Hi!
My son and I are just getting into guitar building so I've been digging around the forum for knowledge. I think I have a plan for refinishing but was hoping to get approval from the experts. I've ordered a black korina strat body and a maple/rosewood neck from Warmoth that should be here soon. I know there are lots of different opinions about the best ways to do things so I understand I won't likely get a consensus but I basically want to make sure I don't do anything ridiculous and either mess this up or cause myself unnecessary headaches.
For the neck and fingerboard, I was planning to follow Ben Eller's lead and use Tru-Oil followed by gun stock wax.
[list type=decimal]
[*]Depending on condition of the wood (should be good from Warmoth I'm guessing), sand with 220 block
[*]After if feels pretty smooth, sand with 320 block
[*]Lightly wet to raise grain and then sand to smooth again.
[*]Repeat until lightly wetting wood raises no grain.
[*]Do it all again with 400.
[*]Allow to dry fully.
[*]Using a clean cotton rag, apply a very thin layer of Tru-Oil wiping with the grain.
[*]Allow to dry until it's dry (2 hours?)
[*]Apply another thin layer of Tru-Oil.
[*]Repeat steps 6 and 7 for 2-3 more times
[*]Buff (?) with 3M 0000 steel wool substitute until it feel super smooth
[*]Repeat steps 6 thru 9 again until I'm really tired of doing that
[*]With a new clean cotton rag apply a thin coat of gun stock wax and buff it in.
[*]Repeat a few times.
[/list]
Question: Do I need to do anything special to the rosewood fretboard beyond just working around the frets themselves?
We're hoping to make the body look like cagey's black korina VIP. If I could figure out how to link to things, I'd do that here.
Here are the steps as I understand them:
Wood Prep:
[list type=decimal]
[*]Sand with a 320 sanding block. (Sand any sharp edges to have a slight radius.)
[*]Wet the wood slightly to raise the grain and sand again.
[*]Repeat as necessary to get things nice and smooth.
[/list]
Stain
[list type=decimal]
[*]Mix 1/2 oz of the powdered dye (water based Cardinal from ReRanch) with 1 quart of water.
[*]With a clean cloth wipe on with the direction of the grain.
[*]If it doesn't appear dark enough, add a little more dye to the solution and re-apply.
[*]If it is too dark, wipe with a damp cloth.
[*]Let dry for however long it takes to dry.
[*]Possibly sand here with 400 and repeat step 4 to bring out the grain. (Question: is this necessary?)
[/list]
Apply a Nitrocellulose Sealer (eg http://reranchstore.stores.yahoo.net/sanandsealar.html)
[list type=decimal]
[*]Place can of lacquer in hot water to warm lacquer (put in hot water before each application)
[*]Spray a light tack coat, wait an hour.
[*]Spray a wet coat, let dry at least 2 hours
[*]Spray a second wet coat, let dry overnight.
[*]Lightly sand with 400 if necessary, dust in the lacquer or any runs.
[*]Apply a wet coat, let dry 2 hours.
[*]Apply a wet coat, let dry overnight.
[*]Lightly (wet?) sand with 600 grit over a sanding block until there are no shiny spots.
[*]Note: if while sanding I see color on the sandpaper, it means I sanded through and need to start the sealer process again...
[/list]
Apply water based clear grain filler like http://www.amazon.com/Aqua-Coat-Clear-Grain-Filler/dp/B00LEFWGWA
[list type=decimal]
[*]With a clean rag, wipe grain filler on going against the grain.
[*]Let sit briefly
[*]Wipe with a wrung but wet rag to remove excess filler
[*]Let dry 24 hours
[*]Sand with 600 grit over a block until smooth
[*]Repeat if necessary.[/list]
Question: Would a black or dark red grain filler bring the grain out more?
Apply nitrocellulose Clear Lacquer.
[list type=decimal]
[*]Place can of lacquer in hot water to warm lacquer (put in hot water before each application)
[*]Spray a light tack coat, wait an hour.
[*]Spray a wet coat, let dry at least 2 hours
[*]Spray a second wet coat, let dry overnight.
[*]Lightly sand with 600 if necessary, dust in the lacquer or any runs.
[*]Repeat steps 3 thru 5 for 4 to 6 days.
[*]Let it sit a couple weeks
[*]Wet sand with 1000 grit, then 1200, then 1500... ?
[*]Buff it up
[/list]
Thank you for any an all corrections, additions, deletions, clarifications, or any other -tions you can think of.
