First time posting, and first time doing a semi-hollow body kit. Quick question for you all about the ES-1S. I know I'm not supposed to sand the top since it is Spalted, and a very thin veneer, but what about the back and sides of the body? Should I sand them? Thanks for the help!
Yeah you will need to do some sanding on the body, there will be machine marks that will show up once you start finishing. What are your finishing plans overall?
I'd start with some 120 grit and work up to 320/400 ish, depending on what your plans are. Once you start you'll see some of the marks that have been made by the factory tooling. Sand with the grain wherever possible, the end grains will be the trickiest, it just takes patience.
Build 1 - Shoegazer MK1 JMA-1
Build 2 - The Relliecaster TL-1
Build 3 - The Black Cherry SG AG-1
Build 4 - The Sonicaster TL-1ish
Build 5 - The Steampunker Bass YB-4
Build 6 - The Howling Gowing ST-1
"What I lack in talent I make up for with enthusiasm"
I'd say that you only sand if you need to sand. The back and sides are fair-faced plywood and shouldn't have any machine marks (maybe Sonic was thinking of veneer top solid bodies which often do have machining marks), so you don't want to sand unnecessarily as it is possible to sand through the outer veneer ply, which will look pretty bad.
You may want to do a very light rub over with 400 grit if you can feel any rough patches, but nothing too vigorous or with any pressure. Unless there are any serious marks (if so, post a photo as there shouldn't be), then if you are going to stain, then stain and lightly sand afterwards, to remove any bits of grain raised in the staining process.
Oh whoops, my bad, yes I was referring to solid bodies.. listen to this guy ^
Build 1 - Shoegazer MK1 JMA-1
Build 2 - The Relliecaster TL-1
Build 3 - The Black Cherry SG AG-1
Build 4 - The Sonicaster TL-1ish
Build 5 - The Steampunker Bass YB-4
Build 6 - The Howling Gowing ST-1
"What I lack in talent I make up for with enthusiasm"
Thank you very much!! I don't see any serious marks. I'm planning on doing a Tru Oil finish, and no stain on this one.
Fantastic top on that one, best of luck with the build!
FrankenLab
Hand crafting guitars, because Death Rays are expensive.
Hey all jumping on board this -
I'm jumping into my first kit build with an ES-1F - Flamed Maple Veneer
am I reading correctly that I shouldn't be sanding this at all before staining?
there is so much content on youtube/internet can someone point me in the right direction of something to watch/read prior to staining?
Cheers
Probably only a very light run over with some P800 or P1000 to remove any loose fibres on the body, and that's very light 'drag' indeed, almost no downward pressure. You can sand the neck if it needs it, but really no more than P240 is recommended as the final sand otherwise you can stop the wood taking the stain evenly if you use too fine a grit.
But:
1) Have you checked for any glue marks yet on the top, and if so, have you removed the marks? You won't get the stain taken up by areas with any glue on them.
2) Have you thought about masking the binding? Water-based stains may leave some marks which can be scraped off, but spirit-based stains have less surface tension and get into all the hairline cracks in the binding, and they generally can't be removed.
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