Wudtone -Black Magic Woman finishing kit

RobbieDiGital

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Greetings ya mad Warmothians !

Newbie to the forum but not with DIY . My maple Warmoth unfinished Strat body has arrived . After thinking this through for a month of analysis paralysis , and acquiring a set of Fender Samarium Cobalt pickups that were actually taken out of one Buddy Guy's by his guitar tech, who sold me the pups.. I decided to make this guitar a little more special . When I'm finished barring any disaster with the Wudtone finishing process, I will submit with fingers crossed for the GOM contest . Either I'm delusional or I think this will be rather unique. But lets get down to the topic:
Warmoth does an amazing job with the body.. we know that . This finish is essentially a dye and top coat that shows off the grain of the wood ( for those of you familiar with this product . The pictures are impressive but I can only do this once !
Any thoughts ? I can't find out what grit the final sanding was done with so I don't know if I need grain filler .. but don't I want that to be enhanced? The maple is as smooth as .. well .. ya know ..
Tips ? tricks? hacks ? I know this is a long process so I'm a patient man. I waited a while for the body to arrive due to covid so no rush. Just some trusted advice please ?

Hope everyone is safe healthy and cool!
RD
 
RobbieDiGital said:
I can't find out what grit the final sanding was done with so I don't know if I need grain filler .. but don't I want that to be enhanced?

Welcome to the forum. Though calling us mad is uncalled for don't you think?

Tip: provide relevant information and ask clear questions.

You have a Wudtone -Black Magic Woman finishing kit and you want to know if you should use a grain filler and have an idea this may depend on what grit the body was sanded to.

What does "but don't I want that to be enhanced?" refer to?

Some wood is open grained such as ash and benefits from grain filler for example. But often those doing a Wudtone finish want to retain an open grained look so skip using it. As your body is made from maple does not need a grain filler as it is close grained.









 
Dearest Stratamania,

Not sure if you're a moderator of simply misunderstood the sense of humor with "mad"... I get that some of us have been hyper sensitive with Covid .. I live in NYC.. was a disaster here and my thoughts and prayers for anyone and everyone going through what we did. I lost two friends and an uncle . Nothing uncalled for , again, all in the spirit and fun of being " mad scientists, luthiers, DIY finishers, etc. So if that offended you or any.. my bad.  The three other responses to my questions and concerns addressed and understood that it is a Maple body and yes, the point of asking if I needed grain filler was that I did want the grain to pop with the finish , especially the Wudtone BLM that just arrived today . Warmoth claims  that final finishing sand was a 320 grit.

The "but don't I want that to be enhanced".. referred to the grain showing through in lieu of use of grain filler , which some people still tend to use regardless of what grit the final sand was done with.

I provided relevant info and I asked specific clear questions , but thanks for the tip. My tip of the day .. Don't stand up in a canoe .

Thanks for the tips and calling me out and for the explanation on wood grains.. which I'm well aware of .

Be safe,

Best,
Rob
 
My response to your calling us mad was itself British dry humour and not meant to offend or cause offence. I am sorry to hear about the losses of your friends and in your family so please accept my condolences.

Okay so you don't want the grain to be visible through or enhanced by the finish. You might want to ask that question of Wudtone as their finishes tend more towards being ones that do let the grain show through to a greater or lesser degree. They do sell transparent grain filler for those who are going for a look like yours.

If you have not seen it Wudtone has this available which may be of help.

http://www.wudtone.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Wudtone-finishing-kit-instructions-Oct-15.pdf

My feeling is unless you have some maple to experiment on beforehand and you want to hide the grain would be to use some transparent grain filler and sand smooth to taste before applying the Wudtone finish.

I would be extremely interested to see the results of the Black Magic Woman finish. Are you going for highlights also?

Stay safe Rob...


 
I am currently doing a black magic woman finish and have to say I love it.

My original project, I followed Wudtone's directions and was in love with the outcome. I didn't use any grain filler and really wanted the grain to be visible.  Then, I got a wild hair up my ass and decided to try and do a "sandblasted" finish and ruined it.

I tried sanding all the way down to the bare wood and started over. At this point, I'm waving the white flag and moving on with the finish "as is". I'm telling myself it is a "distressed" look and who knows what the future will bring.

I guess what I'm saying is, I was very happy with Wudtone's finish, I was not happy with my skills.
 
I don't believe in much being ruined. You may be surprised how good it looks in the end. I've done some things I thought would be bad looking but came out quite nice when done. Got a photo of it as it is now?
 
Rgand said:
I don't believe in much being ruined. You may be surprised how good it looks in the end. I've done some things I thought would be bad looking but came out quite nice when done. Got a photo of it as it is now?

I will take some pictures this weekend. I don't want to hijack this thread. So look for me start a new one with pictures either Saturday or Sunday.
 
OrcJuice said:
Rgand said:
I don't believe in much being ruined. You may be surprised how good it looks in the end. I've done some things I thought would be bad looking but came out quite nice when done. Got a photo of it as it is now?

I will take some pictures this weekend. I don't want to hijack this thread. So look for me start a new one with pictures either Saturday or Sunday.
I'll look for it.
 
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