Rushburner ST-1A Build Thread

Thanks for all the tips everybody,
So basically I sanded back down and grain filled with an ebony filler and sanded that so now I'm ready for a stain once I figure out what kind of stain I wanna do. I think I'm gonna try and go for a black to yellow burst and see how she goes. On burst guitars is the back just black for a stratocastor? I know for lespauls past the binding it's just a solid colour stain but since there's no binding on a strat should it be bursted on the other side too or would that be too much? Any opinions

Seems to be sunburst on back and front on all the pictures I can find. I know it is on my Fender Jap Strat.

Awesome that looks like the way I'll be going then!
Hopefully I'll be able to finish up sanding tomorrow and then slowly begin the staining process

Ok gonna have to bother you all for your expertise here again,
so I am looking at different types of stains and locally all I can seem to find is Minwax stain. I bought three of them but can always return if they will not work, I purchased a black, a brownish red, and a golden coloured stain to do the burst with. The one issue that I'm not sure if its even an issue is that these Minwax stains are an oil based stain. Everywhere I see people are using water based stains and im not sure if theres much of a difference or if theres different procedures when applying. Any input is greatly appreciated!

Hi Rushburner, never used Minwax but the protocols are to try and stick with similar properties as oil and water based things don't get on too well together. However in saying that Tru Oil goes over just about anything provided the stuff underneath has had plenty of time to fully cure.

Now that you have bought the Minwax stains what plans did you have for the clear top coat? Were you going to use an oil based Minwax product for that too as that would seem to make sense?

Never done a burst but from reading lots of these build threads it would seem that lightest colour goes down first and then you work your way outwards as you move through the darker colours. Always best to test things out on scrap timber to get your technique right otherwise things could get messy and look crap.

Ok, I purchased some water based stain's and they finally made their way here today
I finished up staining the whole body with a subtle burst, from black to a redish brown to a lighter brown and it turned not too bad for my first time ever I am happy even though its not exactly shop quality.

Now on to more questions,
since it was a water based dye, the wood feels as if the grain is all raised again. Am I supposed to sand this back? Would this not take away some of the dye I just put in? or do I leave it
Secondly how long should one wait for the water based dyes to dry before moving on to clear coating?
And finally, I used Minwax wipe on poly for the neck and it turned out great, I was planning to use this for the body aswell however wanted to check and see if anyone knows if this wipe on polyurathane gloss finish will be able to go overtop of a water based stain?

Thanks again as always and Ill try and get some pictures up of the stain!

Another quick question here,
With this water based stain do I have to put some type of sealer down over top of the stain and wood before I begin the wipe on poly finisihing process? I see some places people do that and complain that the stain smudges?

Yes, it raises the grain, but a light sanding should remove the proud fibres without affecting the stain too much. As the wood absorbs moisture quite readily (which is why some wood fibres have swelled enough to stand proud) it should have soaked in deep enough that a gentle sanding with a finer grit should pull those fibres away without really affecting the main wood surface. if in doubt start at the finer grit end, rub lightly across the surface and see if that does anything. Don't press hard, just enough force to keep the paper on the wood. If nothing, then step down a grit, try it on a different area - and then repeat this process until it does have a visible effect and then wipe over the rest of the (guitar's) body.

I left my water-stained body a day between applications (I just used two), then waited another day before I started spraying with lacquer. If it's reasonably warm and not humid, then you should be OK waiting a similar time. If it's very cold or humid in your drying area, then you might benefit from waiting a bit longer. You don't want to trap moisture under your finish.

There's nothing in a water-based stain that will affect a poly wipe finish, once the stain has dried off.

Please note that I've never used a poly wipe, but this is what I'd do if I couldn't find any other guidance:

The basic dye used in water-based stains is often the same dye used in oil or solvent based stains. So once the water has dried off, the stain is liable to partially re-dissolve in any solvent it comes in contact with. Unless you can spray it rather than wipe it on, any sealer coat is likely to contain solvents that the stain is soluble or partly soluble in. Sealer coats are often thinned down versions of other standard finishes (for better grain penetration), so normally contain more solvent than other finishes - and so are a bit more likely to soften the stain and allow it to smudge if wiped over.

So the first coat or two you'll probably need to apply very carefully. I'd practice on some scrap wood first - stain it and then try applying the poly finish. I'd try dabbing it on, rather than wiping across the surface, for the first coat or two. You might not get a lot of finish on at a time this way, but it should be enough and you shouldn't smear the stain. Once that's dried, almost all of the stain should be locked in, and then the next coats you can wipe into the wood to get the fine grain holes filled and build the shine up.

Thanks for the insight!
Just a thought, could I possibly buy a spray on poly of the same type as the wipe on, give it a coat with the spray to seal it in and then continue with the wipe on?
And what grit specifically would yous say I start with for sanding the wood thats raised? For some reason I cant find any sandpaper that is a higher grit then say 600-800, would steel wool 0000 be somewhat similar?

I'd probably start with a fresh bit of 600. Maybe 400. It should be just rough enough to remove the proud fibres, without really doing anything to the wood. I'd avoid wire wool at this point because it sheds so many small fibres. Unless you are very careful at removing them, you could get them stuck under your finish. After any sanding I'd wipe all the surfaces down well.

Yes, any polyurethane spray should do, but make sure it is polyurethane, as anything else may react with the wipe-on stuff. The spray polyurethane may darken the overall finish slightly or add a very slight yellow tint, (the wipe-on stuff is clearer) but you'd only want a very light spray covering, certainly not a visibly wet continuous coat. The spray should be touch-dry fairly quickly but it takes 24 hours to dry fully, so wait at least this long before you start the wipe-on poly.