Need help on color finishing a kit guitar

[danoh]

I will be soon building a Les Paul style guitar kit with a flamed maple top. Can anyone advise if Interior , oil base wood stain ( I chose american cherry as the base color) will work okey on quilted maple top (unfinished) and using Polyurethane clear wood varnish to top it off ? Of course, I will sand everything first, but I want the flame maple top to show up really nice. I wanted a reddish color with the grain showing through. I also thought about using dark walnut oil base wood stain on the back with the poly clear varnish top coat.

What would be the correct procedure for applying the stain, sanding, and applying the top clear coat to get a nice, glossy finish?

[tippie53]

maple can be difficult sometimes to stain . It is all about the prep. I suggest you sand to about 220 grit , then apply the stain. Keep some 220 grit sandpaper ready as you may use that to help work the stain into the wood. Once applied you may want to seal this then apply your finishes on top. I wouldn't use poly for furniture as this isn't a good guitar finish.
You can get areo sprays . The finish is more than coating ,you have to level sand and buff and polish to get that clean wet shine. Some polys may work for this . I have used furniture finish early in my building and all those guitars developed finish cracks.
There are some good water finishes that can get you a good finish without much equipment. Stew mac carries some as does LMI.

[danoh]

maple can be difficult sometimes to stain . It is all about the prep. I suggest you sand to about 220 grit , then apply the stain. Keep some 220 grit sandpaper ready as you may use that to help work the stain into the wood. Once applied you may want to seal this then apply your finishes on top. I wouldn't use poly for furniture as this isn't a good guitar finish.
You can get areo sprays . The finish is more than coating ,you have to level sand and buff and polish to get that clean wet shine. Some polys may work for this . I have used furniture finish early in my building and all those guitars developed finish cracks.
There are some good water finishes that can get you a good finish without much equipment. Stew mac carries some as does LMI.

My local hardware store said they carry water based stains of different colors (Minwax). I am going to check this out also. I wont use the oil base wood stain that I mentioned, since you had problems with this. Would you use an electric buffer, and what kind of polish would work best? Your help much appreciated. Also, you mentioned that I need to seal the stain. Since I am not familier with this, what do I need to use as a sealer?

[B. Howard]

Fishing maple, especially figured maple can be challenging to say the least. Different brands and types of stains will behave differently on woods like this. A lot of times the stain will look blotchy due to uneven penetration. This is caused by the varying densities presented by the figure present in the wood. A lot of times a pre-treatment prior to staining will help with his a lot. Many companies make what is called a wood conditioner that may be applied prior to the stain which will help minimize this problem. Another method is to seal the wood with a very light coat of shellac and then sand back, this will help fill in the lower density wood and stop it from over absorbing the stain. I have used both methods. If you go the shellac route I would advise using Zinsser Seal coat and cutting about 30% with denatured alcohol. After dried , sand back until the shine has gone and apply the stain. It should be noted however that both of these methods will change the intensity and possibly shift the color of the stain so as always I recommend running some test panels to verify the overall results before starting on your guitar.

[tippie53]

I would tell you that water stains can work . I don't think minwax makes a ware based stain but I can be wrong. A mineral bases stain or aniline dyes may be best.
Actually a toner spray will give the best results.

[B. Howard]

Minwax does offer water based stains, but I find them to be pretty bad all around, one of my main objections is grain raise. I've been spoiled with access to professional grade stains with their unique solvent blends and finely milled pigments. I really like analines, but that's a preference of mine. I also totally agree with John That sprayed toners over a sealed surface often look the best, but they can be a bit tricky to get on evenly.