Refinishing my BD guitar

[kiteman]

Round one-rough sanding

http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/4915/s5030058.jpg (http://img844.imageshack.us/i/s5030058.jpg/)

http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/2849/s5030059.jpg (http://img844.imageshack.us/i/s5030059.jpg/)

Round two-fine sanding

http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/1579/s5030060.jpg (http://img837.imageshack.us/i/s5030060.jpg/)

http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/7708/s5030061.jpg (http://img837.imageshack.us/i/s5030061.jpg/)

Note for fine sanding, don't use anything to wipe the dust off, use compressed air. Leaves fine scratches. :thwap

Round three-stain first coat

http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/7927/s5030062.jpg (http://img534.imageshack.us/i/s5030062.jpg/)

I don't know how that's going to come out. The grains may not be worth enhancing or whether I should sand again but there it is.

By the way, the instructions says to let it soak for 5-15 minutes but I wiped it dry after two minutes. The wood was really soaking it up.

Round four-rough sanding

http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/4745/s5030063h.jpg (http://img638.imageshack.us/i/s5030063h.jpg/)

http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/5817/s5030064s.jpg (http://img638.imageshack.us/i/s5030064s.jpg/)

Ran out of sandpaper.

[bigoldron]

Looking good, Kite! So you did decide on staining it huh? What color stain are you going with?

[kiteman]

Looking good, Kite! So you did decide on staining it huh? What color stain are you going with?

Miniwax Wood Finish Cherry 235. After that it'll be clear gloss poly wipe.

[bigoldron]

Miniwax Wood Finish Cherry 235. After that it'll be clear gloss poly wipe.

Sounds cool! Can't wait to see the pics. I like when we get updates as the project progresses. Good luck with her!

[kiteman]

Glad you'll enjoy it. :dance

I'm taking my time on this. I'm thinking about triple step jobs but I'm not sure. I guess it'll depend on how the first step goes.

[Bloozcat]

Did you use and wood pore filler, kiteman? Or are you going more for a hand rubbed "furniture" type finish with an open pore?

[kiteman]

Say guys, what's cherry? I don't see anything reddish about it.

EDIT: I didn't use any filler. I don't know much about finishing.

[Bloozcat]

Cherry stain does rely upon the natural reddish tones of the cherry wood to enrich the color. Cherry stain is generally a lighter reddish color compared to some of the mahogany stain finishes. A good piece of mahogany generally finishes well with just clear applied, although it won't come out real dark and reddish without stain enhancement. This is why I mentioned mixing a cherry and mahogany stain together, although a good, plain mahogany stain woks well also. Here's a stain chart to look at:
http://www.displaycasestands.com/sitebuilder/images/wood_stain_chart-600x463.jpg

EDIT TO ADD: You could still use a clear filler if you wanted to eliminate the open pore showing after you clear coat. In fact, it is preferred that you stain first, then fill the pore as the stains will most likely not penetrate the pore filler if it's applied before hand. That wouldn't look good at all.

[kiteman]

Thanks Blooz, too bad I didn't see the chart. My friend mentioned that he has some red stain at his house. I'm going to look later.

[Bloozcat]

A good mahogany stain will probably work best. Whatever stain you choose, try it out on a piece of scrap wood first. If it's pine or a similarly light wood, know that it will be darker on the mahogany.

If you look at Gibson guitars you'll notice that some (bodies) look like a medium brown color. Those guitars are shot with clear and the mahogany is Honduran, which is not a dark mahogany. The bodies that appear a darker mahogany or deep reddish mahogany are enhanced with stain. African mahogany has a naturally darker tone to it and will generally look nice even when shot clear with no stain.

[kiteman]

Round five-rough and fine sandings

http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/3808/s50300632.jpg (http://img203.imageshack.us/i/s50300632.jpg/)

http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/6659/s50300642.jpg (http://img203.imageshack.us/i/s50300642.jpg/)

It revealed some more grain so I'm done sanding. Whew!

