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http://www.wudtone.com/product/finishing-kit-surfer-girl/
A few have used the Wudtone finishing kits here with varying results, worth having a search to get some opinions.
http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/61134/sarge/p1
Have heard different reports on how strong it is as a finish though.
It *might* be worth deciding on what you really want - be it nitro, or whatever - and then stumping up the cash and taking your time...
More excitingly, I have today sanded all the Rit dye off the guitar and taken it back to bare(ish) wood, although some of the rit dye didn't want to come off.
It's amazing how easy all of it came off - part of my issue with the rit dye is how it sat atop the wood instead of sinking into it, and I'm fairly sure that given enough time playing it, all of the dye would've transferred from the guitar and onto my clothes.
Instead, I used crimsons stunning stains this time round, their purple variety. Applied in thin coats using kitchen roll, this is the result of about 3 coats of the stuff:
I then lightly sanded back with 1000 grit to remove a bit of the blotchiness, and then applied another 2 coats,
The last picture was taken in the garage, and looks a lot darker than it does under decent lighting.
Will let this sit overnight, then onto an adaptation of Andy's adaptation of Wez's adaptation of the slurry and buff Osmo procedure.
Also, a load of bits and pieces have arrived so over the next week or so, I will be assembling and wiring up the electronics to the pickguard, ready for final assembly in what I hope will be about a fortnights time (depending on how long the Osmo needs to cure).
Are you SURE that it is fully sanded down to the wood and that none of the previous finish or primer is still on there?
When you wiped it down with a damp cloth, did all of the wood darken as it was moistened?
It's just that is looks to me like the stain is sitting on top of a finish in places. It has gone a true purple where it has soaked in...and other than the strip of lighter wood, I would have expected that to be the same all over.
If it does need to go back and be further sanded, what grit should I go up to? I had been going up to 400 grit, but have read mixed opinions on how smooth to go.
Thats certainly not going to help in achieving a nice even stain.
Also, when trying to remove a previous stain, I’ve ended up having to thickness the wood - ie taking off about 1mm - rather than just sanding. That was to make sure that the previous finish was *completely* removed and hadn’t left any residue to interfere with the new finish.
At the minute, the stain is still very much drying,. It looks fairly blemish free so far, barring the dints and dents I clumsily made with the paint scraper.
Will burnish tomorrow with either 0000 wire wool or with super fine sand paper (unsure which to use) and start oiling.
When it's ready for the first applications of oil, don't do anything to it at all before you apply the oil. Using wirewool or sandpaper to burnish will just take the stain off the tops of the grain again.
Also, just a reminder if you are going to use my tweaked method for slurry and buffing a stained product. Remember that the first couple (or more) of decent coats of oil should be applied (and each let fully dry between coats) with no slurrying at all. You need to seal the stain into the wood and then (and this itself needs a very gentle touch) slurry the oil and not the stained wood.
This is another reason I'm a bit nervous if the wood wasn't completely clear of finish before the stain was put on. If that is the case, then some of the stain will be sitting on top of that old finish and as soon as you start slurrying at all it will just come off and leave you with the original finish.
The good news is that if I'm wrong, then it will be fine and if I'm right, then worst case is that it is just a case of sanding everything off and starting again - and I seem to remember someone saying that the Crimson stains come in pretty large bottles?
To be honest, if it does need sanding back further I'd be more than just a little bit purplexed. While taking the original finish off after heat gunning I went through 4 sanding disks. While taking the rit dye off I went through another 2. Plus a good dozen or so of various grades of sand paper between the two.
Unless theres half an inch of sealant on there (which there well could be) I assume that it'll be fine.
I didn't document every lat bit of the construction and setting up phase. Mainly because things like glueing in a new nut, levelling and crowning frets, setting saddle height and intonation, and most importantly, the method of applying osmo to a stained finish have all been done in depth before by people who are probably better at it than I am. Anywho...
Final bits and pieces began on friday, where I finished up the fret work and sorted out a small ding in the finish on the back of the neck.
Then saturday was soldering the pick guard ready to attach to the guitar. Something I won't rush into again given the pure levels of frustration incurred from this task. I needed more than 2 hands and a lot more calmness I think. Alas, it all works.
Then yesterday was final assembly. Screwed in the bridge, soldered in the bridge ground wire, output jack wires and screwed everything together. Strung up, raised saddles, adjusted the tension on the tremolo, tuned up again and now it's all ready.
Pics I hear you ask? Go on then
Now, a few things to note:
1) yes, I am going to get some control knobs, but I couldn't resist showing it off anyway
2) Yes, the gold hardware is an acquired taste, but if I'm going to make it a bit blingy then I'm going all in
3) The pictures don't do justice to the finish, which is a lot more deep purple and less streaky in person.
4) Whoever at Wilkinson decided to call their tuners "E-Z Lok" is a tool. They aren't "E-Z" and they aren't typical "Lok"ing tuners. A bit disappointed with them, but they hold tune even with extensive tremolo usage and they were only £25, so I can't complain too much.
All things considered I'm pretty happy with it. It sounds really good, especially the bridge P90. I'm also pretty happy the whole guitar, including parts, tools, stains I didn't use and a replacement neck pickup as the one I had didn't work, came to a total of £190. That's still a good few quid cheaper than what a brand new Pacifica 112 goes for on the Andertons site. And they're not as decadently coloured as this is.
In fact, I'm so pleased with it I already have another project lined up when funds allow me to begin.