Minwax walnut stain + tru oil finish on tele.

[vestige]

Okay, so here is where this guitar is currently at. I've just stained the body and neck with minwax water based wipe on walnut today. The first coat went on like a charm. I waited over an hour and then applied the second coat, although the second coat made it bit more streaky/uneven depending on the angle you're looking on. It doesn't so much appear to be sinking in more in some areas, it is more like I didn't wipe off the excess evenly or something, and it dried too quickly. (almost like a build up of paint) It could be that the humidity here today made the undercoat take longer to dry or something too, which made the first coat sticky still?...

It's not too bad, but I'd prefer that it was more even overall. Can I sand the top to even out the stain? If so, what grit should I be using?

And what would the steps be from now till finishing with tru oil?

 

[stubhead]

In looking at your naptha-fueled picture (your post 17) because of the symmetry of the "blotches", I swear I'm looking at flame or quilt or whatever you call it - most people try to emphasize it, not hide it?

 

[vestige]

You're exactly right, as I've now come to realise, it is some sort of quilt or flame.

The odd thing is though, it only started coming out the more I sanded. And it also is only apparent in some areas when looking front on, but when you walk around the guitar and see it from different angles you can see that it is all over the wood. It is way more subtle than any quilt I've seen, but that being said, I have very little experience in these matters.

Any feedback or advice on where I should take it next?

 

[stephenm]

I wish i had seen this earlier, i recently finished a couple of walnut guitars. one with tru oil, and the other with tung oil and the difference between the two is astounding. you'd barely think they were the same wood, and they were cut out of the same board.  i like the look and feel of the tung oil. it was incredibly easy to put on also.

i realize i'm a little to late to give any useful input, but maybe someone in the future will find this helpful in some way

here are a pic of each of the guitars so you get an idea.

 

[AutoBat]

i'd keep the bottom one (change to a plain pickguard) and toss the top one in the fireplace.

 

[DangerousR6]

Top one looks better to me, I prefer the matte wood finishes over the gloss. Plus the tung oil did more to enhance the grain of the wood than tru oil did..

 

[vestige]

i'd keep the bottom one (change to a plain pickguard) and toss the top one in the fireplace.

haha wow, that's constructive.

I think the tung oil one looks better personally, but you've done an amazing job on both. I'd prefer to get a less glossy finish than yours with the tru oil, but it seems obvious that the tru oiled one is much better protected. Did you do anything in particular to get it glossy that I should avoid?

So progress wise... I sanded the top down with 320 and restained it, doing only one coat this time. The neck got a second coat though, as I had roughed up the curve where the headstock starts.

What I have learnt with this minxwax wipe on stain is that it is much better to do it in a single coat if possible, and not leave it on for very long. The directions say you can leave it on for up to 15 minutes for a darker finish, but I find that it starts to dry too much by that stage. I think it's much better if you wipe a coat on and wipe it off almost immediately.

Also, when you wipe off the excess you have to wipe in the direction of the grain with heaps of pressure, to make sure you get all of the residue off and so that you don't get build up in areas.

It could be the high humidity here (in Queensland, Australia) but it seems to start drying really quickly, hence the pressure required to get off the parts that had started to harden, for lack of a better description.

I had to buy the tru oil from a gun shop online (we have very few gunshops around since the 1996 gun laws came in here) but its coming in the mail now.

The plan is to do a couple of thicker coats, letting the wood soak it up. I'll then steel wool with 0000 (once it appears that there is enough tru oil that I wont damage the stain) very lightly between coats. The plan is to do about 8 coats in total.

Is this sounding about right?

Also, I got a bareknuckle nailbomb in black with black screws to go in this guitar. They are incredibly fast. I ordered on Saturday, and even with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee yesterday, the pickup has already shipped today. BKP have absolutely impeccable service if you guys are ever considering buying from them.

Thanks again for the replies - I acknowledge that I have asked just about every noob question so far. I promise that I've been reading as much as possible before hand. I have to say though, guitar finishing is an extremely confusing and contentious topic haha.

 

[vestige]

6 coats of tru oil down, lightly wiping with 0000 steel wool in between coats.

It is coming along nicely. Starting to get that nice depth to it. Particularly on the body.

I'm not really sure what to do at the end though. I'll do 8 to 10 coats in total. Then I might just give it a bit more steel wool to try and get it to be more satin than glossy.

Again, please excuse iPhone quality photos. The shots I took of the body are terrible on account of the lack of light indoors.

 

[fdesalvo]

I used Stewart McDonald's Ebony fretboard stain on the body then sanded to get the look I wanted....which happened to be old, worn and weathered.

