Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Dave Onastik on September 13, 2010 at 5:38am

Thanks for the info Wes. I usually install my frets early because I use a small 1" belt sander to shave off the ends; the quick and lazy approach. If I had the finish on already, I would probably mess it up on the sides of the fingerboard where the frets protrude.

So far, I've only done a few coats of tung oil at the very end of the process, and I like the way it turns out. I would like to try the spray on laquer for a change.

Wes Yates said:

Oh no, not the fret/fingerboard. When I finish the neck, I will go in [roughly] this order

1. laminate the neck, make scarf, cut side profile, apply finger/fretboard, etc. Basic shape
2. Plane the sides and shape the neck down with a rounded back. Done with spokeshave. Apply any wings at this point. MUST be done after basic planing and shaping as the wings get in the way.
3. Tape off the top side of the finger/fretboard with painters tape. Do anything else I need to the neck before finishing.
4. Coat the neck with 6-10 thick coats of clear [liquid form] as mentioned above. Spray the last coats as mentioned.
5. Tape off, sand the finger/fretboard down to the flatness/radius I want. Apply tung or linseed oil to the surface.
6. Fret if desired.

The one area that doesn't get clear is the wood inside the box. I can hold the neck there when coating ;-).

-WY

Dave Onastik said:

Wes; do you coat the entire neck including frets?

Wes Yates said:

In that case Fitz, if you want a 'quick coat', I use Deft brand Clear Wood Finish in the aerosol can. I probably wouldn't use much tho. It does contain some really nasty solvents that might dissolve the ink on the paper. Test on the inside lid of the box first.

On that note, I use the same in the canned liquid form to do necks. Once I get the neck cut down and sanded, I will layer on with the liquid to about 6-10 thick coats (dry time of 4-6 hrs in between coats), sand down with 220 - 400 grit sandpaper until all the 'shine' is off and the surface is leveled down, then spray the sucker with 2-3 coats if the aerosol (drying in between). Makes a smooth as glass shine. I don't even need to buff it down.

-Wes

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Fitzhugh on September 13, 2010 at 6:15am

Any idea what tung oil might do to the paper on a partially papered box, or the rough box wood? I like the feel of tung oil but the wood is always very well sanded. I guess I could sand box a fair amount without mangling the paper using tape and good aim. I figure I'll ask instead of trying it on the only boxes I have and finding out the hard way it was a bad idea.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Dave Onastik on September 13, 2010 at 6:27am

I'm guessing that Tung oil wouldn't really offer that much of a protective coat to the paper on the box, nd may be more likely to just add a splotchy stain. It does look nice on wood after a few coats, but it would be difficult to sand the wood up to the edge of the paper.

I've been using the bottom of the box as the face of my guitar because I want the lid to be in the back so I can access the inside. The bottom of the box typically has some ugly text, so I cover it with a sticker or old postcard. Then I usually apply a coat of poly seal or minwax to the bottom of the box only, including the edges where any paper is folded over on the bottom end. I like the flat or no gloss.

Fitzhugh said:

Any idea what tung oil might do to the paper on a partially papered box, or the rough box wood? I like the feel of tung oil but the wood is always very well sanded. I guess I could sand box a fair amount without mangling the paper using tape and good aim. I figure I'll ask instead of trying it on the only boxes I have and finding out the hard way it was a bad idea.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Wes "I'm Baaaaack" Yates on September 13, 2010 at 6:43am

I agree with Dave. In fact, it might damage the ink/art.

-WY

Fitzhugh said:

Any idea what tung oil might do to the paper on a partially papered box, or the rough box wood? I like the feel of tung oil but the wood is always very well sanded. I guess I could sand box a fair amount without mangling the paper using tape and good aim. I figure I'll ask instead of trying it on the only boxes I have and finding out the hard way it was a bad idea.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Wes "I'm Baaaaack" Yates on September 13, 2010 at 6:47am

Thanks for the info Wes. I usually install my frets early because I use a small 1" belt sander to shave off the ends; the quick and lazy approach. If I had the finish on already, I would probably mess it up on the sides of the fingerboard where the frets protrude.

So far, I've only done a few coats of tung oil at the very end of the process, and I like the way it turns out. I would like to try the spray on laquer for a change.

Actually you could use the sander I would think. Since you prolly don't sand the fret ends flat perpendicular to the frets but rather at an angle to the to surface (45-60 deg?), I would think you can finish then sand the frets as you do now. You can put tung oil after the frets I suppose. Should be no issue there. Tung oil is a slow drying finish and should accept fretboard oil later as needed.

I tried lacquer on a fretboard once. Bad idea for me.

-WY

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Dave Onastik on September 13, 2010 at 8:06am

What Happened?

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Fitzhugh on September 13, 2010 at 10:15am

I also use the bottom as the top, both because I like being able to open the box and because the bottom on the boxes I've found are only half as thick and I figure will resonate much better. I've lucked out, no ugly text that hasn't been covered by hardware, but much of the top is hardware on these since I have a resonator cone.

I think I'll go with polyseal/minwax on the box and tung oil on the neck. It doesn't seem there is a great universal solution, unless I overlooked something.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by MichaelS Country Boy Guitars on September 14, 2010 at 1:50am

I used the bottom of a Fuente box for one build and I put tung oil on just the bare wood bottom (now the sound board) It worked great and using a shop towel I was able to wipe it on up to the paper edge with no problems. I don't bother putting anything on the paper, it already has its own finish from the printing process and adds to the character of the guitar if its a little worn. I did scratch up one of my first ones on the face while making it, I'm more careful now.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Wichita Sam on September 14, 2010 at 3:45am

wow, nice build... did you do the inlay?
MikeBoy said:

On a somewhat over the top build I did for my father, I put 3 coats of polyurethane over the entire box. I came out very nice in my opinion.


It does cause the paper hinge to become too brittle to open/close more then a few times. Not an issue since I screwed it shut anyways.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by MikeBoy on September 14, 2010 at 1:39pm

Thanks Sam! Yes is did the "inlay"... ancient Japanese secret...
http://www.inlaystickers.com/servlet/the-134/Checker-%28WS%29-Fret-...
Wichita Sam said:

wow, nice build... did you do the inlay?

MikeBoy said:

On a somewhat over the top build I did for my father, I put 3 coats of polyurethane over the entire box. I came out very nice in my opinion.


It does cause the paper hinge to become too brittle to open/close more then a few times. Not an issue since I screwed it shut anyways.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Diane in Chicago on September 16, 2010 at 3:33pm

I'm about to use a Chateau Real box, with really nice decals over rather rough wood. I'd like to put on something to make the wood look a bit richer and to also protect the paper, but I am leery to use poly since it makes the wood swell and rough up so much. Maybe the advice to just use it like it is is the best way to go -- unless the spray varnish is another beast entirely and won't cause this problem. Advice? Here is a lifted pic of the box:

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Fitzhugh on September 16, 2010 at 5:29pm

Dianne, that is a beautiful box. One sorta on topic note that may well be old news: I was trying to mask the paper while treating the wood and just learned the hard way that painters' tape really is different than masking tape. I masked off with normal masking tape, even stuck it to the wall a few times first, and tested... came off with no hints of problems. Problem was I then left it on for a couple weeks until I got back to working on that one. Today I removed it and it stuck too heavily to some of the paper, stripping off the top layer in a few places. If you do mask, try the blue tape, or better yet, the blue or green delicate surface tape - I saw a few types of blue painters' tape, including different types by the same company.
No great loss, but it that's because it wasn't a perfect box to start with.

• ▶ Reply

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next ›
• Page