Update on my Jerry Project

[theklanch]

Hey guys,  A few pictures of the first couple of coats of tung oil on my WGD!!!  I am really happy with the results and it is relatively cheap.  I don't know if I am going to put anything over it or not.  Probably not.  Well, maybe some Johnsons paste wax.  Still deciding on a neck, steering more and more towards a Warmoth LP maple on maple.  Oh well it's still gonna be a little bit on the neck.  Unfortunately I gotta pay the bills before I get the neck.....  Oh well I'm getting there......

Sorry for the blurry pic and the lighting is terrible but it was the only way I could get a picture of the gloss

 

[Nando Vallart]

Awesome! Will put more coats?

 

[theklanch]

Awesome! Will put more coats?

  Thanks!!!!  Yes NT I will probably put the rest of the bottle of tung oil I have on it.  A couple of thin rubbed on coats a day till it really shines. 

 

[Nando Vallart]

Think just a little more coats to bring it a little Amberish and will be the thing!

 

[stubhead]

It's backwards! I'd send it back.... :icon_smile:

 

[dbw]

Looks good!  FYI that Formby's finish is not pure tung oil... it's a varnish, and I found it more similar to Tru-oil.

 

[theklanch]

Looks good!  FYI that Formby's finish is not pure tung oil... it's a varnish, and I found it more similar to Tru-oil.

So..... is this gonna give me a problem?  I sure hope not.  I kinda figured it wasn't pure tung oil, but it does finish very nicely and it's cheap, I figure even if I have to recoat it every couple of years that'll be ok for me....  I really love how it makes the flame pop out of the wood....

 

[theklanch]

It's backwards! I'd send it back.... :icon_smile:

So am I and I have been trying to send myself back for that very same problem for years!!!!!  The factory tells me I am way out of warranty, and I have been modified from OEM specs, they don't even make parts for the '77 models anymore, so when something goes bad on me I have to have parts fabricated.........They told me there was a right handed conversion kit for me but they sold out of those 15 years ago.  I checked Ebay, but you cannot sell human body parts there, so I guess I gotta look somewhere else then I can stop playing left handed guitars.......

 

[dbw]

Looks good!  FYI that Formby's finish is not pure tung oil... it's a varnish, and I found it more similar to Tru-oil.

So..... is this gonna give me a problem?  I sure hope not.  I kinda figured it wasn't pure tung oil, but it does finish very nicely and it's cheap, I figure even if I have to recoat it every couple of years that'll be ok for me....  I really love how it makes the flame pop out of the wood....

Nope, not a problem... you just said you were using tung oil, and I was pointing out that "actual" tung oil is quite different from the stuff you're using.  For instance, it's not STICKY!

 

[theklanch]

Looks good!  FYI that Formby's finish is not pure tung oil... it's a varnish, and I found it more similar to Tru-oil.

So..... is this gonna give me a problem?  I sure hope not.  I kinda figured it wasn't pure tung oil, but it does finish very nicely and it's cheap, I figure even if I have to recoat it every couple of years that'll be ok for me....  I really love how it makes the flame pop out of the wood....

Nope, not a problem... you just said you were using tung oil, and I was pointing out that "actual" tung oil is quite different from the stuff you're using.  For instance, it's not STICKY!

Hopefully I won't have any sticky problems and if I do, I'll go from there.....

 

[bpmorton777]

Hey Klanch

great build so far!! keep the pics coming.

Brian

 

[blue313]

Hell yeah, looks good so far.  Are you going with a figured maple neck?

 

[Wana_make_a_guitar]

Cool!

 

[guitlouie]

Looking good Klanch! 

 

[DangerousR6]

Looking good there John, very nice indeed...... :icon_thumright: I'd say though, go with the Warmoth headstock, i think that would look better than a LP style... :laughing7:

 

[Vol. Knob]

I gots a bottle of the exact same stuff I used on my beloved thinline after I peeled off the nasty thick plastic Fender Japan had it coated in.

I wouldnt worry about it getting sticky or gloppy.  Once it dries its dry.  Really made the grain stand out nice too.  And it feels like wood, not slick glass or plastic when I got done.

