What if I put NO FINISH on an Alder body? (In Seattle)

A few coats of satin poly.  Looks like wood, feels like wood, and will not shine up like nitro
 
This is my alder Musiclander finished with Tru-Oil. You could do just 3 or so coats and get a nice satin look and still be very protected and meet Warmoth's warranty conditions. If you want it more satin looking, just give it a light polish with 0000 steel wool or an Ultrafine 3M sanding pad. I've also used Wipe-On Satin poly from MinWax in a similar way and really like it. And, they are both really simple to apply!
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You'd have to see it in person to get the full effect, but I love it!
:rock-on:
 
I ordered an unfinished Alder body that I was considering leaving as is. But when it arrived it was clear it would need something on it - it didn't even feel that great, it had that slight "furry" feeling in parts that you get from a wood like that.

I just went with some Shellac-based sanding sealer in the end. Brushed it on, then rubbed it down with steel wool. It's going to need a few coats and I've not finished yet. But it looks and feels great, just how I hoped it would - and most people would probably think it was unfinished.

I did get a run that I didn't see in time and it soaked in, and now I think it'll probably be visible forever. So if I was going to do this again I would brush over the whole guitar with denatured alcohol (meths) first, just so it wasn't quite so thirsty when I came to apply the shellac.

Depending on how the sanding sealer goes, I may go over it with Briwax or something at the end.
 
Yeah, in my limited experience, the end-grain on alder is crazy-absorbent. -Like trying to finish a bundle of straws; nothing will soak into the sides, everything pours into the ends.
???
 
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