

Yes.  You might find that the "clear" is actually a very light tan wood color.  You can mix that with, say, brown, to achieve a very light color.  I dont think you want to over do the "coloring" via the filler, if you want to be close to the neck look.  Clear alone, followed by amber might be just fine.

100 percent pure tung oil comes in "light amber" and "dark amber"  - the dark one may be a better choice, sort of naturally darkening the ash.  It looks dark in the can, but its really very light when its applied as a coating.

 

[arjepsen]

Ah ok.... so maybe a slight mix of clear and colored filler. I still wonder about the brown vs. red mahogany...
When I look at the neck, I'd say the darker grain patterns look more reddish than brown... but I don't have your experience...  :toothy11:

I'm not too familiar with "amber"... would you mind taking a look at this chart:
https://www9.securelybuy.com/behlen/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/colourcharts.jpg
and tell me which one you would suggest for the stain?

 

[bagman67]

That link only gives a thumbnail of the color chart.

Here's a more readable one for Behlen Solar-Lux stains:  http://www.woodworkingshop.com/001c/html/cc_solar_lux.htm

 

[-CB-]

That "fruitwood" color seems close...but you're going to have to be the final judge on that.  After looking again on the neck and body... I'd go clear filler, fruitwood stain

You're never going to get it "exact" just like you can never make pine look like mahogany or walnut or cherry... they're all different woods.

What you want is a pleasing co-existence of color, or perhaps a pleasing contrast of colors.  Some contrast might be better at times, no?

 

[arjepsen]

Yeah, I know it's never going to look exactly the same. Pleasing co-existance is what i'm trying to do
pleasing contrast might not be bad either, but I wouldn't know where to go with that. I like the contrast in the "whiteness" the ash has right now, but I also know that will change when it get's the tung Oil. Actally i did see some posts in here, where ash was treated in some way in order to retain that whiteness, but I also feel that the result (to me) seemed to have lost the natural contrast in the grain in the ash, and I think I would find your suggestions here might retain that natural grain contrast better. (or maybe I'm just rambling away because I woke up at 5:00 in the morning...)  :tard:
Again a big thank for your help!!!