H's JBA-4 Fretless

Love that dark stain H

this is looking good H

First coat of TO is on. Looks nice so far. It's made the lighter parts of the wood a slightly amber colour which was what I expected, but I wasn't expecting to start noticing this much colour difference in one thin coat. Plan is 2 coats, light sand at 1000, repeat until happy.

I ragged on tiny amounts of TO (maybe 6-7 drops per side of the bass) with a fair bit of rubbing to get it on thin. It wasn't hard and didn't take long, but I'd like to hear how others do it. I think I probably need to go thicker for the next coat or two because as Waz said, the wood seems to be pretty thirsty.

Hi H, sounds good, the first coat is always thirsty so I usually keep applying TO till it won't take anymore.
Coats after the first won't take anywhere as near as much so I just have a small amount of TO on the rag and run the rag in one direction up or down the body and slowly move across the body.
Look forward to seeing pics !

I reckon I drastically under-applied for the first coat. Did it this morning, it was dry this afternoon, and the second application soaked in until I'd put maybe 2-3 times as much on. I'll do one more thin coat tomorrow and then start the sand/recoat thing.

Here it is just after the second application. If that approximates the look of the final outcome, I'll be very happy.

http://i.imgur.com/9SbLdbX.jpg

looks good H, don't worry if you under applied the first coat, just keep building up thin coats from now and there will be less wet sanding required later

One more question for today - At what point should I think about applying a decal to the head? I'm assuming fairly early in the process to build up some thickness over it. First coat's on the head now, so I might do that first thing tomorrow.

H, yes I would apply your logo after the first coat cures. Build up layers will protect it

Got the decal on. Since I printed a page of these things, it's the same as the one on the tele, looks much subtler over brown though.

Also because I printed a page worth, I had some to experiment with. It turns out that very gently wiping a tiny amount of tru-oil (edge of rag barely moistened) over the decal while it's still on the paper and then allowing it to dry seals the ink on nicely and doesn't affect the application process at all (or maybe even makes it a little easier, the decal seemed less prone to crinkling like that). Allowing it to dry first was definitely necessary for me. Putting the decal in water with the TO still wet on it caused the decal to wrinkle and the ink to lift.

This is with black-and-white laser printed decal paper and lukewarm water. I imagine using colours or an inkjet would change the result in different ways. From previous experience, using hot or cold water will definitely make a difference. I was lucky enough to hit on the right combo on my second try though, so I can't tell you what would happen with (say) tacky tru oil on colour inkjet decal in hot water. There's every chance it might work even better.

Edit: Update, this decal paper clouds if applied over tru-oil. It did on my test-piece and on the headstock as soon as the next coat of tru-oil is applied. I noticed a distinct colour difference, but also noticed that it was working properly around the edges of the decal where the new coat has seeped under. So I fixed it by applying the decal (with dried tru-oil coating it) over wet tru-oil on the headstock. That way there's no difference in colour between the clear parts of the decal and the wood around it. There's still obviously that little difference in shine, but that'll go with more coats.

G'day H, sounds like you are figuring things out on the fly and doing good.

Reckon you need at least 6-8 TO coats before any sanding as they are so thin you risk taking it all off if sanded too soon. Obviously if lumpy bits or unevenness appear that tends to force you into doing something sooner but if it is getting smoother and smoother with each application allow things to build up before sanding. You are really only sanding this stuff to level things out and eventually bring on the shine when heading towards final polish.