Natural Wood Finish tips?

[wandereruk05]

Hello,

Just got a used RG505 off evilbay - pretty decent guitar, frets are pretty worn down however still playable - stupid low action!

At the moment its a project guitar for me however it looks pretty decent in its natural finish (sanded to the wood) as it currently is.

I was planning on painting however I'm quite keen on the natural wood look - so my question what would be the best way to go about preserving the wood as it is but also to protect it? There are a couple of dings and chips but nothing major!

Thanks

[syxxstring]

Any good woodworking or automotive clear coat that you have the equipment to apply correctly will work.
Methodology will vary greatly depending on your equipment and availability of a clean dust free enviorment.
For the most inexperienced I would go with a wood working poly and foam brush. I know I'll get blasted for it but it is the easiest finish to apply correctly, will be durable, and will sound good as long as you don't go way to thick. There are a lot of wood finishing tutorials and articles out there, so read a few.

Looking at the pic in your question about the crack, it looks like you have a fair amount of sanding and leveling before you can do any other finish, btw. It looks like only some of the sealer was removed and its an all or none operation if you want a consistent looking finish. You could prime right away and do your fixing on that level, if you are going with a solid finish.

When clearing/finishing in general you want a surface that is strait not just smooth. That's why on cars they do all the block sanding, filling, and then block sand again. Thats the biggest difference between an average finish on a car and a show car finish, lots of prep work and perfecting the surface before painting. The paint goes on the same way, the clear goes on the same way, and you can still cut buff and polish the same way. Without the prep it will never have that perfect look.

[shreddersymphony]

I would recommend a natural stain and then layers of clearcoat. I recently had an all-natural (aka no colored paint of any kind) guitar built for me with a beautiful burl top, and the natural stain really makes whatever figuring the wood has "pop", without really changing the color (mine got a TINY bit darker but its barely noticeable).

[wandereruk05]

thanks very much for the tips - will post a couple of pics soon so you guys can see.

to be honest, its gone right down the wood - very smooth but to the wood. by the looks of it i might just paint it up again! thanks for the help guys much appreciated..pics to follow shortly!

[Devo]

Below is a page that used to be online from a guy called John Paquay, I had it saved on my laptop... I hope it proves useful

Steve

Wood Finishing With Oil

There is a certain amount of mystery revolving around oil finishes, and with
good reason. A good oil finish, while fairly easy to accomplish, is rare
to find these days. It's a very low-tech process which, when done well,
produces a magnificent finish, but it is a time-consuming procedure which
requires considerably more effort than simply brushing or spraying on a
topcoat such as varnish or lacquer. Primarily, an oil finish is IN the outer
surface of the wood rather than ON the surface, which is the property that
can make it such an attractive and distinctive finish.

Originally, boiled linseed oil was the material of choice, and it was typically
mixed with equal parts of thinner, such as turpentine, and occasionally
small amounts of varnish and/or bee's wax were added. Linseed oil is an
oil extracted from flax, and the term 'boiled' is misleading but very
important. Boiled linseed oil is not actually boiled, but rather oxygenated,
a process that changes the polymer structure of the oil, which causes it to
eventually dry and harden. Raw linseed oil will never dry, and does not
make a good finishing material. Even boiled linseed oil dries very slowly,
and the addition of varnish or driers is common to help speed curing
and provide faster build of the finish. Tung oil is another commonly
available finishing material, though more often than not, off-the-shelf Tung
oil finishes are not true Tung oil at all, but rather a mixture of the materials
I've previously mentioned. In modern usage, Tung oil has become a somewhat
generic term, encompassing many varieties of oil finishes.

My favorite oil finish is Watco(tm) Danish oil finish, the ingredients of
which, to my knowledge, have never been officially disclosed -- it's safe
to say, however, that it, like other Danish oils, is also a mixture of oil,
varnish, thinner, and driers. It's my favorite oil finish for the simple
reason that it's been around for many, many years, and the manufacturers
have in general been quite obstinate about not meddling with the recipe for
the stuff, which makes it far more predictable than most finishes.

After several years of working with Watco and other oil finishes, it
became quite apparent to me that the manufacturers were more interested
in promoting and marketing these products with the focus upon 'quick and
easy finishing' as opposed to helping the user achieve striking results.
An old finishers' adage concerning the application schedule for oil
finishes went as follows:

Once a day for a week
Once a week for a month
Once a month for a year
Once a year forever after.

