What do you use to clear coat over a headstock with decal?

[Firebird211]

I was wondering what anybody with infinite finishing wisdom and experience, would suggest to seal decals on a goncallo headstock?  Goncallo doesn't get finished from W, so I don't know if the wood reacts well to certain type of poly.  The decal is a thin chrome colored vinyl, so I also don't know it is best to sandwich the decal between layers of poly, or apply the decal directly to the wood, then clear coat.  I was looking at Min-wax clear coat lacquer as an alternative to poly, but I don't know if that would work well for what I am trying to do.

 

[-CB-]

I was wondering what anybody with infinite finishing wisdom and experience, would suggest to seal decals on a goncallo headstock?  Goncallo doesn't get finished from W, so I don't know it the wood reacts well to certain type of poly.  The decal is a thin chrome colored vinyl, so I also don't know it is best to sandwich the decal between layers of poly, or apply the decal directly to the wood, then clear coat.  I was looking at Min-wax clear coat lacquer as an alternative to poly, but I don't know if that would work well for what I am trying to do.

First you'll need to fill the grain on the goncalo headstock, or you'll have microbubbles under the decal that will look like drek.
Brown grain filler from StewMac is ok, it will darken the goncalo a little.  Don't use "clear" as that is really "natural" (tan).
Once its smooth as a baby's butt, then lay down two coats of clear shellac, and let that dry a day, just to be safe.
Then apply the decal on top of the shellac.
Make sure its just right and blot it dry, and let it dry a day.
Now put two coats of shellac over the decal to protect it from the lacquer.
Then you can put the lacquer of choice on it - never used Minwax, but Deft is good, and also the stuff they sell at Lowe's (that I can't remember at the moment) is very good.  When in doubt - TEST.  You want the lacquer to dry to a hard finish.  Test it on scrap, build up a few coats - if it gets gummy with sanding, not good lacquer.
After a few coats of lacquer, sand the decal's face down with 600 grit paper.  Just buff it dull with the paper.  Lacquer on top.  Repeat until the decal has sunken into the surrounding finish. 
Light level sand with 600grit, buff out and you're done.

I left out all the parts about masking the rest of the neck...

 

[Firebird211]

Thanks for the advise, there's quite a bit more to it than I thought.  I will definately test out the process on another piece of wood first.  You saved me from a huge headache.  After looking over the differences between lacquer and shellac, I understand the process now.  When shellac dries, it's no longer active.  When lacquer dries many many days will go buy before the chemical reactions are done. :icon_thumright:

 

[Firebird211]

I am currently applying what I have learned on a test piece of wood with a decal, and the sanding sealer shellac goes on real good. On the decal itself, which is a chrome vinyl, each successive coat immediately disolves the shellac coating over the decal, and makes an uneven flake pattern on the decal, as if the solvent breaks the shellac back down and wont properly stick or build up over it.  It's not damaging the decal, but after many coats of shellac, I can't seem to get more than a thin coat of protection over it so that I may sand it down and level it.  I already accidently scuffed the decal by sanding, and I am so glad this is testing material.  I am wondering if there should be some kind of treatment to the decal before the shelac, like rubbing it with a pencil eraser, so that the shelac may stick. :dontknow:  The manufacturers of the die cut vinyl decals suggested polyurethane on their website.  I didn't want a cheap plastic-like look, but a layer of poly wouldn't be disolved by another layer of poly, providing a bit more protection as I build-up and level the surface.  I am sure most have run into this or will, and I hope all will learn from my mistakes.  For the time being any other insight would be greatly appreciated. :help:

 

[-CB-]

You do not clearcoat over vinyl decals.... they wont take it, and they're thick.

Clearcoat goes over waterslide decals well.

 

[Firebird211]

Oh, that's why shellac hate's it so. I thought I specified a vinyl decal :doh:  They are very thin, almost appear as an inlay when applied to a surface.  I would say that the decals I have are at least half of the thickness of the chrome Warmoth decals if not much less.  FYI for anyone to not try to shellac over a vinyl decal:  It will appear to work at first, but as you keep adding coats, the shellac will keep diverting off of it.  Feck, it sticks to everything else. :laughing7:

 

[-CB-]

reading up... you did!  my bad, I apologize.  Vinyl over the finish, waterslide under

 

[NovasScootYa]

IMO, peel and stick belongs on a bumper. For a waterslide decal on exotic wood, apply two light coats of clear spray satin polyurethane to the face of the headstock and let dry. Apply decal, allow it to dry thoroughly. Apply two light coats of satin, let dry. Lightly sand around edges of decal, apply two more light coats and let dry. Lightly buff with 0000 steel wool.
Satin on the headstock will not change the wood’s natural appearance too much especially with strings, string tree, tuners and a decal helping to obstruct the view. As with most thin finishes, if you hold the neck at a certain angle you can see the decal outline so make sure it's trimmed and aligned to Fender specs, etc. Satin nitro is available at ReRanch.

 

[Firebird211]

Satin doesn't look good at all on a dark/exotic wood IMO.  I have been practicing this process over and over on scrap wood with two different decals, one thicker Warmoth chrome decal, and one decal exactly like the ones I am using.  I am using two bonding coats of sanding sealer shellac, then timbermate grain filler, after sanding back down I applied two more thin bonding layers of shellac.  The decal gets applied, then I start coating it over and over with a semi-gloss waterbased polyurethane, sanding it back down until it is level, which for the Warmoth decal is about five coats, and for the decal I have it's about three coats.  I am also using a 0000 synthetic steel wool pad as a buffer as well.  The use of shellac as the first sealer gives the wood a warmer color that the waterbase poly can't produce on it's own.  I am just about done with testing and ready to move onto the real thing.  I am using Zinssers Ultimate Polyurethane, which has been very easy to work with, and gets very hard when fully cured.

