End Grain.

[Jeff]

What product do you recommend for sealing the end grain on the body, which will still accept the stain with-out changing the colour drastically? .....Jeff

[andrewdosborne]

What product do you recommend for sealing the end grain on the body, which will still accept the stain with-out changing the colour drastically? .....Jeff

On my end grain, I've not used a sealer but sand to a higher grit to restrict absorption of stain. Takes a bit of trial and error (had many sand-backs with failed attempts) so worth experimenting on a bit on scrap..

[dingobass]

Depends on what finish you want to use..

[wokkaboy]

Jeff you shouldn't need a sealer for the end grain. Sand to about 320 or 360 grit and the stain should take nicely.

As DB asks what stain are you planning ?

remember be careful what you say here, DB is ready to hand out a nice sentence in the naughty warehouse haha

[Jeff]

After all the positive comments I've received on the quality of the wood I'm almost too scared to do anything in case i stuff it up; so I keep rethinking the process. I had thought originally going for a jarrah colour, as I have some left over from previous build, but like the idea of a lighter stain. Don't want to go just a clear finish as the previous build had a clear front.
So at the moment, I'll be noncommittal, not ready to do this till I come back. Will think about it o/seas.

[wokkaboy]

fair enough Jeff, don't rush into a stain colour.
Sure DB could mix up a nice yellow or light brown Dingotone stain.
If this was my kit I'd be tempted to put a black stain or dark ebony grain filler over it and rub it back to pop the grain.
Gav Turner did this with his dark blue Ash Strat (GOTM winner March 2015) and it made the ash grain pop nicely

[keloooe]

Yeah, pop that grain then clear it! Doesn't matter if you have another axe with a clear front, my next two axes will be black!

[stan]

you can always sand it back and go again, so have no fear in having a go.

Enjoy your trip!

[Brendan]

Jeff - the only part of the wood that I'd be too worried about is veneers - near the edges they can get a touch thin, but that's what it is - a veneer. Other wood is generally pretty bomb proof. Recommendations about sanding, etc are more so that you don't spend a heap of time sanding to the nth degree only to find that you've filled all the spaces for the stain to get in. If you follow DB's rules of sanding (spend time in the 180 / 240 grits and then finish with higher), you should be right. If you look at some of Robin's builds, he's taken a rasp to the body to get more curve in the right spots, with the extreme being MaxAxe, who starts with a standard body and ends up with something entirely different - all with the same stock wood that he started with. If you are worried about stuff though, take a photo or two and drop a line on the forum - help is at hand!

[gavinturner]

Yep agree totally with Brendan about the body sanding - go mad! But with one little exception of my own - binding. I'm always getting worried about sanding it too thin when there's a glue spot on the end grain of say an LP body. Anyone else get like this? I have a feeling that I did sand the binding thin in one or two places on an early build and hence the fear. I like to go to town with 120 grit to get rid of the glue, but maybe when binding is involved (the glue is often bordering the bidning itself) maybe I should get out the wire brushes instead? What's the concensus?

cheers,
Gav.