Suggestions: making homemade finish on the guitar

[Jim Shine]

Re: Suggestions: making homemade finish on the guitar

I would try to strip it with a chemical stripper first. This could be tough as not all strippers clean down all finishes. I have seen way too many guitars damaged by people sanding a finish off. Usually people do it by hand and create dips in the wood that show up after it is refinished. Also, be prepared to have a backup color plan as many manufacturers use mineral stained wood under solid finishes. That particular piece of wood may not look good natural.

[Immortal]

Re: Suggestions: making homemade finish on the guitar

Dave, thank you a lot about it. I was dumb not checking some of the below links of google.

Check this statement I've found on one page about tung oil:

The number of coats of oil to be applied will be determined by the intended use of the piece. Two to four coats are enough for decorative work, paneling and moulding. Surfaces that receive moderate to heavy use or handling could need up to six coats for maximum protection, plus a light renewal coat a couple of times a year.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I was wondering whether my acoustic has the same finish on it? It is matt and non-smooth. It's a bit rough and non-shiny.

Here's the pics if it helps:



Remove the "-med" for 1024x768 picture.

[Immortal]

Re: Suggestions: making homemade finish on the guitar

Originally posted by Jim Shine:
I would try to strip it with a chemical stripper first. This could be tough as not all strippers clean down all finishes. I have seen way too many guitars damaged by people sanding a finish off. Usually people do it by hand and create dips in the wood that show up after it is refinished. Also, be prepared to have a backup color plan as many manufacturers use mineral stained wood under solid finishes. That particular piece of wood may not look good natural.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">As written above, our family friend is very experienced carpenter and I take the guitar to him just to help me out grinding off the major parts with machine. He said thank God I DID NOT use any chemicals since the wood plates are glued together. The chemical would trickle through the body and dissect them. So no chemicals weren't used. And just in case of hills and valleys in wood I took the guitar to him to grind off the flat body parts. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Jim Shine]

Re: Suggestions: making homemade finish on the guitar

Wood plates? Are you saying this is a plywood guitar?

[Immortal]

Re: Suggestions: making homemade finish on the guitar

Yes. Kind of odd, I know.

[Jim Shine]

Re: Suggestions: making homemade finish on the guitar

Well, to be honest, when I started doing refins I practiced on some plywood guitars. Strippers never delaminated them, but I never soaked them in a vat of stripper either. I have had some issues with guitars glued together with carpenters glue (repairs), but most factories use a hyde glue, which is broken down with heat and water. I guess to be safe you could avoid stripper, but I doubt it would hurt it. Hopefully they used a grainy wood for the caps. Often these have a very plain wood that is very washed out looking, almost like birch.