Multiple wood lamination finishing

[Chris Tremble]

Nearly at the stage to start thinking about a finish for my first build.
I have walnut body wings with zebra wood and Purple Heart laminated pinstripes and a rock maple neck with sapele mahogany stripe down the centre.
I'm concerned about grain filling issues and what type of finish would enhance the grain but not muddy the different colours?

[Chris Tremble]

This might be a better picture

[Hans Bezemer]

This will become a nice instrument. Did you do the inlay yourself?

You could consider a danish oil / thru oil finish.

[Chris Tremble]

Thanks Hans,
Yes all the work done by me, although it's taken me 2 years to get this far!
Would I need to grain fill before using the Danish oil?
Danish oil has a low sheen finish doesn't it? Can I put something over it at the end to give a more glossy finish?

[Peter Wilcox]

Nice inlay - I'll never have the patience or skill to do something like that.

You can get a pretty good gloss with Tru oil - multiple thin coats, dry several hours between coats, sand if necessary, and buff/polish. You need to grain fill if the wood has open pores and you want a smooth finish. I suppose epoxy is OK, but I've never used it under Tru oil.

[Chris Tremble]

Thanks Peter,
You should try it! For me it's been the coolest part so far!
So I'm a bit of a rookie, do you mean coat the whole guitar in a layer of epoxy glue?

[Michael Lewis]

Finish sand through at least 220 grit to get all scratches out, wipe it clean, and seal it. It depends on what sort of finish you are going to use, but shellac seems to go well with most finishes. The point is to seal the surface so it doesn't soak coloration from the filler, then apply the filler and when dry sand level. You might need another application of filler to get the pores level, but you will see for yourself as you go. Just keep it up until the pores are filled. You may need to put another coat of shellac if you sand through to bare wood, but get it covered and filled, then you can put your preferred finish over the shellac. Probably the most durable and requiring the least equipment is an oil varnish with high phenolic resin content, or a polyurethane, thinned and applied with a foam brush. You could use TruOil but that would take many many hours and still not be terribly durable.

The effort you expend keeping things clean and following manufacturer's directions should pay off in a professional appearance.

[Chris Tremble]

Thanks Michael,
Your detailed advice is greatly appreciated!
Many thanks to Hans and Peter also, I think I have a much better idea how to go about it now.
I've just got to make my mind up on how I want it to look now.

[Clay Schaeffer]

Sometimes purpleheart can "bleed" a little color into lighter woods if the first coat of finish is applied too heavily. Misting on the first coat (if sprayed) or wiping on a thin coat and then allowing it to dry before applying the next coat can help prevent this.

[Barry Daniels]

I prefer the following approach, which works well for instruments with various woods adjacent to each other:
1) Spray a seal coat of lacquer
2) Apply tinted paste wood pore filler and wipe clean
3) Spray 6 coats of lacquer
4) Sand to 70% level
5) Spray another 6 coats
6) Sand to 95% level
7) Spray 2 or 3 more coats
8) Cure one month
9) Sand and buff

[Peter Wilcox]

So I'm a bit of a rookie, do you mean coat the whole guitar in a layer of epoxy glue?

No, not glue - an epoxy resin like Zpoxy to use as a clear grain filler under the finish. Spread it on across the grain with something like an old plastic credit card (or AARP junkmail card which I have lots of ), scraping as much off as possible and just leaving it in the pores. Then sand off the excess on the surface just down to wood, leaving the pores filled. Then start applying the finish (maybe after a coat of shellac as Michael Lewis suggests.) But as I said before, I've never used epoxy directly under Tru-oil, so don't know if they're compatible. Maybe someone else knows?

[Chris Tremble]

Thanks for all the advice.
Ive obtained some sealer, grain filler and nitro lacquer so i'll run with that. They're rattle cans, as i dont have any spray gear.
Thanks Clay for the advice about the Purpleheart. Would it bleed with the sealer application? I am assuming it would. Ill just go lightly and put on a couple of coats of sealer as well.
Once again thanks. Ill post some pics when its done so you can see how it went.

[David King]

Not all purplehearts will bleed, I've never had a problem with it. Just wipe across it with an alcohol swab and see if anything come up.