Here's an outdoor shot what it really look like.

http://img375.imageshack.us/img375/3473/s5030065.jpg (http://img375.imageshack.us/i/s5030065.jpg/)

[kiteman]

Round six-two coats of spray shellac so far. It looks like the way it was before I started but it's not. The yellowish hue (from the poly) is gone.

http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/3597/s5030066.jpg (http://img706.imageshack.us/i/s5030066.jpg/)

[kiteman]

Round seven-fine sanding and one coat of shellac. This time outdoor shot to show the real beauty. :D

It ain't done yet but it rained so I stopped and let it cure for now.

http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/5710/s5030067l.jpg (http://img822.imageshack.us/i/s5030067l.jpg/)

http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/2690/s5030068.jpg (http://img822.imageshack.us/i/s5030068.jpg/)

[kiteman]

Round eight-two more coats of shellac. Getting some shine.

http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/9145/s5030067.jpg (http://img691.imageshack.us/i/s5030067.jpg/)

[URL=http://img691.imageshack.us/i/s5030068h.jpg/]http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/5440/s5030068h.jpg[/URL

[Tig]

Round eight-two more coats of shellac. Getting some shine.


Wow, that's looking really good now. You might need some very light sanding between each coat, like worn down 400 grit or 600 grit in the later stages. Just enough to knock down any dust or roughness. It should take 12-24 hours to be dry enough for even light sanding.



// That SA neighborhood in the pic's looks familier... Her name was Michele! ;)

[kiteman]

Wow, that's looking really good now. You might need some very light sanding between each coat, like worn down 400 grit or 600 grit in the later stages. Just enough to knock down any dust or roughness. It should take 12-24 hours to be dry enough for even light sanding.



// That SA neighborhood in the pic's looks familier... Her name was Michele! ;)

I have a niece named Michele. Your turn. :D

anyway I was going to steel wool it once it cured.

[bigoldron]

Looking REAL good Kite! I think you're on the right track with the steel wool, maybe some 000 or 0000 should smooth it out nicely. Can't wait to see the finished product!

[kiteman]

Me too. :)

[kiteman]

Round nine-One coat of shellac and it's getting smooth to the touch. I think I can stop spraying. I believe that's six coats already.

No pics, recharging batteries.

[Bloozcat]

That's looking great, kiteman!

The cherry stain brought out the natural grain in the wood nicely and additional applications of shellac should darken it some more.

[kiteman]

Thanks, I steel wooled the body and it took the shine off but really smooth. It's got two more coats to bring the shine back but appeared smoother.

http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/6459/s5030073.jpg (http://img836.imageshack.us/i/s5030073.jpg/)

http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/6979/s5030074.jpg (http://img836.imageshack.us/i/s5030074.jpg/)

I forget to blow out the wool in the cavities so I have more work to do. I'd just wiped it down before spraying.

[bigoldron]

Very nice, Kite! She is going to be gorgeous when you're through! Can't wait to see the finished product!

[kiteman]

It'll probably be a week before I do anything with it. Shellac takes a long time to cure.

[M29]

Lookin good Kite!! It takes time but it well worth the wait. :rockya

[kiteman]

..still curing but almost there. :dance

[mrmudcat]

Looking really nice brother:dude

[bigG]

Looking really nice brother:dude

+1 on that, Kite! Good stuff! :thumbsup

[kiteman]

Thanks guys. :)

The pics doesn't do it justice. It's actually a beautiful piece of wood. I can see the depth in it. Move it around and it shimmers (for a lack of word to describe it).

[syo]

Shimmering wood is good. Somehow I missed this thread. I enjoyed going over your progress and seeing the results. Looking forward to the final showing. Looks great already. :applause

[kiteman]

Assembled. Just gotta wire it up and string it. :)

..and setup of course.

http://a.imageshack.us/img64/8416/s5030076u.jpg (http://img64.imageshack.us/i/s5030076u.jpg/)

http://a.imageshack.us/img64/9734/s5030077.jpg (http://img64.imageshack.us/i/s5030077.jpg/)

[Katastrophe]

That looks beautiful, Kiteman. Love the grain pattern.

[Eric]

Nice looking! Do you have any before pictures? I forget what the finish looked like before you started on this.

[kiteman]

Nice looking! Do you have any before pictures? I forget what the finish looked like before you started on this.

http://a.imageshack.us/img715/9189/s5030002.jpg (http://img715.imageshack.us/i/s5030002.jpg/)

There we go, before and after. :)

[URL=http://img834.imageshack.us/i/s5030078.jpg/]http://a.imageshack.us/img834/7537/s5030078.jpg[/URL

[bigoldron]

She turned out BEAUTIFUL, Kite! Great job!

