guitar build, finish advice needed

[Philly Q]

Now, I do have a Fender Japan tele up in the loft (no geetars or parts allowed under the bed here!).

Ah, I haven't got a loft, unfortunately.

If I did have..... it would be full of guitars and guitar parts.  :|

[juansolo]

Ah, I haven't got a loft

But he needs a ladder to get into his bed. ;)

[Ian Price]

 :D. If I remember rightly Philly is a tad taller than Tyrion Lannister  :)

Back on thread - I've been watching some Nuno videos today. Love the natural look of his N4. Got me thinking that I'd like a natural finish on my guitar (the Baja is watching me nervously from across the room as I type).

[Philly Q]

:D. If I remember rightly Philly is a tad taller than Tyrion Lannister  :)

I had to look up who that is!  (I never did read that book, as mentioned in the books thread elsewhere)

Yes I am a bloody tad taller!  A mighty 13" taller than Peter Dinklage, in fact.  :P

[juansolo]

Should have the oil and sanding all done by the end of today. No idea where the wire wool has got to. Dispatched Friday if you believe the e-mail...

[juansolo]

A teaser while I sort the pics out...

[juansolo]

Righty, first a reminder, this was pre-damage



...and this is now with an oil and wax refinish (I've tried to take the same picture. This one is clickable for enlargement). The result of £35 in materials and approx 10 hours solid work over the space of about a week. To say I'm pleased with how it's turned out would be the understatement of the century.



So then, it looks way better than it did from the factory, it's slightly lighter at 7lbs dead now and it seems more resonant. Before I'd finished this I'd never have attempted this on a non-damaged Baja. Now I think I genuinely would. It's dramatically better than it was in many ways and the process was actually enjoyable. If the grain though the plastic looks good, I think it's worth the risk.

[Ian Price]

Oh good lord, that looks great!

Out comes the hair dryer! Would be good if could put a few comments up about the oil and wax finishing process you went through!

[juansolo]

It looks (and feels) way better in the flesh!

I from now on shall refer to Wez as Sensei. His methods yield outstanding results. *bows to master Wez*

It boils down to this:

- Poly removed with a hair dryer, butter knife and pancake flipper
- Power sanded the body with 70 grit to remove the majority of the sealant/residue
- Hand sanded the rest with a load of 70 until it was just wood
- Then working up the grits until it got to 400 and it was smooth as a baby's arse. All still dry at this point.
- Apply a thick coat of oil over the entire body with a rag and leave to hang 24hrs (actually it ended up being about 36hrs for mine).
- Then wet sanding with oil at 600 and buffing off. Did that twice. (watch Wez's video for the technique).
- Then 800, twice.
- Then 1200 about 4 times.
- After a thorough buffing, the wax was applied using 0000 wire wool and buffed off. Did this twice.

Products were all the ones that Wez recommended.

[WezV]

glad it all worked out for you.   I sometimes feel a bit guilty when people try my methods and dont get the same results i do

my process has kind of been arrived at over years of fudging it.... but it does work bloody well.

Its a finish that feels as good as it looks.   a bit shinier than most expect from a thin oil finish and not a thick film like some people try to do with tru-oil.... just super slinky and 'organic' (in the proper sense of the word, not the marketing BS one)

[AndyR]

Flip! That do look good. Don't look like a Baja anymore, but it do look very tasty indeed.

You must be a very happy boy - I remember how chuffed I felt when I did it to my Explorer (and I didn't take nearly that much care with the sanding and buffing).

Are we talking a LOT of sealant under the shell? I'd be doing that by hand, and I'm finding that aspect slightly off-putting (and the fact that I like the look of mine).

BUT - I do remember trying a couple of the Roadworn teles, they were basically the same geetar but with reliced nitro on the body and much of the neck poly removed. The first one I tried was quite stunning. It felt lighter and more resonant than my Baja (and mine zings a bit - Jonathan commented on it when he was refretting it). I almost got a Roadworn as well, but couldn't really justify it, and it would have meant the Baja didn't get played... I've since got two Roadworn strats and they are the liveliest things in the building here. Often thought I mebbe should have got that first Roadworn tele I tried... or mebbe take Alice's clothes off...

But I only did my Explorer because I had major issues with the existing finish. I dunno, I like Alice the Baja "as is" at the moment, and it's a bit of a risk on a non-busted guitar...

I know, I'll wait and see what sort of state Ian gets in on his!!

Get on with it Ian! We're all watching... no pressure :lol:

[juansolo]

glad it all worked out for you.   I sometimes feel a bit guilty when people try my methods and dont get the same results i do

my process has kind of been arrived at over years of fudging it.... but it does work bloody well.

Its a finish that feels as good as it looks.   a bit shinier than most expect from a thin oil finish and not a thick film like some people try to do with tru-oil.... just super slinky and 'organic' (in the proper sense of the word, not the marketing BS one)

It's not as good as the Stratele, which is spectacular. But it's got that same look and feel. I'm massively, massively pleased with it. I can't thank you enough for sharing your ninja-like techniques. It's saved me a fortune in getting it resprayed or replacing it. I honestly thought it was firewood when before I started (the damage was pretty bad).

[juansolo]

Oh good lord, that looks great!

Out comes the hair dryer! Would be good if could put a few comments up about the oil and wax finishing process you went through!

If you want a hand with stripping it, feel free to pop over to Cleggy's and we'll give you a hand. He's just about got all the poly out of his carpet now ;)

Are we talking a LOT of sealant under the shell? I'd be doing that by hand, and I'm finding that aspect slightly off-putting (and the fact that I like the look of mine).

To be honest we abandoned the power sander pretty quickly as we got better results doing it by hand. A couple of hours work with a pack of cheap 70 grit and a sanding block.

[Ian Price]

I know, I'll wait and see what sort of state Ian gets in on his!!

Get on with it Ian! We're all watching... no pressure :lol:

You might be waiting quite a long time!

I have just had a quick look around the house though and have found the following:

Hair Dryer
Butter Knife
Pancake Flipper
Lots of sandpaper of varying grades
Liberon Wire Wool (0000 grade)
Tru Oil - gunstock finish
Briwax - medium brown

Not sure if that Oil and Wax would be appropriate though.

[juansolo]

That's the same Tru-Oil I used. Not sure there's any other types of it. I used a massive amount. Not sure if I went overboard. I got a 8oz bottle and used 2/3 of it!

Sticky and horrible to get off your hands. Either wear surgical gloves or you'll need some white spirit to wash your hands with afterwards.

I used Briwax natural. I imagine medium brown will darken things somewhat.

I suspect your biggest problem will be breaking into your poly. In that respect the huge holes in mine were a godsend.

Technique for getting the finish off is kind of a two man job. One with the dryer, the other with the broddler. When you have an opening, heat around it where you plan to stick your broddler of choice. Eventually it gets hot enough to go soft and the broddler just pops underneath. Heat in front of it and broddle. Don't get impatient and only broddle when it's easy to do so. The pancake flipper is your friend on the front and back. You might need to switch to the butter knife for some of the more awkward bits.

You may have to cut into it to start yours off. Do it under the pick guard around the holes routed under there. I'd still soften it first then go at it very carefully with a craft knife.