Hello!
I'm building my first cigar box guitar and I'm a little stuck with what to do with varnishing the neck.
I have bought some Ronseal ultratough polyurethane satin varnish for interior wood. I sanded the neck with 80, 120 and 320 grit sandpaper until it was nice and smooth, I then wiped it down with a clothe lightly dampened with white spirits.
I've now applied one coat of the varnish which I think is not really thin nor glooped on. The tin suggests 2-3 coats and on the last coat give the item a fine sand + wipe down with white spirits before application. Is this really necessary?
I kind of get the feeling the more I put on the more I'm going to interfere with the sound from the wood and 1 coat is probably good enough as its not a a fancy piece of furniture I'm building.
Do not want to ruin up my first one, it seems to have gone good so far! Gluing the neck and installing the tuners pending :P
Any help would be great thanks!
Rob.
Replies
I do my necks with EVOO. Extra virgin olive oil. A little goes a long way, and it buffs up beautifully. Shows the grain really nicely, and plays slick.
Or, you could sand your neck smooth, and not wash your hair for about 3 days. Then, rub that gunk all over the neck. The oils in your hair will be enough, and you won't have spent any money on soap, hot water, or expensive oils. However, you may have to buy your significant other a nice dinner and some flowers for putting up with your new-found insanity.
Look, I'm serious. If yer gonna try and experiment all these other expensive chemicals, at least give crazy a try, too.
however i have heard people Complain that it mildews very quickly. ( pretty damp enviroment im living in right now.)
That said, you could try using EVOO very sparingly on a test piece, and let it "go bad" to see what happens in your environment. You can always use the result as barbecue fire starter if it doesn't work out. Or you could try something like Goddard's Lemon or Orange Furniture Oil or Cream; that's what I wipe my commercial guitar necks and fretboards down with when changing strings. I change strings roughly once per month, or every two months, so my necks and fretboards get oiled at least 6 times per year. Haven't had any of them check or crack in my local hot environment, and I've been here for 9 years. I can get Goddard's locally now, but olive oil is way cheaper for the same amount.
See what happens. I've heard good things from
others as well. Good to know it takes the heat well.
Wish i could try the tru-oil, some anti-terror/border
Safety thing we signed with the US recently makes
It not worth the companies time to ship it up here.
I can always try linseed or tung oil tho!
Thanks Oily!
Birch with maple fret board or maple on maple with
Flamed maple fret board.
Here's an article on oil finishes you might want to reference, too:
http://www.woodcentral.com/bparticles/oil_finishes.pdf
My 2 cents is that #1 lacquer is fast drying, quick to build up a finish and my favorite is Mohawk brand High Solids Pre Catalyzed lacquer. This stuff builds really fast and will fill grain on oak!!!! It does not come in gloss but can be polished to any level of gloss you want. It comes in aerosol cans. Not to be found in stores. Mohawk is the gold standard in the furniture repair industry, http://www.mohawk-finishing.com/catalog_browse.asp?ictNbr=762
When using oils as finishes I strongly suggest whiskering before applying the oil and the feel of whiskered oil finished wood is exceptionally nice. Repairing is really simple. The down side to oil finishes is the slow cure time. I heat my oils for application thinned with turpentine or OMS. I put it on really heavy and let it sit for 30 minutes and wipe it off and repeat. TruOil gunstock finish is not included in this group as far as oil finishes goes. It is more like a urethane.
Urethanes are very tough and don't generally feel all that good unless they have been sanded and wooled. If you have a urethane finish and you sand it with 320-400 and then buff with 4-0 steel wool it will feel very fast.
You can make them all work and be happy with any one of them. Pick one and have at it. It's all fun.
Thats a great help thanks.
Hmm, I had a problem with whiskering on my ash neck (if I understand the terminology correct). I 320 sanded it then stupidly I used a damp clothe to get rid of the excess dust, but it whiskered up. Sanded it again and used white spirits that got it nice and smooth.
Yeah its been good fun making this. The help here has been great ands probably going to save me a good few poking around in the dark with different varnishes.
Rob...I see that you are in the UK...here's my suggestions.
In future, don't use polyuethane - it never dries hard, it's always a soft finish. Don't use linseed oil it will never fully dry either, don't use teak oil, it won't build to a finish.
Rattlecan clear spray acrylic from the local car or DIY shop works just fine.
My favorite is TrueOil gunstock oil..rub it on with a cloth..and that's it. Danish oil is very similar, tho' I find it is slower drying. Wipe in as many or few coats as you like, you can sand and buff it to a gloss or knock it back with 0000 steel wool for a nice satin finish. It's really easy and quick.
How many coats of whatever you are using will depend on the wood - some wood is very absorbent or open-pored. One coat will only seal the timber, but maybe that's all you want or need...just enough to stop it getting dirty. Don't worry about it affecting the sound..it's a stick in a box not a Stradivarius.
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