First Build - ES-12G

[johnc]

yeh swanny, i'm going to try and put a black stain on the top face, just have to make sure I mask the sides off

[Swanny]

That's what I was planning for mine. It seems that masking tape is prone to leaching, so maybe don't flood the edges with stain.

[gavinturner]

Guys you might want to get some 3M pinstripers tape instead of normal painters tape. It makes a much better seal and you get very little leakage. You still should be careful just in case, but it's heaps better. Personally I love the 6mm 471 tape from 3M and use it every time I mask off to create the edge I need. I use blue painters tape attached to the 471 to mask off the rest of the area.

cheers,
Gav.

[johnc]

hi swanny/gavin, I used 3m blue masking tape on a test piece with black stain and the results were disastrous. lots of seepage under the tape. I've been told that using a light coat from a spray can over the finishing coat might be a better idea?

[johnc]

gavin, did you use the 471 tape with stain?

[gavinturner]

No, I must admit not with stain edges. Sorry it wasn't of more help.

cheers,
Gav

[Swanny]

John, I guess the nature of a stain is to soak into the grain, which will hold the colour of the stain applied. From what I've tried, it doesn't matter if you tape off an area before staining, when you apply the liquid it will be absorbed by the grain, and depending on the density of the timber, will leach through the grain under the tape, like a sponge.

For a flat surface like the headstock, if the sides are stained a lighter colour than the black you have planned for the face, then maybe spraypainting the black would be a better option. The paint will dry before it has a chance to be absorbed into the timber to show up around the edges.

Maybe many light applications of the stain would have the same effect, so the stain dries before it can be absorbed into the timber.

This is just my thoughts on how to approach the leaching problem, and others may have a better option.

[gavinturner]

What I typically do is to paint the headstock face and dye the rest. On my current LP build I taped the edges with 471 tape (and stuffed the tuner holes) and sprayed black auto paint. It was easy to clean up the edges with sandpaper because I hdn't stained there yet. I then added some lacquer for protection (using 471 again) and cleaned up the sides with sandpaper again. In both cases there wasn't actually any paint on the sides (the masking took care of it) but I wiped with sandpaper anyway just to clean up the paint/lacquer edge. After I was happy with the face, I then stained the rest of the headstock, just being gentle care on the sides and top that I didn't disturb my nice black edge. It worked well for me.

cheers,
Gav.

[johnc]

thanks for the info/advice chaps, looks like i might grab a spray can.
Might use your method next time gavin, headstock face first, then the rest