My son and I are just getting into guitar building so I've been digging around the forum for knowledge. I think I have a plan for refinishing but was hoping to get approval from the experts. I've ordered a black korina strat body and a maple/rosewood neck from Warmoth that should be here soon. I know there are lots of different opinions about the best ways to do things so I understand I won't likely get a consensus but I basically want to make sure I don't do anything ridiculous and either mess this up or cause myself unnecessary headaches.
For the neck and fingerboard, I was planning to follow Ben Eller's lead and use Tru-Oil followed by gun stock wax.
[list type=decimal]
[*]Depending on condition of the wood (should be good from Warmoth I'm guessing), sand with 220 block
[*]After if feels pretty smooth, sand with 320 block
[*]Lightly wet to raise grain and then sand to smooth again.
[*]Repeat until lightly wetting wood raises no grain.
[*]Do it all again with 400.
[*]Allow to dry fully.
[*]Using a clean cotton rag, apply a very thin layer of Tru-Oil wiping with the grain.
[*]Allow to dry until it's dry (2 hours?)
[*]Apply another thin layer of Tru-Oil.
[*]Repeat steps 6 and 7 for 2-3 more times
[*]Buff (?) with 3M 0000 steel wool substitute until it feel super smooth
[*]Repeat steps 6 thru 9 again until I'm really tired of doing that
[*]With a new clean cotton rag apply a thin coat of gun stock wax and buff it in.
[*]Repeat a few times.
[/list]
Question: Do I need to do anything special to the rosewood fretboard beyond just working around the frets themselves?
We're hoping to make the body look like cagey's black korina VIP. If I could figure out how to link to things, I'd do that here.
Here are the steps as I understand them:
Wood Prep:
[list type=decimal]
[*]Sand with a 320 sanding block. (Sand any sharp edges to have a slight radius.)
[*]Wet the wood slightly to raise the grain and sand again.
[*]Repeat as necessary to get things nice and smooth.
[/list]
Stain
[list type=decimal]
[*]Mix 1/2 oz of the powdered dye (water based Cardinal from ReRanch) with 1 quart of water.
[*]With a clean cloth wipe on with the direction of the grain.
[*]If it doesn't appear dark enough, add a little more dye to the solution and re-apply.
[*]If it is too dark, wipe with a damp cloth.
[*]Let dry for however long it takes to dry.
[*]Possibly sand here with 400 and repeat step 4 to bring out the grain. (Question: is this necessary?)
[/list]
Apply a Nitrocellulose Sealer (eg http://reranchstore.stores.yahoo.net/sanandsealar.html)
[list type=decimal]
[*]Place can of lacquer in hot water to warm lacquer (put in hot water before each application)
[*]Spray a light tack coat, wait an hour.
[*]Spray a wet coat, let dry at least 2 hours
[*]Spray a second wet coat, let dry overnight.
[*]Lightly sand with 400 if necessary, dust in the lacquer or any runs.
[*]Apply a wet coat, let dry 2 hours.
[*]Apply a wet coat, let dry overnight.
[*]Lightly (wet?) sand with 600 grit over a sanding block until there are no shiny spots.
[*]Note: if while sanding I see color on the sandpaper, it means I sanded through and need to start the sealer process again...
[/list]
Apply water based clear grain filler like http://www.amazon.com/Aqua-Coat-Clear-Grain-Filler/dp/B00LEFWGWA
[list type=decimal]
[*]With a clean rag, wipe grain filler on going against the grain.
[*]Let sit briefly
[*]Wipe with a wrung but wet rag to remove excess filler
[*]Let dry 24 hours
[*]Sand with 600 grit over a block until smooth
[*]Repeat if necessary.[/list]
Question: Would a black or dark red grain filler bring the grain out more?
Apply nitrocellulose Clear Lacquer.
[list type=decimal]
[*]Place can of lacquer in hot water to warm lacquer (put in hot water before each application)
[*]Spray a light tack coat, wait an hour.
[*]Spray a wet coat, let dry at least 2 hours
[*]Spray a second wet coat, let dry overnight.
[*]Lightly sand with 600 if necessary, dust in the lacquer or any runs.
[*]Repeat steps 3 thru 5 for 4 to 6 days.
[*]Let it sit a couple weeks
[*]Wet sand with 1000 grit, then 1200, then 1500... ?
[*]Buff it up
[/list]
Thank you for any an all corrections, additions, deletions, clarifications, or any other -tions you can think of.