Well, that's a lot of work, and most people are not interested in maintaining
this schedule, nor are most furnituremakers delighted at the prospect of having
a piece in the finishing process for three months or more before it can safely be
delivered to the client. Many manufacturers of oil finishes have addressed this
problem by advertising their products as a 'wipe-on, wipe-off' finish, leading
the user to believe that a simple one or two-step application is all that's
required... and while that will provide a finish of sorts, it certainly won't be
anything to get excited over or write home about. In fact, the next time you
find yourself in the wood finishing section of your local paint, hardware, or
home center and see any finish product that boldly proclaims that you can now
have a beautiful hand-rubbed finish in 2 hours, you have my blessing (and my
gratitude) if you just smirk and walk away. Fortunately, the correct process
to achieve a gorgeous, truly hand-rubbed oil finish lies somewhere between the
two extremes. Try this procedure once, and you'll probably never be able to see
one of those 2-hour products again without laughing out loud.

If you really want to spite the manufacturers, a common recipe for home-brewed
Danish Oil finish is to mix equal parts of boiled linseed oil, turpentine or
mineral spirits, and plain oil-based (gloss, not satin) varnish or spar varnish
(spar includes some UV inhibitors). The finishing procedure is the same.

The object of oil finishing is threefold:
1) Seal the wood.
2) Fill open pores and grain.
3) Make it lustrous, without a notable surface film.

Poorly done oil finishing, which we see a lot of, accomplishes the first
objective, but not the other two, leaving a finished piece that is fairly
well sealed, but entirely lackluster and uninspiring. In my opinion,
this is what you end up with most of the time by following the manufac-
turers' instructions.

So I trashed the instructions. Specifically, I re-wrote the instructions
for Watco Danish Oil finish, because it's the product I personally use most
often, but other oil finishes are very similar, and the method works well
with tung oils and other oil finishes.

Drying times are approximate, and at least in my shops, Watco dries more
slowly than the container's instructions would lead you to believe. It's not
imperative, but it is desirable that previously applied coatings be thoroughly
dry before moving on to the next step, which in my environment generally
takes anywhere from 1 to 3 days.

----- IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTE -----
Note that any rags and cloths you use are very susceptible to spontaneous
combustion. This can occur when the solvents attempt to evaporate from your
rags but do not have sufficient air to evaporate into. I won't make any
recommendation concerning what you should do with your finishing cloths, nor
will I take any responsibility should your shop catch fire. Watco and other
manufacturers recommend submerging used cloths in water to prevent
spontaneous combustion, and this is certainly the most foolproof method.
My own method is to take my rag(s) and drape it somewhere near my work
piece where it will get plenty of air circulation, and allow it to dry there.
That way I can also tell how dry the finish on the wood is by checking to see
how stiff the rag has become.

Also note that I recommend Watco Satin Wax in the final steps of the finishing
procedure. This is a liquid wax (which allows you to wet-sand the first wax
coat), and as of this writing, it is available in either natural (white) or
dark (walnut). Use the color that most closely matches your wood. If your
piece falls somewhere in between (i.e., mahogany), you can mix the two colors
to achieve an appropriate intermediate color. Watco itself is also available
in colors, but I've never found a need for anything but the natural variety.
And for the record, you can tint any oil finish mixture to any shade you like
by adding universal tinting colors or any oil/alkyd compatible tinting medium.
Some people have reported difficulty in locating Watco Satin Wax, so be advised
that there is nothing magical about the Watco brand. I find Watco's product to
have the perfect balance in viscosity, open time, and film hardness, but by
no means is it the only product that can be used. Most liquid shoe polishes are
very similar products -- and you can certainly mix your own liquid wax by
dissolving paste waxes in mineral spirits. My only caveats would be to use
products containing carnauba wax (which is a very hard material), and avoid
anything containing silicones.

The following finishing method is not endorsed by any manufacturer. I have,
however, used this method myself for many years, and have received literally
hundreds of endorsements from finishers who have tried it for themselves.
Just the same, use this method at your own risk and with discretion. I will
guarantee, however, that following the instructions closely will provide a
finish that equals or exceeds French polishing in terms of that unquantifiable
quality that causes people to seem unable to keep their hands off of your work.
In my mind, a well-done oil finish is one of the most sensual things on earth.

