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Hey Guys.
I just bought myself a handmade canadian Lado neck-through guitar. It's hard rock maple with soft maple wings glued on the sides. It has all paint completely removed from the body.

I need to finish it. I haven't decided how yet. I was thinking of a hand rubbed oil finish. Does anybody know how to do them? What prep work I need to do for them?

Nitro is probably hard as hell - and I have no experience finishing guitars.

So can someone please give me advice on the procedure of doing hand-rubbed oil finish. Or any oil or furniture finishing procedure for that matter.

Thanks in advance
FR

Unless you have some experience and the right equipment you might want to steer clear of nitro for a first time.
The oil however is a great idea.
Sand from rough up to as fine as you can go without getting into the dark wet/dry papers-they can discolour the wood.
Some folks say to rub with steel wood for a nice patina some say not to.The not to's are because pieces of the wool can get into the wood and later rust.If you do go with 0000 wool-rub a magnet over the whole surface to pick up any stray 'hairs'.
A tack cloth is always handy to give the wood a light pass between grits.This will pull the dust out of the wood.you can get them at Canadian Tire for a couple of bucks.
After you go as fine as you're going to then tack cloth and wipe off with alcohol-this will get rid of any left over tack from the tack cloth,(BTW-don't be an idiot like me and set your tack cloth down in a pile of sawdust ).
After the wood has dried rub with a piece of undyed leather and then a soft cotton cloth,another wipe of alcohol and you're ready,(use alcohol instead of water for 2 reasons1-it won't raise the grain and 2-water can have minerals that can discolour).
Minwax makes a product called 'Wood Conditioner' this prepares the wood for whatever you're putting on it to accept evenly,even clear can discolour endgrain.
After that is done than rub a coat of Watco's Danish finishing oil,this stuff is amazing.It will seal the wood and highlight the grain.After a coat or two you can brush on some thinned shellac,(this will add a touch of strength).
do another coat or two of Watco's and top coat with Minwax Finishing Wax,this stuff is actually stronger than you think and has a nice sheen,(tip after you rub down each coat run a hairdryer across it,let cool for an hour or two and rub down again).
I just finished doing my son's guitar neck this way and am fairly happy with the look and feel.
You can also eliminate a few of these steps by either useing Tru oil or tung oil.

Thanks a lot John John, great info.

I have 1 question. What do I apply the Watco's with? Any cotton cloth? Do I press and rub it in for a long time? Should I use a lot of oil to thoroughly stain the wood or just a little bit?

Can I get the Watco's, the minwax Wood Conditioner, thinned shellac, and minwax Finishing Wax at Canadian Tire?

Also how do I apply the thinned shellac? with a brush? thickly?

I guess I'll just follow the instructions for these products.Definitely doing this in the coming several days. (Maybe tomorrow).

Thanks for advice!
FR

Apply the Watco's with either a good brush or cotton diapers,apply the shellac thinly and either with a good brush or a squirt bottle.
You'll need to let the first layer of oil dry overnight,same thing with the thin coat of shellac.
Don't use a foam brush,they tend to create bubbles.
To accelerate drying you can hang the guitar in the sun,the UV does wonders for curing.
Don't rush,this is fairly fast and durable finish.The fastest I've done one of these finishes is 1 day,but that was without shellac.
With UV and an early start you should be able to have the final coats on Monday,but even then let sit for a day or two and do a final rub-down before reassembly.

I've sanded the guitar to a point of 400-fine sandpaper. I'm not going any smoother - because I don't think it matters. Feels smooth as a babies behind anyway.

I put on the minwax wood conditioner two times - because I liked what It did to the wood.

I am now done with the first layer of Minwax Tung Oil. (They didn't have the Watco's at Canadian Tire).

In 20 hours or so, I'm gonna put on another layer of Tung Oil tomorrow.

Then I'm putting on the Minwax finishing Oil. I'll post pics after it's done.

The wood now looks very orangey. Very lively and warm. I think this will end up a very durable finish.

Thanks again JohnJohn.

No problemo.
I forgot to mention that if you use shellac make sure it's the white.

I suggest just burning the thing. Everyone know's Canadian wood is inferior. It all has that kind of whiney, quot;Eh Hoserquot; tone to it.

I wish I could think of something clever to say right now.


Originally Posted by JohnJohnI wish I could think of something clever to say right now.

You could send me your DAMN address for starters.

You'll have it when your nut arrives.


Originally Posted by Jeff_HI suggest just burning the thing. Everyone know's Canadian wood is inferior. It all has that kind of whiney, quot;Eh Hoserquot; tone to it.

LOL You crack me up, EH ?!?!
Well, the oil will help it burn much faster and brighter, EH?!!?! . Hell it might release some cancerous fumes too, EH?!!?!?JohnJohn - I'm not using Shellac.
As a matter of fact the guy in Canadian Tire told me that Tung Oil really seals up the wood. And after 2 layers of Tung Oil - its impossible to apply anything - because It won't get absorbed in the wood. He said he's went through the experience of trying to put 5 layers of Tung Oil onto a table, and the wood wouldn't accept it... What do you think about this?

I'm just going to do 2 layers of Tung Oil (1 more tomorrow), and then after 24 hours after the 2nd layer I'll apply the finishing wax.

So it should be done on tuesday.

PS: By the way, the finishing wax I bought is a creme color. They call it quot;naturalquot;. Is this ok? Will it color it a little bit?

Sounds great,can't wait to see it.
That sounds like the same wax I use,nice sheen to it.

please post pics!

would it be a good idea to fill a tub with tung oil, then dunk the guitar into it for a few minutes, pull it out, let dry, do it again, etc?

I am going to save all this info. I am, hopefuly, going to finish up one of my project guitars.

Is using a Laquer on a guitar a bad idea?

Tyler


Originally Posted by Quencho092would it be a good idea to fill a tub with tung oil, then dunk the guitar into it for a few minutes, pull it out, let dry, do it again, etc?

If you had $4,392.12 to spend on the finish. Pure tung oil is not cheap.


Originally Posted by Jeff_HIf you had $4,392.12 to spend on the finish. Pure tung oil is not cheap.

Yep. A 946 ml bottle of Minwax was 14.99 Canadian.

Here are the pix after the 1 coat of wood conditioner and 1 coat of Minwax tung oil. You can also see the 3 finishes I'm using sitting on the table.DOH. I've turned the french side of the labels!!! DANG !!! LOL

Originally Posted by Frantic_RockDOH. I've turned the french side of the labels!!! DANG !!! LOL

Damn foreigners.


Originally Posted by Quencho092would it be a good idea to fill a tub with tung oil, then dunk the guitar into it for a few minutes, pull it out, let dry, do it again, etc?

NO,you just want to coat the wood to seal it.If you saturate it you'll kill the wood.The cells need some air in them for the wood to resonate properly.
Plus it'll take forever for the oil to come out.Slow and easy is the best way to approach a finish.If the results seem slow and in the coming then you're probably doing it right.

Youngpup-Yes,Gibsons are finished with NitroCellulose laquer.I've had some good luck using Acrylic laquer,(I'd love to get my hands on the House of Kolor stuff).
If I'm remembering correctly Laquer,(originally) was derived from the shell of the Laq bug,(shellac).Basically it started out as bug spit.That's a simplistic version,but I'd research that before believing it 100%.It's been a few years since I looked that info up.
Also the term Laquer has often become generic,even though someone may say laquer finish,it's still best to find out what kind.