 

[NovasScootYa]

Satin doesn't look good at all on a dark/exotic wood IMO.  I have been practicing this process over and over on scrap wood with two different decals, one thicker Warmoth chrome decal, and one decal exactly like the ones I am using.  I am using two bonding coats of sanding sealer shellac, then timbermate grain filler, after sanding back down I applied two more thin bonding layers of shellac.  The decal gets applied, then I start coating it over and over with a semi-gloss waterbased polyurethane, sanding it back down until it is level, which for the Warmoth decal is about five coats, and for the decal I have it's about three coats.  I am also using a 0000 synthetic steel wool pad as a buffer as well.  The use of shellac as the first sealer gives the wood a warmer color that the waterbase poly can't produce on it's own.  I am just about done with testing and ready to move onto the real thing.  I am using Zinssers Ultimate Polyurethane, which has been very easy to work with, and gets very hard when fully cured.

I've used clear satin on a lot of exotic wood headstocks both light and dark and it does what it's supposed to do and that is form a very thin transparent base for the decal to adhere to and to semi-protect the decal while contrasting little with the surrounding unfinished wood.
IMO, You are paying too much attention to the decal instead of simply keeping the wood looking as untouched as possible. A Goncalo headstock face cannot be treated like Maple and clear-coated until the decal looks underwater or perfectly level, etc. Some could be inclined to ask, "Why didn't you paint the rest of the neck?" Try shorter indirect bursts where the poly almost rains on the surface. Good luck.

 

[Firebird211]

That's cool, I know what you mean by keeping the finish natural and consistant with the rest of the neck. That was my primary goal.  I have seen satin finishes just look dull white, and I didn't like what it did to the look of some of the headstocks I have seen.  I am almost done with the process using the materials that I have, and I found that dulling the semi-gloss down with a synthetic steel wool makes the finish look very natural, almost as if I didn't finish it at all.  With one or two coats of tung oil, the entire neck should have that same wet, but matte look.  The shellac really helped as a first layer to resemble a oil finish in the end.  Without it the finish really looked very water-based and unnatural on a test piece of wood.  This was my first adventure in finishing, didn't realize how much patients was really involved, but I am liking how it is turning out.  Thanks to everyone for their help.

 

[NovasScootYa]

If satin appears white or turns white as you described it is because of two factors, humidity and humidty. If your headstock is blending in close enough you should apply the brakes and omit adding anything else to the neck. Goncalo requires no finish, it should have a prized slick feel as is. Applying a coating may put a drag on playing that cannot easily be reversed. Good luck.

 

[Firebird211]

I have never used satin finish personally, but I have seen a few headstocks and a Taylor comes to mind was a very white tint over a dark colored wood.  It looked kind of nasty. :dontknow:  I tried the tung oil on the heel of the headstock as a test, and I think it added a nice feel and glow to the already smooth goncallo.  Without the tung oil the goncallo seemed dry and a little rough in spots, or maybe just my calloused hands.  I am planning on using just one coat and  it is also a tint match for the headstock.  The only difference between the headstock and the rest of the neck now is the neck has pores and the headstock does not.  I am quite relieved that it is working out.

 

[NovasScootYa]

I too have seen clouding in many finishes but those finishes are very, very thick compared to what it takes to properly apply a headstock decal to exotic wood. And, there are no absolute guarantees the finish you applied won't ever cloud up.
If there's a rough spot on a Goncalo neck try smoothing it with steel wool, etc. but do not fix it with a coating. It is acceptable to apply a finish to Goncalo if it's used for flooring. When building/assembling any instrument it should be playability over looks by a whisker otherwise you’ll wind up with something headed to eBay. Good luck.

 

[Firebird211]

I too have seen clouding in many finishes but those finishes are very, very thick compared to what it takes to properly apply a headstock decal to exotic wood. And, there are no absolute guarantees the finish you applied won't ever cloud up.
If there's a rough spot on a Goncalo neck try smoothing it with steel wool, etc. but do not fix it with a coating. It is acceptable to apply a finish to Goncalo if it's used for flooring. When building/assembling any instrument it should be playability over looks by a whisker otherwise you’ll wind up with something headed to eBay. Good luck.

I wouldn't say that the neck is headed to eBay, now or ever, I'm not that incompetent.  The finish looks just the way that I had planned, the shellac gives the face of the headstock a nice barrier and base for the poly, and it's very thin.  With the shellac blocking the surface of the wood the thin coat of tung oil won't get an opportunity to seep up and discolor the face of the headstock.  Once the tung oil is dry, it too will prevent any further contaminates to get under the finish.  It's 100% Tung oil, and not mixed with any other chemicals, on a test piece of goncallo it soaked in, wetted the look of the wood, and maintains the original feel of the goncallo, just not as dry.  One coat of Tung oil is all, anyway.  Even if after 20 years, or so, the Poly finish started to peel off,  it wouldn't be that dificult to sand it back down to bare wood.  CB said Tung oil would work, and he was right about that.