New Build, DJB-4 Bass

[McCreed]

Looking good.
Satin poly has become my go-to neck finish. I just love the feel.

However, I spray mine with a small gun.

[patrickparks1]

I decided to just pick up a spray can of poly and am going to put the first coat down using that method and once the coat is on, I'll then switch over to the wipe on poly.

Didn't want to risk the finish to simply save $10.

[patrickparks1]

So, picked up a can of spray poly to put down as first coat to help with color set of dye....

Noticed can said to apply, and to recoat within 2 hours, and if that isn't possible, wait at least 72 hours.

Do you think I can spray on a light coat of the poly, then within 2 hours put on the wipe on poly and continue on with the wipe on.

I don't really want to spray, and then wait 3+ days before I can start with the wipe on poly.

[patrickparks1]

Well, just decided to go ahead and test a spot with the wipe-on poly first (under the pickguard) and the lift off from the orange was quite minimal. So, rather than doing some spray and some wipe-on, I just decided to do the wipe-on instead. I know exactly what to expect with the wipe-on poly.

I'll return the rattle can back to the store and get my $10 back.

[patrickparks1]

Did my first coat of the wipe-on poly around 6:40pm, let it dry for about 3.5 hours, and put on the 2nd coat at 10:15pm. surprisingly there was still a good amount of orange/yellow coming off the front of guitar. It doesn't seem to be really impacting my overall color, so I'm not too worried. Going to let it dry now for about 12 hours before considering a third coat. I'm thinking that my first coat was just really light and didn't build up enough to seal in the color. I tried to put the second coat on a bit heavier, so hopefully it is going to start forming a surface that I can just add to. Also setup a fan blowing on the front of the guitar to help to try to speed up that drying time.

My sides and back are all black leather dye and nothing really seems to be lifting from that.

[Trevor Davies]

Hi Patrickparks1,

I'm a bit late on this thread but, I have been using a (cheap) paint brush to put down the first 2 coats of tru-oil so as to avoid any movement of the stain. Then I wipe on the rest of the coats.

This was suggested by other forum members and I have not had any problems.

[ozzbike]

Sadly I think you are not waiting long enough for things to cure before you go to the next step. Been a victim of that myself a few times.

I use shellac before the stain to stop the blotch....3 coats of it. I then don't put any stain etc on for at least a full day. Stain and again at least 24 hours.

Then the final finish....I use spray oil based poly in a can now.....over stains....or no stains and buffing oil and carnauba wax over raw timber.

3 days for the spray....then finer grade that last wet sand. 3 days and keep going until I get the finish I want. then 7 days at least hanging and then attack with auto finishing products....polishes and waxes.

[patrickparks1]

Thanks for the helpful feedback. I've been on vacation this past week, so it's hard to not want to keep plowing ahead.

I waited 3 full days for the dyes to dry. My black on the back and sides have been perfectly fine. Its just the front where I layered the orange and black that my wipe on poly cloth turns yellow.

Since starting the poly, I waited 3.5 hours as stated above between coat 1 and 2 (this was based on my experience with my neck, which was perfectly dry in that time). Between coats 2 and 3 I waited 36 hours. Wanted to ensure poly had time to fully dry so when I did next coat I expected no orange/yellow on my rag. Still had some yellow on rag after coat 3, but again no issues on the color of the body. Waited 12 hours before coat 4 and waited 15 hours for coat 5. Going to just do an early morning and late evening coats until I am happy with results. I'm lightly sanding with 800 between coats.

[patrickparks1]

Here is where we are at the 5th coat of poly

This is the amount of color getting onto my poly rag when wiping on poly to the front


Here is the front of the body, as stated the colors here look totally fine, no discernable change between coats #1 and #5 as far as the color on the guitar goes.


Planning on 10 coats and determining if I am happy with the results at that point. My 10th coat would be around Monday or Tuesday since I am waiting 12 hours+ between coats of the poly.

[patrickparks1]

While waiting the week for the poly to fully cure, I went ahead and shielded the cavities. Obviously not an exciting part of the process, but a part nonetheless.