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Wood Stain help

I plan on staining my CBG neck soon but im not sure what to use...Ive been told certain kinds will make the wood rise or make the wood become sticky...i have a lowe's and home depo near me any suggestions? preferably something easy for a first timer, like an easy 1-step...all ive come across is "minwax, PolyShades (stain & poly in 1 step) classic oak stain" but ive been told its sticky

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Permalink Reply by Paul Doug on September 21, 2009 at 1:22pm

My most favorite - WATCO

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Permalink Reply by Wichita Sam on September 21, 2009 at 3:19pm

Casey,

he polyshades is just fine... apply a thin coat, let it dry over night, smooth with 3M pad or 150 grit sandpaper, apply extra coat if you wish..

Oh... I'd suggest "satin" finish for a more playable feel....

the best,

Sam

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Permalink Reply by Jkevn on September 21, 2009 at 5:06pm

What Sam said....

AND...test on scrap first. If you want dark, get a dark stain...you can't just pile it on to get darker. When you apply that polyshades, the stain does its thing and the poly kinda rises to the top to seal it in. You cant wipe it all off like stain, but you cant leave it too thick. Practice before you put it on your masterpiece :)

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Permalink Reply by Skeesix on September 22, 2009 at 5:10am

Polyshades is stain plus a finish, which is generally used for furniture. Since I come from more of a guitar background, I use a separate stain and then a finish. I've used water based stains and alcohol based stains. The water based stains can make the grain rise, but if you put enough finish on before sanding or buffing, it's not a big deal. Of course, you would let the stain dry thoroughly before applying any finish. My current method is alcohol stain (Colortone from Stewmac) and then a shellac or zero VOC superglue finish on top of that. The reason I use these products is that I have become allergic to many chemicals and these are the safest for me, and also give a nice result.

But anyway, there are no rules with CBG's so feel free to use a furniture grade stain plus finish product if you want to. It's always a good idea to test the stain and finish out on a scrap piece of the same kind of wood before you try it on your actual neck.

Skeesix

http://skeesixcbgs.com
Making Your Cigar Box Guitar Rock!

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Permalink Reply by Mortimer Snerd on September 22, 2009 at 12:06pm

WATCO, a stain and sealer in one. One step operation.

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Permalink Reply by Ghostwitch on September 29, 2009 at 10:31am

I'm building my first CBG and just stained the neck and pieces for my bridge with the Polyshades 2 n 1...I'll letcha know how it wrks out in about 6 hours!

Mortimer Snerd said: