Tims Les Paul Spalty

[wokkaboy]

Tim, don't over sand the spalted cap, they are very thin. As for rest of the body I'd keep sanding till there's no evidence of machine marks. The cutwaway photo above still shows you have some more sanding to do there. Wipe a cloth with turps over the body and this raises the grain and shows any machine marks or imperfections in the body surface.
Best of luck.
The DingoBass mantra is sand, sand, sand again, and when you think its finished sand again ! But this only applies to the body, not the cap !

[Timsan]

Thanks, Wokka. That stain inside the cutaway is incredibly persistent. I've gotten rid of all the other glue stains, but that one remains...

[Timsan]

The sanding continues... but it's given me time to consider the finish.

I have tossed up a few ideas, but not all of them have been good ones. It's hard to know how it will turn out without actual examples in front of me.

The one that is gaining traction seems to be Honey finish on the cap and front of the headstock, and Mahogany for the back and sides. I may be inclined to do a gradual darkening/burst of the Honey finish on the cap by adding extra coats of base to the outer edge. This would (hopefully) serve to deepen the colour as it transitions from the centre to the outer edge.

Has anyone tried this "single colour burst" idea before? It's kind of growing on me.

[wokkaboy]

Tim, your colour selection sounds great. Light colour for the cap and you won't lose any grain feature.
Not sure if anyone has tried the single colour burst, it could work but it would be quite subtle unless you did about 3 or 4 deep coats of the outer edge, then 1 or 2 base coats in the centre and slowly blend the colours. I think it can work. Another way would be to mix say 1 part mahogany, 4 parts honey for the outer edge once its had a few honey coats, that could be a more effective burst. Try this on a test piece of wood first so the wudtone mix isn't too dark. Those ratios are only a guess, you will have to experiment. Best put the wudtone mix into a spare bottle and shake well. I'd mix enough for 2 or 3 applications so you keep the same consistency

[Timsan]

Great idea, Wokka. That would definitely give me a more effective transition from the cap to the sides.

I'd be inclined to start at 1:10 or 1:20 and work the other way if necessary, gradually adding more Mahogany if needed. A small conundrum that I can forsee is the fact that Mahogany has a deep colour coat as well as the base, but Honey only has the base coat. How would I mix them in this case?

[wokkaboy]

no problem Tim, I'd mix mahogany and honey base coats to get the darker edge. Only use the deep colour mahogany for sides and back). I'd first go over the whole cap with one coat of honey base coat and also give a sanded test piece of wood a coat (doesn't have to be big say 40 x 60mm). Then 24 hours curing. Then make up the mahogany/honey mix and apply to half of the test piece of wood to get an idea how the colours will look. I know different woods give different results but it will be a good indication. Once happy with the mix then have a honey base coat in separate lid and rag, and after ragging on outer coat of the miox go over the centre with honey base and then blend with a 3rd rag to avoid colour contamination. Hope this makes some sort of sense !

[Timsan]

It does, mate. I also just watched the Wudtone videos on how to achieve a burst finish. I think I've got a handle on the process now.

[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEefXGSPdao[/embed]

[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tW3cnaHlOQ[/embed]

[wokkaboy]

no worries Tim, its harder than it looks in the videos but you may have 'the knack'
good luck and post some pics of your progress. If you want you can probably just skip my step one and go straight into the burst with the honey and mahogany/honey mix but a test piece of wood is a good idea. Also steel wool is handy for rubbing out the darker colours

[Timsan]

Haha, yeah... I kind of figured that it looked easier than it really was. I'll probably do a few practice runs on some offcuts before I start on the cap.

Could I use pine instead of maple as a testing medium? I'm struggling to think of where I'd find some maple offcuts to practice on.

[wokkaboy]

Hey Tim, sure pine will give an indication on the colour of your mix with the straight honey. Practice on the test piece (before you start sand it to 240 grit or whatever grit you sanded the cap to). Make sure you have 3 rags so one being a blending rag