Today I taped the binding and neck in preparation for sanding. I still need to shape the headstock but I don't have everything that I need to do that at the moment.
I'll be using a black grain filler on the sides and back of the body.
I need a bit of advice:
1) Should I do any sanding at all before applying the grain filler? Or is all sanding done after applying the grain filler?
2) The body is ash and the neck is maple. Should I start with 180 grit on both?
Thanks for your help!!
Hi TZK,
While I am not an expert I did use black grain filler on my build here https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...ead.php?t=9682 and you can see the result on post 11. You will need to do sanding as the filler will fill any grain, wholes or tool marks, therefore you will want to apply after it’s been sanded.
My method was 120 grit, 180 grit, 240 grit and 320 grit. After that I scooped out some black timbermate into a bowl and mixed with a few drops of water until it was the consistency of custard. I then pushed in the filler with a small plastic paint scraper and waited for it to dry. I sanded with 240 grit through to 400grit before applying my finish.
As for the neck I asked the same question below my post. In short I started with 240 grit and worked my way up to 400. The maple sanded very easily so I didn’t go to hard on the neck. I also used one of those small/thin green kitchen scorers to wrap my sand paper in as to not sand in any unevenness into the neck.
Thanks, FCD! That's just the info I needed. BTW your guitar looks great!
Thanks Mate,Originally Posted by TZK321
Sure yours will turn out a treat too. Just be sure not to add to much water to the grain filler, I literally only needed what seems like a few drops to get it to the right consistency.
Today I finished shaping the headstock. I had quite a bit of anxiety cutting the wood, knowing that once it's cut there's no going back. I messed up a few times but had enough wood left over to work around it. It's just a bit smaller than originally planned.
I realize the shape isn't to everyone's liking but it's what I want. It's supposed to loosely resemble the shape of a pistol to coincide with its name. The name refers to the fact that in the right hands a guitar is a powerful weapon. It also refers to my first name (Thomas).
Anyway all opinions are welcome.
Next step is to sand, sand and sand some more.
Really like how that turned out. Seems to be the perfect size IMHO - any bigger it may have looked out of place
Thank you! The end result was due to a mixture of careful planning and shear luck!
Mixed up a batch of water based wood filler and black acrylic paint to fill the ash. I let it dry over night and then sanded it off by hand.
I think the back looks fine but the edges are a different story. It's not consistent. you can see lighter spots on the peaks. I could use some advice. Should I let it be or try applying more filler? Does the back look okay to you? I could sand more but am afraid of sanding off all the filler.
I gave the body another covering of filler. This time I really rubbed it in has hard as I could. It looks a lot better now - still not perfect but a lot better.
Next step is to give the neck and body a covering of gel stain in a natural shade (no pigment)
https://myoldmasters.com/color/natural
and then possibly make an ammonia fume box to darken everything a bit.
I went home today at lunch to do a bit more sanding and place a damp sponge over the wood to get an idea how it'll look when oiled. I'm happy with it so far but the additional grain filler has made some glue lines very noticeable. Honestly I checked every inch and never noticed this. I guess it could be worse.
Since the glue is not on the veneer would sanding be the preferred method of removal?
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