My first build GST-1

[TonyV]

Hi all, so I'm about to start my first build, a lovely GST-1 Strat kit. So far I'm pretty impressed with the quality of the Pitbull kit. I'm slowly stepping through the build manual that I found on the Pitbull site. Is there any further info for the ST kits themselves?

I also have some questions regarding what to use for finishes. Below you'll see a couple of pics of my kit, and then one which I found online (on this forum somewhere a while ago if I remember correctly) that shows the look that I want to achieve. Essentially I want to get a colour close to the Fender Hot Rod Red, but still want to allow the pattern of the body grain to show through, and then have a nice smooth glossy finish over it. I'm thinking of using FW's Tung oil, then a stain, and then FW's Wipe on Gloss Poly. Thoughts on this? There seem to be so many options for finishing, so looking for some good advice on this one.

As for the neck, I was thinking just Tung oil for the maple neck, and mineral oil for the Jatoba fretboard? Again, am I on the right track here?

And where would people recommend I obtain a suitable stain? I'm in Brisbane btw, so hoping to pick something up locally rather than relying on COVID-19 affected freight delays from interstate or overseas.

Many thanks, and looking forward to diving into this community and this new addiction, umm I mean hobby
(I'm already secretly planning kits 2, 3, and 4. Don't tell the wife )

[Simon Barden]

Hi and welcome.

Your finish plans seem a bit strange to me. You'd normally use either tung oil or wipe-on poly, but not both, And you'd certainly stain the wood first otherwise you'd just put stain the top of the tung oil.

You've got an ash body, so that will definitely need grain filling if you want a smooth shiny finish as shown in your photo. Grain fill, stain, then apply either tung oil or wipe-on poly.

Tung oil for the back of the neck is fine. Not sure what you mean by 'mineral oil' as that covers a wide range of hydrocarbon oils. It's normally either lemon oil or boiled linseed oil to stop the fretboard from drying out.

[TonyV]

Thanks Simon,

What grain filler would you recommend?

[Simon Barden]

Most people here from Australia use Timbermate.

[FrankenWashie]

Nice looking kit Tony, welcome aboard!

[McCreed]

Not sure what you mean by 'mineral oil' as that covers a wide range of hydrocarbon oils.

I'm pretty sure he's referring to plain old mineral oil that you would pick up at the chemist or hardware store.
You can buy "food grade" mineral oil, but it cost way more than the bog standard stuff and is completely unnecessary for a fretboard.

FWIW, when you buy "lemon oil" for your guitar, you are literally getting lemon-scented mineral oil at an inflated price.
If you want your fretboard to smell lemony, a few drops of essential oil of lemon into a small bottle of mineral oil and you've got the same thing for a fraction of the price. You can also use straight unscented mineral oil just as effectively.

I have a bottle of an Aussie product called O-Cedar. It's a furniture polish, and guess what the main ingredient is? Mineral oil.

I think it's a 150ml bottle. I have had it for at least 15 years and at the rate I've used it, it will still be over half full by the time I'm dead and buried.

[TonyV]

I'm pretty sure he's referring to plain old mineral oil

Hi McCreed, you are correct. I have a bottle of white mineral oil that I've been using on wood products for a while, and it is lasting forever. I used it on the fretboard of my son's Strat when I was cleaning it up and it really made it pop.

https://www.ikea.com/au/en/p/skydd-w...-use-00170993/

I guess I would like to know if this is safe and appropriate to use on a raw Jatoba fretboard? Or whether I need to source something else.

[Chaosblade]

For mineral oil, check out the laxatives at the grocery store or pharmacy. It's a common laxative and cheap too, and you can usually find some without additives for taste. Baby oil is also mineral oil, but usually has fragrances added.

[TonyV]

Got a small amount of time to work on the kit last night. I decided to do a bit of tidying up of the wiring on the pickguard, as well as shaving (filing) some off around the heel of the neck, which should allow me to get the guard situated a bit better to completely cover the pickup routes and give the bridge a little bit of room to move.

Still waiting for my notched straight edge to arrive from PB, and for my Rit dyes to arrive as well.