5-string active bass kit

[cwsquared]

Definitely try all the dye samples on wood, and ideally similar wood to your body. I wouldn’t go strait to “the back of the body.” Dye is transparent, and you will probably be surprised at some of the variations you get. I’d even go as far as recommending that you also put a few coats of Tru-oil over the test before deciding, as the Tru-oil is going to change the color.

In terms of matte v glossy, you can make a Tru-oil finish look like polished nitro if you want. Just a matter of being patient with the layering, and how you apply your last few coats. While I’m not positive that this is the case, I expect a matte finish would be hard to achieve, as the cured oil is still “soft” enough to polish up pretty easily where you handle it, especially your sleeve on your strumming arm.

But I’m totally with you on the infilled, oil rubbed finishes. I’ve built two with this finish, and will never go back to lacquer (and I have full access to a spray booth and have probably sprayed more than 20 guitars over the years). Besides how lovely a good rubbed finishes looks, it just feels incredible.

If you did want a matte finish, I have a Warwick base that is just waxed, and it’s stayed a lovely matte finish over the years. Would be super easy to do also… But I really love the look and feel of the rubbed oil.

Looks like a fun project, and a cool bass, too!View attachment 31815View attachment 31816View attachment 31817

(the Tele was about halfway through the oiling, so isn’t at the final gloss. I just needed to see what it was going to look like with the pearl on it)

Love that Strat. Roasted maple neck(?) looks nice. I am basically trying to achieve the level of finish the Tele has in the picture. I just want it sealed. I never wanted to go all the way to "like-nitro".

I feel like finishing the body/neck has my speed bump. So, getting a test patch done on similarly colored wood was a definite step in the right direction. I think I may throw a bit of Tru-Oil on the patch just to see how much it yellows. As dark as the green is, I think it will be OK.

 

[Alan W]

The Tele was probably under 10 (very thin) coats at that time. You may (depending on how thin you apply the coats) want more than that, but it’s easy to slightly dull out the fInish if it gets too glossy. I would call the Tele at that stage “satin” (almost verging on semi gloss, if you were a designer I was working with), and as long as it’s got that much sheen, you can ignore my caution about getting spot polished areas from body contact.

No matter what finishing material/technique you go for, I’d agree, it’s easily the most time consuming part of a build.* It’s also one that everyone, not just fellow guitarists, will also appreciate.

* unless you’re hand carving or something like that.

 

[cwsquared]

The Tele was probably under 10 (very thin) coats at that time. You may (depending on how thin you apply the coats) want more than that, but it’s easy to slightly dull out the fInish if it gets too glossy. I would call the Tele at that stage “satin” (almost verging on semi gloss, if you were a designer I was working with), and as long as it’s got that much sheen, you can ignore my caution about getting spot polished areas from body contact.

No matter what finishing material/technique you go for, I’d agree, it’s easily the most time consuming part of a build.* It’s also one that everyone, not just fellow guitarists, will also appreciate.

* unless you’re hand carving or something like that.

"Satin", that's the ticket.

 

[cwsquared]

So yesterday was "dye day". As I pointed out in the "What's on your workbench" thread it went on dark. I did give the front a sanding last night and I think I like how its going. Not quite what I was thinking it would look like, but worst case, I can always hit it with the dye again.

Before:


After:

 

[Feral Feline]

"DYE MOTHER FU...!"

Love the grain-pattern-pop.

Sorry about the initial outburst there. My wife dyes her own yarn and every time she says "I'm dying today..." I think "No, don't die, you've so much to live for!", but what I say out loud is "Dye Motherfu...!" — just like that, without the last hard-consonant syllable. It never gets old, for me. Maybe I shoulda been a dad...


So are you going to hit it with dye again, or perhaps more sanding?
While "after" does appear a bit blotchy (might be just the camera capture, wish I could see it in person), it looks really good with that grain sweeping across the top.

 

[cwsquared]

"DYE MOTHER FU...!"

Love the grain-pattern-pop.

Sorry about the initial outburst there. My wife dyes her own yarn and every time she says "I'm dying today..." I think "No, don't die, you've so much to live for!", but what I say out loud is "Dye Motherfu...!" — just like that, without the last hard-consonant syllable. It never gets old, for me. Maybe I shoulda been a dad...


So are you going to hit it with dye again, or perhaps more sanding?
While "after" does appear a bit blotchy (might be just the camera capture, wish I could see it in person), it looks really good with that grain sweeping across the top.

Thanks. I am definitely going to do more sanding. I may then hit again with a more diluted dye to even it out, because that isn't just the picture. It would be a dream to get it the color of the electronics cavity edge as a consistent color across the body. I may then be tempted to fill the grain with a light colored wax to get a similar grain appearance.

 

[Feral Feline]

My Tele-clone came from the Chinese factory quite blotchy and needs refin'ing, so I'll be following your experience closely!

Only pic I could find:

 

[cwsquared]

My Tele-clone came from the Chinese factory quite blotchy and needs refin'ing, so I'll be following your experience closely!

Only pic I could find:

View attachment 32204

Guess I should be taking good notes to pass on then. So far, I can say with certainty @Alan W is right, test out your formula on similar wood, better yet the same kind. I did on a similar colored wood, but the piece I tried my latest mix on took it different. I got lighter "green" right away on the test piece, that it took sanding to get on the actual body. Definitely learning a lot by just "doing" and adapting to what I end up with.

 

[Deperduci]

why it's hard for me to throw away the cut off wood chunks from a project... make great testing areas

 

[cwsquared]

"DYE MOTHER FU...!"

Love the grain-pattern-pop.

Sorry about the initial outburst there. My wife dyes her own yarn and every time she says "I'm dying today..." I think "No, don't die, you've so much to live for!", but what I say out loud is "Dye Motherfu...!" — just like that, without the last hard-consonant syllable. It never gets old, for me. Maybe I shoulda been a dad...


So are you going to hit it with dye again, or perhaps more sanding?
While "after" does appear a bit blotchy (might be just the camera capture, wish I could see it in person), it looks really good with that grain sweeping across the top.

No further work has been done yet, but I took it outside for some natural light. Still completely even color, but I think it looks better in that light. But I still don't think these really accurately capture it.

 

[cwsquared]

I spent some more time sanding today. I think the color is about as even as I am going to get it. So, I am calling that step done. I do see some variation depending on angle I look at it, but I think it just adds a bit of character.

Next step, Tru-Oil.

Figured I should take a pic with the neck and hardware, just to see if the colors worked. I'm thinking so.

 

[cwsquared]

Well, it has been a bit, but getting back to this. I am currently on Tru-oil coat #2. Here is what one coat and a bit of 0000 steel wool has me. This pic doesn't really do it justice, but I feel like it does bring out the grain a bit. It was more noticeable before I took the steel wool to it, I think.

 

[cwsquared]

Coat #2 was kinda heavy and I somehow missed a chunk on the arm carve. I had to really knock it back a bit and then I gave it an all over light coat (#3) to fix it. I think I am going to run some 0000 steel wool over it and go for a final light coat. Just to make sure I have even coverage. There are a few small spots I am not overly happy with on the front around the pickup routes. Hopefully I can bring them around.

So here I am at the moment, giving coat #3 a bit more time to dry, just to make sure. A bit glossier than I think I was initially going for. In direct light, it definitely shows the variation in colors with the grain.