[Devo]

(continued ... )

DANISH OIL FINISHING INSTRUCTIONS

1. Disregard the instructions on the container.

2. Sand surfaces to at least #280 grit. Remove dust (you may not be able to
see it, but there is loose sandpaper grit mixed with the dust which will
interfere with subsequent operations.)

3. Wet surfaces with Danish Oil. Keep wet for at least one hour,
reapplying at ten minute intervals. If your workpiece is small enough,
place it in a 'bath' of the oil and 'baste' it.

4. Wipe off all excess oil. Especially with large-pored, open-grained woods
such as walnut, ash, mahogany, oak, etc., oil will seep from the pores
for several hours. Check the surface at least every 1-2 hours, wipe it
down, and continue until no more seepage occurs.
*Note: Obviously, it's best to start finishing early in the day.
The oil seepage will be lessened if your workpiece and your
environment are cooling rather than warming up.

5. Allow the piece to dry for 48 hours (or more).

6. Wet the piece with oil again, and keep it wet for a minimum of 20 minutes.

7. Wet sand with #400 grit. Sand with the grain, and add more oil as necessary
by wetting the surface of the sandpaper. Spend some extra time and
oil on the end grain, where the oil will be absorbed much more readily.
Wet sanding causes the wood's pores to absorb a slurry of oil and dust.
When adding more oil during the wet sanding, take care not to wash away
this slurry. If this step isn't done thoroughly, the end grain will never
seal, and will never produce a sheen similar to the rest of the piece.

8. Repeat step 4. (There should be little seepage this time.)

9. Allow to dry thoroughly.

10. If the surface is still very flat (dull), repeat step 7 with #500 grit.

11. Wet sand with #600 grit, wipe off, dry for 48 hours. By now your piece should
have that 'baby's butt' smoothness, and the wood's pores will be filled
and level. If not, you took a shortcut somewhere, so repeat this step again
after allowing the finish to dry thoroughly.
*Note that you can continue wet sanding, (which is actually polishing) with
finer grits for as long as you like. For very fine work, I frequently
continue up to 1000 grit and finer. Just be sure to let the piece dry
between each grit.

12. Apply WATCO Satin Wax. To enhance the sheen slightly, you can wet sand
with #1000 grit paper or a fine 'Scotch-Brite' pad. I don't use or recommend
steel wool because it shreds easily and generally makes a really hideous mess,
but if you prefer it, use #0000 wool. The wax is difficult to rub out if
it's been allowed to dry too completely, so work on manageable-sized sections,
or get a helper for this task. If you've been adequately anal-retentive about
making sure the wood's pores are completely filled, you can use a paste wax
rather than the Satin Wax with very good results. One major reason I recommend
Satin Wax is because it re-dissolves itself with subsequent applications, and
thus will prevent an eventual heavy wax film.

13. Let dry (about 10 minutes). Rub off excess wax (soft cotton cloth), buff (rub
hard) with a clean, soft cloth. I don't recommend power buffers.

14. Dry for 8-12 hours, reapply wax, and repeat step 13.

15. You're finished! Satin Wax can be reapplied any time to polish & clean previously
oiled/waxed surfaces.

Note: For wet sanding, the correct paper is silicon crabide wet-or-dry sandpapers.
The oil will render these papers not reusable, so get enough to use new pieces for
each sanding operation.
Wet/dry papers are usually black in color with a thin paper backing. 3M, Norton, and
Carborundum are the big manufacturers. If you can't find them at your local homecenter
or woodworking supply store, try your local auto body supply houses or a well-stocked
auto parts store. At auto-oriented suppliers, even the kids running the cash registers
will probably know what you're asking for. If not, look for the counterman with paint
on his shirt.

[eruji]

That was an excellent post Devo. Very informative, i wish i had read that before I did a natural tung oil finish on my saber. I agree with the article, dont put a coat of poly or laquer over the beautiful natural wood. I love the way the grain feels and looks.

[wandereruk05]

hi again...really helpful there Devo - perfect response! now for the interesting part - PICTURES!

[wandereruk05]

[Freedom777]

Great post DEVO - I spent the weekend at Home Depot trying to find "the quick and easy" solution to an oil finish....good thing I didn't find anything, eh?

I'll give this post another read thru, maybe a couple of times till it really sinks in and I'll do it right the first time.

WandererUK thanks for bringing the subject up ! *thumbsup*

[Devo]

No probs guys... the guy writes precisely and clearly and really knows what he is talking about... take your time with it and good luck!