Hey everyone. I'm just about set to get started on my first project. Its a chambered Lacewood jazz bass body. I'm planning to do a stewmac colortone red stain, then finish it with the stew mac Nitro clear laquer to get a nice glossy finish. I'm just unsure before i get started if lacewood needs grain filler or not. I can see really small little indentations, but its nothing like ash where they're deep groves. I have spent a better part of a few months reading this site and trying to learn as much as i can and think i have most of the basics down. Im not expecting to do a great job on my first one but im hopeful i can do a good enough job and learn alot along the way. Any last minute advice for dealing with this kind of wood would be great as i haven't been able to find too much.
Lacewood body
- Thread starter Antares
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Cagey
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I've never worked with it, so I went looking around the 'net to see what I could find, and the general consensus seems to be that whether or not you grain fill depends on how level a surface you want, as it's not inherently smooth like maple. But, it's not as open as mahogany or walnut, so it's a toss-up. One guy thought you could get away with several coats of sanding sealer, levelling with 320 grit between coats. Another said grain filler and sanding sealer. Both were putting on gloss nitro. Others claim you can get a glossy finish, but it'll have a slightly coarse orange-peel feel to it. Others just oiled it and called it good.
I like a glossy finish, but I like it very level. To me, if it's gonna be glossy, it should look like wet glass. So, I guess if I was doing it, I'd get some clear grain filler and do two or three coats of that, sanding between each coat, then a couple layers of sanding sealer levelled out after each before applying any lacquer.
I like a glossy finish, but I like it very level. To me, if it's gonna be glossy, it should look like wet glass. So, I guess if I was doing it, I'd get some clear grain filler and do two or three coats of that, sanding between each coat, then a couple layers of sanding sealer levelled out after each before applying any lacquer.
Tonar8352
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Without seeing the wood it is hard to give you real accurate advise so I suggest that you get it dyed first and take some clear pictures of it so we can get a good look at the surface. Once we see what it looks like at that point we will be able to give you the best option to move forward.
