Hello everyone, I have a sanding question. I am building a strat with a zebra veneer. I've watched some finishing videos where they say to lightly sand the veneer. The directions say not to because of the veneer being very thin. Which is it? I've sanded everything else to what I think is good, we'll see. Thanks much for the help!
Yes, the veneer is very thin. If you've stained the veneer at all, then you've probably raised the grain a bit and it may benefit from some fine grit paper very lightly dragged across (not pressed into) the surface to pull off the loose fibres.
Otherwise, only consider sanding if it needs sanding. It's normally been sanded once at the factory (which has made the veneer even thinner than it started out), so it really is best to avoid sanding any more if you can.
What finish are you planning to use? If you are going for anything glossy/shiny, then build up enough depth of that finish so that you can sand that back flat and then polish it without risk of sand-through back to the veneer.
But before doing any finish, do check for glue spots, and then check again just in case. Far more important finding and dealing with those than sanding the veneer.
Thank you Simon. I haven't stained anything yet, and plan to use a light walnut stain. I've watched a lot of videos and do plan to build up a decent depth. Thanks again for answering, you're a big help!
Same problem here. I was planning to do an initial black stain to accentuate my flamed veneer, which requires some sanding to remove the excess black stain before applying the final stain. Any advise on this? should i avoid it competely?
It's awfully easy to overdo it. The biggest problem is any kind of curved surface, because they amount to high spots that sanding will naturally try to smooth off. The transition between the main surface and the cutaways on a Strat body for instance will sand through awfully easily - and the factory has probably already made a start. Nevertheless, if you are very careful and gentle with the high spots I suspect there's no reason why you shouldn't get a decent result. I had to scrape an area of my ESB flat to fit my custom bridge, and I was surprised by how long it took to get through the veneer. But be slapdash with coarse grit paper and it's another story. A tele type, with no high spots, should be pretty safe. The multiple lumps and bumps on a semi type, on the other hand, give a lot more potential for getting it wrong. But I am not the person to advise on anything connected with dyes. Have a look through past GOTMs and read the build diaries of folk who have gained results you like on similar kits.
Build #1, failed solid body 6 string using neck from a scrapped acoustic (45+ odd years ago as a teenager!)
Build #2, ugly parlour semi with scratch built body and ex Peavey neck
Build #3, Appalachian Dulcimer from EMS kit
Build #4, pre-owned PB ESB-4
Build #5, Lockdown Mandolin
Build #6, Sixty six body for Squier
Build #7, Mini Midi Bass
I am somewhat in the same boat. The guitar body in the kit I bought has a flamed maple veneer on the face. There are some glue spots that are preventing the wood from taking the stain. What approach should I take to remove them without sanding through the veneer?
Hi.
The recommended method here is to use a glue remover. Goof Off is the one recommended (not Goo Gone which is more for removing sticky label residue). But Goof Off is mainly acetone, so straight acetone (no additives) can also be used. Rubbing it in with a soft brass brush seems to work best. If you’ve got binding, then mask that off as acetone will first soften and then dissolve the plastic and keep it away from itxas much as possible.
Last edited by Simon Barden; 29-11-2020 at 03:03 AM.
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