This is the first time I've seen your bridge in a context where I like it.  In fact - I LOVE the weathered look of it.  It would make a great piece on a WWII themed axe.  Digging it!

 

[vestige]

I think the finishing might be complete.

I did 12 coats and it got quite glossy, but the intention was always for a satin finish so I've sanded with steel wool. I found that the final steel wooling got rid of any of the wiping lines that were present. It would be somewhat more difficult if you wanted a gloss finish.

I'm pretty happy with how it has turned out for an absolute beginner.

Thanks for the help dudes!

 

[DangerousR6]

Very classy and simple at the same time... :headbang1:

 

[vestige]

Thanks dude. Next step is all black hardware. I think I've got to let it cure for about a week first though.

Also, this badboy arrived today:

 

[Cagey]

That came out really nice! Lotta work, though, right? Wanna do it again? <grin>

 

[vestige]

Funnily enough I've spent a good part of the afternoon trawling Warmoth hahahah I'm clearly a masochist.

It gives me absolutely immense respect for the guys on here who do amazing finishes.

I think next I want to do a les paul, although it seems much more expensive and there appears to be much fewer options on Warmoth for that. I'd love to try proper dyes as well. Or maybe just a really dark veneer (as this one was meant to be) and just go straight to tru oil without any other stuffing around.

The tru oil part of this guitar was, funnily enough, the easiest part. Maybe that's because I finally had things figured out by that stage.

 

[stubhead]

In looking at the "Tung oil vs, Tru-oil" shootout, I'm pretty sure process had something to do with the differences between the two, because the products are, umm, pretty similar. Although there are a number of different "tung oils" out there, pure raw tung oil doesn't actually harden at all. I'll be dicking with my Tru-oil, thinning it with mineral spirits and/or naptha, slowing it down (possibly) with olive oil... still, I just want a brown guitar, and I have a walnut board, so...  :icon_scratch: I'm going to fiddle with taking the filler/sanding stages toward RED too, but if the fudger starts turning PINK you can believe the black's coming out! I've got about four projects all waiting on the ONE LAST PART so...

 

[ZionWarmoth]

In looking at the "Tung oil vs, Tru-oil" shootout, I'm pretty sure process had something to do with the differences between the two, because the products are, umm, pretty similar. Although there are a number of different "tung oils" out there, pure raw tung oil doesn't actually harden at all. I'll be dicking with my Tru-oil, thinning it with mineral spirits and/or naptha, slowing it down (possibly) with olive oil... still, I just want a brown guitar, and I have a walnut board, so...  :icon_scratch: I'm going to fiddle with taking the filler/sanding stages toward RED too, but if the fricker starts turning PINK you can believe the black's coming out! I've got about four projects all waiting on the ONE LAST PART so...

sounds very interesting, please post pics. Thanks.♫

 

[tylereot]

Thanks so much for this thread, Vestige (and all y'all who had great answers for him).
I'm looking forward to my first Warmoth build, and I'm learning from other's mistakes (and successes!). 
My dining room set is all 1920s deco walnut from France, and I'm a walnut nut.  I can see how the veneer on the top of this guitar kinda threw you for a loop.  It's got some flame, but not enough to really evenly bring out.  It's got some color, but you've enhanced it a lot with the staining process.  So much depends upon what the tree gives you to work with, and unless you pick your woods, Warmoth tells you what the tree will give you.
My incoming project will have a koa top on a chambered ash body.  Should be a challenge!
ccasion14:

 

[Tweed]

That's incredible.
Wood is the best color.
:icon_biggrin:

 

[stubhead]

I like wood guitars for my own self. I can admire from afar some zingy finishes - and say what you will about this or that, but Gibson can still crank out a lovely range of Les Paul bursts. But when I see the really cool 'gatorbursts or hotrod flames and skull knobs, I wonder if there are certain kinds of music you're just not allowed to play on them. Skulls and fangs and claws and the Beatles, oh-oh. I would be scared to wake up in the middle of the night with one of those things in the corner, vibing at me.

Addendumdedum:

I think I've got to let it cure for about a week first though.

I can't find it now, but somebody had posted on the Project Guitar site about a nitro'd guitar that seemed cured "enough." The guy put it in a brand new, supernice, plush-lined case, you know, the $200 ones that look like fur. Then he got busy or went away for a few weeks or something. He got home "Whee! I'm gonna play my new guitar for 18 hours straight!" But - he flipped all the latches, but the case wouldn't open. He pulled harder, it opened an inch... a little puff of nitro crawled up his nostrils... he pulled harder... well, it's too gruesome to recount any more.

Rule: if you can still smell it, it's still curing. At some point, you can make a judgement call. But...

 

[rapfohl09]

Wow, this is going to look really, REALLY good. Nice job man!