Roasted Swamp Ash body, roasted flamed maple neck

[wlburnettejr]

Hi, new member doing my first full build. I put a Warmoth neck on a Squier Tele custom body, but this is the first time I've purchased and will finish a body. I went with a roasted swamp ash showcase body and roasted flamed maple neck, and the grain is beautiful on both. It's a hardtail because I hate dealing with tremolos.
When I ordered it I was thinking I would just wipe some poly on the body, but after finding this forum and doing some research, I see I will have to fill the grain. Oh well, live and learn!

 

[stratamania]

Welcome to the forum and good luck with your build.

 

[rgand]

That's some nice grain in that body. Good grab, I'm looking forward to your progress. Welcome to the forum.

 

[BigSteve22]

Welcome! Gotta agree with Rgand, that's some fine looking lumber. Good luck with your build, keep us posted, don't be afraid to ask questions. :icon_thumright:

 

[Tweed]

I. AM. INTO. IT.

 

[wlburnettejr]

Thanks guys- as soon as I get finished with my wife's sewing cabinet I can start on it.

 

[wlburnettejr]

Anyone ever heard of this stuff? After doing a ton of research, I thought this would probably work well since I want to wipe on poly. That's how I usually do table tops and have had great results- of course I don't have to fill those... I read that normal filler could be pulled out of the grain when wiping.

https://www.solarez.com/product/i-cant-believe-its-not-lacquer-g-copy/

 

[Cagey]

That's a new one on me. Sounds interesting.

 

[Toulouse_Tuhles]

From their website

• No Shellac Odor! No Dangerous Fumes!
• Cleans Up with acetone

No shellac odor?  Shellac smells like flowery alcohol, a strange liquor perhaps.  But hell, it cleans up with acetone, which is the primary ingredient (and sub for) lacquer thinner.
That seems a little dodgy advertising to me.
Colored fillers are nice on ash.  Be aware that the grain in ash is more like canyons, not grain!  Grain filler tends to shrink in a bit, so if you go for convention fillers, be prepared for two or three sessions, plus some spot fills on the really deep grain.  HINT:  Those promotion cards (plastic, like a credit card) at Shell stations work great for fillers.  I've used the StewMac brown and black, and I'm thinking the black might be nicer on the roasted ash.  If you want a poly finish, I've never used it on a guitar, but have used it on furniture, and gunstocks.... there is a super fast dry type of clear (very very light amber) poly at Home Depot.  I think its MinWax brand.  Poly comes in flavors of drying time from "regular" (slow) to "super" to "ultra".  The super works pretty well, and I was able to be totally dry, with multiple coats in one day, including some scuff sanding between coats, and final coat later in the evening.  Next day it was cured totally, and ready to go... on the counter top this computer is on.  Its held up pretty well too. 

 

[Cagey]

I can't find a pic right now, but like Mahogany, roasted Swamp Ash changes appearance pretty dramatically on its own with a clear coat. Sort of a root beer shade, but not as dark. Very attractive.

 

[wlburnettejr]

I can't find a pic right now, but like Mahogany, roasted Swamp Ash changes appearance pretty dramatically on its own with a clear coat. Sort of a root beer shade, but not as dark. Very attractive.

Cool- that's what I'm looking for. I'd like for the body to be darker than the neck. However, since this stuff is a resin, I'm concerned it may not give that effect... hmm, decisions, decisions.

 

[wlburnettejr]

From their website

• No Shellac Odor! No Dangerous Fumes!
• Cleans Up with acetone

No shellac odor?  Shellac smells like flowery alcohol, a strange liquor perhaps.  But hell, it cleans up with acetone, which is the primary ingredient (and sub for) lacquer thinner.
That seems a little dodgy advertising to me.
Colored fillers are nice on ash.  Be aware that the grain in ash is more like canyons, not grain!  Grain filler tends to shrink in a bit, so if you go for convention fillers, be prepared for two or three sessions, plus some spot fills on the really deep grain.  HINT:  Those promotion cards (plastic, like a credit card) at Shell stations work great for fillers.  I've used the StewMac brown and black, and I'm thinking the black might be nicer on the roasted ash.  If you want a poly finish, I've never used it on a guitar, but have used it on furniture, and gunstocks.... there is a super fast dry type of clear (very very light amber) poly at Home Depot.  I think its MinWax brand.  Poly comes in flavors of drying time from "regular" (slow) to "super" to "ultra".  The super works pretty well, and I was able to be totally dry, with multiple coats in one day, including some scuff sanding between coats, and final coat later in the evening.  Next day it was cured totally, and ready to go... on the counter top this computer is on.  Its held up pretty well too.

This stuff supposedly does not shrink, which is why it piqued my interest. I'm wondering about doing a dark filler, like Stew-Mac's Polytone first to darken the grain, then going over it with this stuff...

 

[Toulouse_Tuhles]

Uv cures shrink less

 

[wlburnettejr]

Finally got started on this build. I used Solarez Grain Sealer/Filler first- three coats with sanding in between. I put the first coat of wipe-on poly on it Saturday afternoon/evening in my garage. The next morning it was still very tacky, which I figure was due to the extremely high humidity, so I took the body inside yesterday. At noon today, it is still a bit tacky. Maybe I put it on a bit thick, but I didn't think I was at the time. I'm going to wait until there is no tackiness to scuff sand before the next coat. This is what it looks like so far:

 

[rgand]

I do like the color of roasted swamp ash with clear on it.

 

[wlburnettejr]

The body is still tacky in places after applying the first coat of poly on Saturday. Does anyone know if it could be due to applying poly over the Solarez UV cure resin grain sealer? I've never used that product before, but have used the wipe-on poly on several table tops and never had this issue.

 

[Cagey]

I don't know enough about "Solarez" to say anything about it, but I know poly finishes don't dry - they cure. It's a chemical thing. So, I would be suspicious of some interaction along those lines, too. For example, the essential oils in woods of the Dalbergia genus (Rosewood, Cocobolo, Tulipwood, etc.) will keep it from curing properly unless they've been heavily stripped.

 

[wlburnettejr]

I don't know enough about "Solarez" to say anything about it, but I know poly finishes don't dry - they cure. It's a chemical thing. So, I would be suspicious of some interaction along those lines, too. For example, the essential oils in woods of the Dalbergia genus (Rosewood, Cocobolo, Tulipwood, etc.) will keep it from curing properly unless they've been heavily stripped.

Thanks for the clarification. I've been doing some research (aka googling!) and it seems likely to be due to the extreme humidity the day I applied it. Minwax advised another user with a similar issue to rub it down with paint thinner and it should reactivate it. Low humidity for the next few days so hopefully it will cure after the rub down.

 

[wlburnettejr]

I left it out in the sun this afternoon and it seems to have cured nicely. No more tackiness. Sanding and second coat tomorrow...

 

[zebra]

Beautiful woods coming together here - I'm so glad you're letting the beautiful grain show with a simple, transparent finish!