Alder body finish,..

Talk about modding or building your own guitar from scratch.
User avatar
Afrika61
PAT PEND
PAT PEND
Posts: 15
Joined: Sat May 19, 2018 3:20 pm

Alder body finish,..

Post by Afrika61 » Sat May 19, 2018 6:00 pm

Hi all, new guy here.
I recently purchased on offset body from Saylor Guitars:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Saylor-Guitars ... 2749.l2649

I was intending to do this one up in a kind of capri orange but the grain has a rather nice look to it so I was wondering about finishing it in Tru-oil. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of info out there on alder/Tru-oil combos so is there anyone who's had any experience with that type of finish on alder?
Thanks in advance!

User avatar
Afrika61
PAT PEND
PAT PEND
Posts: 15
Joined: Sat May 19, 2018 3:20 pm

Re: Alder body finish,..

Post by Afrika61 » Tue May 22, 2018 7:34 am

Tuesday morning bump,... :whistle:

User avatar
PorkyPrimeCut
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 24464
Joined: Tue Nov 28, 2006 7:46 am
Location: Leipzig
Contact:

Re: Alder body finish,..

Post by PorkyPrimeCut » Tue May 22, 2018 7:42 am

I've not used it on alder, only a maple neck.

I'd imagine the results would be great though. The grain will pop a bit more, the colour will darken somewhat & you'll get that fantastic matt finish that'll feel & look better & better over time. Plus, it'll be easy to maintain.
You think you can't, you wish you could, I know you can, I wish you would. Slip inside this house as you pass by.

User avatar
Afrika61
PAT PEND
PAT PEND
Posts: 15
Joined: Sat May 19, 2018 3:20 pm

Re: Alder body finish,..

Post by Afrika61 » Tue May 22, 2018 4:14 pm

How did it work out with the maple neck: a little darker overall or no real change?

User avatar
oid
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 834
Joined: Sat Feb 10, 2018 8:19 pm

Re: Alder body finish,..

Post by oid » Tue May 22, 2018 5:07 pm

Adler darkens a fair amount, becomes much richer. I have saw a scrap of alder with linseed on it while cleaning up the garage, I will grab a photo when I get home tonight.
Logic gates based on billiard-ball computer designs have also been made to operate using live soldier crabs of the species Mictyris guinotae in place of the billiard balls.

User avatar
kdanie
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 4412
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2012 8:07 am
Location: On the road

Re: Alder body finish,..

Post by kdanie » Tue May 22, 2018 5:08 pm

Tru Oil has a very light amber tint. The best way to start is with a few coats the Tru Oil sealer/filler then move on to the Tru Oil top coat using as many coats as you feel is necessary. I've used it on lots of different types of wood including alder with great success.

ken
Life is an adventure, not something to be suffered through. Don't like your life? FIX it!

User avatar
PorkyPrimeCut
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 24464
Joined: Tue Nov 28, 2006 7:46 am
Location: Leipzig
Contact:

Re: Alder body finish,..

Post by PorkyPrimeCut » Wed May 23, 2018 2:25 am

Afrika61 wrote:
Tue May 22, 2018 4:14 pm
How did it work out with the maple neck: a little darker overall or no real change?
I checked back to see exactly what I'd done & it turns out I started with a good few layers of linseed oil first. I was trying to get the same look & feel as my '59 neck so I also hit it with some neat Raw Umber oil paint to get that aged, tinted look. Then I sealed it all in with several layers of Tru-Oil.

The oil paint method is actually really effective & pretty easy. I used a lint-free cloth & found that I had plenty of control over how dark the wood went. The more you buff it in, the thinner & lighter it becomes, still showing all the wood grain, so you can slowly layer it up until you get to the shade you want.

Image

Jazzmaster neck on the left.

I've only ever seen this done on necks though. A guitar body has much more of an exposed surface so I don't know how even you'd end up getting the finish. Might be just as easy to buy wood stain & brush or spray it on.
You think you can't, you wish you could, I know you can, I wish you would. Slip inside this house as you pass by.

User avatar
Ben17e
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 672
Joined: Fri Jun 10, 2011 4:19 am

Re: Alder body finish,..

Post by Ben17e » Wed May 23, 2018 5:43 am

I've Tru Oiled an ash body. Mine had color on it though. Looked like this:
Image
I was going for a nice satin/maybe slightly glossy finish here. I have seen where people have taken Tru oil to gloss but is a lot of work. I also am interested in General Finishes Arm-R-Seal for a wipe on finish and also like working w/ shellac. Just straight tung oil is very nice for a simple oil finish as well.

User avatar
kdanie
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 4412
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2012 8:07 am
Location: On the road

Re: Alder body finish,..

Post by kdanie » Wed May 23, 2018 5:51 am

Tru Oil is my favorite neck finish. Sand with 320 grit then 3 coats and buff it with 0000 steel wool and it's super slick but with only 3 coats it won't change the color much.

Another option for a body finish while showing the grain is Wudtone available from BYO Guitars. It's easy to do but takes a long time. It's available in many colors.

Image

Image

ken
Life is an adventure, not something to be suffered through. Don't like your life? FIX it!

User avatar
Afrika61
PAT PEND
PAT PEND
Posts: 15
Joined: Sat May 19, 2018 3:20 pm

Re: Alder body finish,..

Post by Afrika61 » Wed May 23, 2018 5:21 pm

Excellent stuff guys, keep it coming!
And thank you!!

User avatar
Ben17e
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 672
Joined: Fri Jun 10, 2011 4:19 am

Re: Alder body finish,..

Post by Ben17e » Thu May 24, 2018 6:41 am

Back to that Marauder and Wudtone - I originally finished it with a red/orange dye color from them. It worked fine but I have also found it just as easy/more versatile to just buy your own dye and mix it and then clear it. It seems like those kits are kind of overpriced for what they are but work well if you are looking for an all in one solution. It really is not that complex to just buy your own dye and clear coat of your choice be it an oil, shellac, clear spray or whatever you prefer. It just depends what kind of look/protection you're looking for. Spray satin poly is a nice natural look that feels good and is really easy to apply. I don't love working w/ gloss poly if you don't have a high quality sprayer.

User avatar
Afrika61
PAT PEND
PAT PEND
Posts: 15
Joined: Sat May 19, 2018 3:20 pm

Re: Alder body finish,..

Post by Afrika61 » Tue Jun 26, 2018 1:17 pm

Ugh, just spent 5 hours sanding the adler body with progressivly finer sand paper.
I need a Guinness now,...

User avatar
Afrika61
PAT PEND
PAT PEND
Posts: 15
Joined: Sat May 19, 2018 3:20 pm

Re: Alder body finish,..

Post by Afrika61 » Thu Jun 28, 2018 2:03 pm

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =3&theater

First coating of Tru-Oil and already I've created a problem: if you look close you'll see a slight dribble down the side as a result of too heavy an application on the soft cloth. Oh well, 23 coats to go,...

User avatar
gishuk
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1677
Joined: Fri Mar 19, 2010 10:57 am
Location: Devon, UK

Re: Alder body finish,..

Post by gishuk » Thu Jun 28, 2018 2:15 pm

Just sand it back level with a bit of steel wool or fine paper once its dry and keep going, it wont show in the end, Tru Oil is quite forgiving

User avatar
Afrika61
PAT PEND
PAT PEND
Posts: 15
Joined: Sat May 19, 2018 3:20 pm

Re: Alder body finish,..

Post by Afrika61 » Thu Jun 28, 2018 6:33 pm

Thanks, will do! :)

Post Reply