sanding the box

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Permalink Reply by steve (Roots) on June 10, 2009 at 4:54pm

I leave it natural and use fornsby lemon wax and rub it in 2 or 3 coats. Gives it a shine and a little protection. Also smells good too.

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Permalink Reply by Wes "I'm Baaaaack" Yates on June 11, 2009 at 9:21am

Depends on the box, the decoration on the box, the type of finish you want, and what you're going for. I put at least 3 coats of MinWax clear gloss Poly on it, but I might move to Shellac. The guys above put nothing other than some polish. Works great I'm sure.

From what I see, most of us don't sand the boxes per se as it might disturb the printing/decoration -- some being ink or paint, some being paper. Of course, you can do what you want ;-) . If you plan to paint or apply a picture to the outside, you could forgo the sanding or sand if the box has an embossed texture.

Take some time and look at the PHOTO section.

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Permalink Reply by Roger Martin on June 11, 2009 at 10:17am

Most boxes dont get anything special done by me.
However because I've noticed a distinct love of RED boxes by customers lately, I've started sanding and then painting some boxes Banner Red.
Some also get a red neck to match.
I'm not sure why the public seems to go for red boxes as they do, but as long as they do I will have RED boxes LOL
A lot of the painted boxes are boxes that I build from scratch using door skin ,as its easy to use and yet strong when its finished.These boxes I usually build all in one piece with no lid that opens.
I sand them 1st by laying each side on the table sander using a fine belt to get started,then switch to hand sanding for a few minutes.Then I spray a white prime on and let it dry. Sand to knock down the raised grain and put on the color.
I dont usually do anything to printed boxes other then touch up loose corners etc.
Because I build anywhere from 6 to 10 1 stringers a week usually, I cant afford to spend much time on any 1 piece.
Right now I'm trying to get 6 pieces in stock each week of 1 stringers that doesnt leave much time for the fretless 3 stringers I try to build each week. So I have to limit it to 2 or 3 a week.
The fretless 3 stringers go for anywhere from $50 to $70 per piece and the public at this point in the summer doesnt seem to mind spending that much.Almost all these boxes get nothing done to them other then a quick touchup here and there.

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Permalink Reply by Ben on June 11, 2009 at 10:30am

I think I have one possible answer for the red boxes. When I first saw a CBG I immediately thought of the Gretsch Bo Diddley because of the rectangular shape. Just a possible answer.

Roger Martin said:

Most boxes dont get anything special done by me.
However because I've noticed a distinct love of RED boxes by customers lately, I've started sanding and then painting some boxes Banner Red.
Some also get a red neck to match.
I'm not sure why the public seems to go for red boxes as they do, but as long as they do I will have RED boxes LOL
A lot of the painted boxes are boxes that I build from scratch using door skin ,as its easy to use and yet strong when its finished.These boxes I usually build all in one piece with no lid that opens.
I sand them 1st by laying each side on the table sander using a fine belt to get started,then switch to hand sanding for a few minutes.Then I spray a white prime on and let it dry. Sand to knock down the raised grain and put on the color.
I dont usually do anything to printed boxes other then touch up loose corners etc.
Because I build anywhere from 6 to 10 1 stringers a week usually, I cant afford to spend much time on any 1 piece.
Right now I'm trying to get 6 pieces in stock each week of 1 stringers that doesnt leave much time for the fretless 3 stringers I try to build each week. So I have to limit it to 2 or 3 a week.
The fretless 3 stringers go for anywhere from $50 to $70 per piece and the public at this point in the summer doesnt seem to mind spending that much.Almost all these boxes get nothing done to them other then a quick touchup here and there.

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