How to add satin finish to a plain wood body?

[_tom_]

I spent the afternoon stripping and sanding my old strat copy down to its natural wood colour. I was originally gonna redo it creamy white but after stripping it down I dont think I really wanna cover up the wood, it looks quite nice, if a little light. How do I go about adding a satin finish after sanding with really fine grade paper? I finished the neck with a gun stock oiling kit that feels quite nice, but is there anything that might give me a better finish?

Also, the body is really dusty from the sanding, whats the best way to get rid of all the dust?

cheers

[Searcher]

You want the satin on the body or the neck?

If you're just going straight on to the wood, there's a product called Varathane that will do what you want pretty well.  You can get it in aerosol cans and you'll need at least four cans for the body.  If you want to put it over the neck, you'll want to wipe it first with something to take the oils out.

Otherwise, you might wanna find some aerosol nitrocellulose lacquer, like the stuff sold by stewmac.com and ReRanch.  I dunno where to find it in the UK.

The best way to get rid of the dust is by wiping it with a cloth and then with your hands, after they've been washed and dried.  That's what I've found.  A lot of people say that the oils in your skin can affect the paint, but that's never been a problem for me (maybe I'm not an oily guy).  Otherwise, instead of your hands you can buy a tack cloth from a hardware shop.

[_tom_]

I want the satin on the body yeah, I've allready done it on the neck which left a really nice finish, so I might do what I did for the neck on the body.. I was gonna use a damp cloth to pick up the dust but then I realised I'd read somewhere that this will raise the grain meaning I'll have to re sand..

Oh yeah, the neckplate plastic cushion bit has gone missing.. do I really need it?

[mikeluke]

One other thing to look out for is something called a 'Tack rag' - need to go to a proper decorators' shop - will help remove all those last little bits that get in the finish - I assume that you want to keep the finish light in colour? Otherwise would suggest Danish Oil - needs a bit of maintenance but gives a lovely finish.

[tewboss]

I am awaiting pictures!

[_tom_]

haha its here, this is how i expect it to look when im all done (although the control layout will be different):



It always looks cr@p when I take photos of it, the bit where the two pieces of wood join always looks really bad, but its really not. Pretty pleased with it.