Nice work.  Yer makin me want one of those Deadhead guitars.

Cheers

 

[theklanch]

Another update:

So after reading the forum for some recommendations and stuff, I went to the hardware store and got some minwax spray gloss polyurethane.  After applying a coat of it and dealing with some really bad orange peel and one nasty saggy run, I sanded it back with some 600 grit and some #00 steel wool, I read the back of the can and saw I was holding the can too close to the work, so I resprayed the stuff holding the can a foot away like it says to do and the results are awesome.  It is coming out really well.  I fog on a super light mist of the stuff and it dries pretty quickly so I have put about 4-6 super light coats on and I am going to put a few more on when I am done posting. 

I was thinking about laquer, but frankly i'm not patient enough to wait for it to come in mail order, and I can't get it locally, so I went with polyurethane.  I also wanted something more durable than the formbys oil I was using.  Polyurethane is tough stuff when it cures.  I finished my first homebuilt guitar and my kitchen table with the stuff and it is really held up over time and the table goes through some serious abuse.  I wonder if the spray poly is any less durable than the wipe on stuff....

Thanks for all the kind words guys about the build I appreciate it, keeps the intrest up having a group of peers to throw ideas off of............

 

[DangerousR6]

Another update:

So after reading the forum for some recommendations and stuff, I went to the hardware store and got some minwax spray gloss polyurethane.  After applying a coat of it and dealing with some really bad orange peel and one nasty saggy run, I sanded it back with some 600 grit and some #00 steel wool, I read the back of the can and saw I was holding the can too close to the work, so I resprayed the stuff holding the can a foot away like it says to do and the results are awesome.  It is coming out really well.  I fog on a super light mist of the stuff and it dries pretty quickly so I have put about 4-6 super light coats on and I am going to put a few more on when I am done posting. 

I was thinking about laquer, but frankly i'm not patient enough to wait for it to come in mail order, and I can't get it locally, so I went with polyurethane.  I also wanted something more durable than the formbys oil I was using.  Polyurethane is tough stuff when it cures.  I finished my first homebuilt guitar and my kitchen table with the stuff and it is really held up over time and the table goes through some serious abuse.  I wonder if the spray poly is any less durable than the wipe on stuff....

Thanks for all the kind words guys about the build I appreciate it, keeps the intrest up having a group of peers to throw ideas off of............

Thin is the key to just about any type of spray on or aerosol. Very light coats, you just want to mist it as you specified. Don't see why you can't get laquer, I've been to PA and i know they have Home Depot's there...You should be able to Deft brand from any Home Depot or Lowes.... :icon_scratch:

 

[blue313]

Home Depot should carry Minwax aerosol/brushing lacquer.  But if what you've got is working, then definitely go with what's working for you.  Poly is definitely a tough coating.

 

[theklanch]

I figured that durability is what would sell me on a particular coating.....  Poly is definately tough stuff.  I didn't look at Lowes or the Depot, I tend to shop at my local hardware store, they have survived a Lowes, a Depot and a Walmart, so I tend to go there and pay a little more....My neighbor across the street is the manager of the hardware store too....  I did see laquer there, but I went with what I know how to use...

Ok so my next question is this....  The aerosol goes on a little rougher than what I would like as a finished surface... Kinda reminds me of 400 grit sandpaper..... It feels like overspray on a car when you get a touch up done.....  So what do I do now?  If I hit it with steel wool, I will lose all the shine, and sandpaper is going to do the same thing, so what will bring the shine back after I level the surface?  Rubbing compound?  That was what my dad suggested, use rubbing compound with a rag or a buffing wheel to level the finish up and get a real deep shine....  Just asking about my next move.  I have one can of the poly on the guitar now, I was gonna put another can on it to make the finish a little thicker and look a little deeper now that I got the hang of it...  Your thoughts on what else I should do...

As I said in another post.... I am ordering my neck today Whopee!!!!!  Maple neck, maple fretboard, 1 3/4 nut with a boat contour, I'm gonna love my Washington state made Louisville Slugger!!!!!