Natural Finishes

Wizard

I've found what I'm looking for.

From another thread I was led to Neals Guitars and this picture.
What finish is this?

Gearhead

Looks to me like ash and lacquer, nothing else.

? The floor of the living in our house in Amsterdam looks like that ?

MikeM

And a bunch of grain filler ?

AlanRatcliffe

Natural ash with a bit of age yellowing. It's a look I like too.

http://ratcliffe.co.za/gear/sanox/pics/02l.jpg

guitarboy2828

Alan Ratcliffe wrote Natural ash with a bit of age yellowing. It's a look I like too.

http://ratcliffe.co.za/gear/sanox/pics/02l.jpg

Natural ash with a bit of age yellowing.. With a whole ton of switches, knobs, sockets.. and awesomeness! ?

MikeM

guitarboy2828 wrote Natural ash with a bit of age yellowing.. With a whole ton of switches, knobs, sockets.. and awesomeness! ?

Don't forget the owl ?

Sean

guitarboy2828 wrote Natural ash with a bit of age yellowing.. With a whole ton of switches, knobs, sockets.. and awesomeness! ?

Thank goodness you didn't mistake anything on that guitar for a sticker ? I don't know how long ago that comment was made, or who made it, but Alan's reaction back then still makes me laugh whenever I'm reminded of it ?

AlanRatcliffe

Only three sockets, four 3-way switches and three volumes! ? My other, later piezo equipped guitars featured only two volume controls and two sockets. There is a certain benefit to keeping it simple - particularly if you gig.

@Wizard - BTW, never buy a '70s Strat unplayed.

Wizard

Alan Ratcliffe wrote @Wizard - BTW, never buy a '70s Strat unplayed.

This isn't for buying; it's for building.
My current build looks very similar; but is Alder & Tung.
This means it has less grain and a matt look.

Hence - what finish is on that Ash ... and how is it applied?

AlanRatcliffe

My Sanox? Grain filler and nitro with a very slight amber tint. I did that many years ago and didn't have much in the way of materials, so used a normal Brummel (SP?) wood filler as the grain filler. The amber tint I used the old liquid Woodoc yellowood stain (mixed with some acetone to get it to mix in with the nitro properly). I had to tint the finish as I only refinished the top, so had to match it to the colour of the rest of the guitar (also modern lacquer doesn't yellow as fast or as much). The maple centre I masked off and used a darker version of the tinted nitro as a toner coat - I didn't stain the wood directly. You can see from that that there is actually very little red in the tint - it's actually the nitro that has become more red with age.

The Strat would be grain filler and I presume acrylic lacquer. Polys are near water white with a slight bluish hue and do not yellow at all with age (although the wood still suntans from UV exposure).

You can also use your tung oil as a basecoat, which gives it the golden hue, then seal with a wax free blond shellac and apply nitro as top coat, for a really beautiful, deep, high-gloss finish. If there is any figuring in the wood, the tung oil makes it pop with maximum chatoyance and the lacquer gives it the gloss, depth and more durability. I do all my maple necks this way these days.

Wizard

How is the nitro actually applied?
By spraying? Brush? Cloth? Sponge? ...

AlanRatcliffe

Spraying.

Wizard

Alan Ratcliffe wrote Spraying.

From a can or a spray gun?

MikeM

Spray gun.

You can look at poly, you can get some in can form. And I am not a big believe in nitro locally. High solid content pre-cat nitro, not much better than poly if you spray it right in my books.

Manfred-Klose

spraygun