[kiteman]

Thanks guys. :dance

It does look better than before. I wonder if my sanding revealed more grains cause it looks more even. Also the stain brought 'em out real nicely.

When I dug out the "before" pics I thought "ugh!" And I tried to sell it. :mybad

EDIT: check out the pics above, big difference.

[Bloozcat]

Great job, kiteman!

Awww...ain't it cute. There's nothing like the love between a boy and his guitar. Boy falls in love with guitar, boy loses interest in guitar, boy falls in love with guitar again...:luvit
:D

[kiteman]

Great job, kiteman!

Awww...ain't it cute. There's nothing like the love between a boy and his guitar. Boy falls in love with guitar, boy loses interest in guitar, boy falls in love with guitar again...:luvit
:D

Duh! :)

[Bloozcat]

Duh! :)

I'll bet it even sounds better now. C'mon...you know you were thinking it....:poke

[kiteman]

I'll find out as soon as I put the strings on, all the wiring's done. :D

[kiteman]

There! Done! Finished! It's over! :dance

http://a.imageshack.us/img717/758/s5030079.jpg (http://img717.imageshack.us/i/s5030079.jpg/)


EDIT: It still sound the same so... :D

[Rockermann]

The indoor pics don't seem to do it justice. Need one final pic in some outdoor light. It's so much darker looking outside.

[kiteman]

Here you go.

http://a.imageshack.us/img819/9831/s5030080.jpg (http://img819.imageshack.us/i/s5030080.jpg/)

[Rockermann]

Looks terrific. Thanks... Nice job on the refinish!

[bigoldron]

Kite, she turned out GORGEOUS! Great job there! Now, you need to refinish the headstock to match the body!!! LOL

[kiteman]

Thanks guys. The headstock? Refinish? Uh, I don't think so. :)

http://a.imageshack.us/img832/7568/s50300332.jpg (http://img832.imageshack.us/i/s50300332.jpg/)

[bigoldron]

Thanks guys. The headstock? Refinish? Uh, I don't think so. :)

http://a.imageshack.us/img832/7568/s50300332.jpg (http://img832.imageshack.us/i/s50300332.jpg/)

Oops. My mistake, Kite. I can SEE why you don't want to tamper with that.

[kiteman]

Funny thing is it's a Buck Dharma signature guitar but I don't think he endorses it and he only played it for a while. What I got is a no frills model and it's cheaper.

[kiteman]

Funny, the finish on the body gets sticky and I know I gave it plenty time between coats of shellac. I shellacked the body on my Carvin Bolt and it's good but it had less coats.

Too many coats? I got it hanging now to air it since it was kept in the case. I hope it'll harden.

[LeadedEL84]

Funny, the finish on the body gets sticky and I know I gave it plenty time between coats of shellac. I shellacked the body on my Carvin Bolt and it's good but it had less coats.

Too many coats? I got it hanging now to air it since it was kept in the case. I hope it'll harden.

That turned out great Kiteman. I was thinking in the beginning that the guitar looked good as it was and you should have left it that way. Seeing the finished pics now though I think it turned out beautiful. Looks like it has more depth and the color is so much warmer. Nice job, man!

You are doing the right thing leaving the guitar in open air to continue drying. I used to do small furniture/shelving projects and gun stocks with different types of shellac and oil finishes. I learned that to get a good hard final finish it takes many light coats with proper dry time. The thicker the coat the longer the dry time. Using either method took me weeks and weeks of application and dry time cycles to get the finish I wanted. Especially in the hot summer months it would stay tacky for a long time. The longer you let it "cure" in the open air the harder and dryer it will get.

[kiteman]

Thanks el84 and you're right. It's hot as hell (literally) here and it is tacky. Letting it air should do the trick.

I played it today and that's how I found out. Jammin' sob I tell ya. :)

[kiteman]

Had to post this to see the difference. It seems to get darker or browner but damn, it's pretty. :dance

EDIT: That's how I'm airing it.

http://a.imageshack.us/img576/3793/s5030085.jpg (http://img576.imageshack.us/i/s5030085.jpg/)