Poplar body: Dye and Finish questions

[zebra]

Hello,

I'm looking to dye and finish a Poplar body I stripped.
My inspiration for this is Fretless's green Poplar Strat found below:

http://unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=21915.msg324162#msg324162

I plan on dyeing with J.E. Moser (probably water-based) aniline dye, then finishing with either Minwax Poly Wipe-on, or Tru-Oil followed by Carnuba.

A couple quick questions:

1) To what grit should I sand the body before dyeing?  I have it sanded to 150 so far.  Doing more sanding than necessary won't hurt, it would just be a waste of time and sandpaper. 

2) Should I sand between applications of dye? (I realize that water and alcohol would react differently with the wood, so the answer may be different for each). 

3)

Should I sand between the coats of:
        - Minwax Wipe-on?
        - Tru-Oil?
        - Carnuba?

        * If so, using what (sandpaper of what grit, steel wool, tack cloth, etc.)

 

[zebra]

A couple other questions:

1) How many coats of each?

2) If I go the Minwax Wipe-on, should I do Carnuba over it, or is that only when using Tru-Oil?

I've attached some progress pics.

Thanks for any advice / suggestions!

 

[croquet hoop]

1) To what grit should I sand the body before dyeing?  I have it sanded to 150 so far.  Doing more sanding than necessary won't hurt, it would just be a waste of time and sandpaper. 

Raw Warmoth bodies are sanded down to 220, you could go up to 320 or 400 if you want but I don't think you need to.

2) Should I sand between applications of dye? (I realize that water and alcohol would react differently with the wood, so the answer may be different for each).

Water will raise the fibers of the wood, so you'll need to sand after exposing the wood to it. That won't happen with alcohol.

Should I sand between the coats of:
        - Minwax Wipe-on?
        - Tru-Oil?
        - Carnuba?

        * If so, using what (sandpaper of what grit, steel wool, tack cloth, etc.)

Not sure about Minwax but I'm sure someone will chime on soon. If you apply Tru-oil in very thin coats, you shouldn't have to sand — also remember that succesive layers won't melt in each other, so if you are too agressive when sanding TO, witness lines may appear. If you really want to sand between coats, I'd recommend just a light scuff-sanding every 2 or 3 coats with an abrasive sponge (the grey one from 3M is what's generally used).

 

[line6man]

That wood looks rough. I would sand it smooth first, then focus on preparing for finishing work. In any case, 150 is rather coarse. As mentioned, Warmoth sands to 220 before shipping.

 

[KDC1956]

If you use minwax water base stain then do not sand in between coats it will tel you this on the can hope this helps. :toothy11: