Refinish on one of my Warmoth builds

[DirtySteve]

So I built this guitar several years ago but I was never happy with the finish on the top. It has a roasted maple neck and I wanted to make the (unroasted) top match the neck, but when it was all said and done it turned out not to match at all and it always bugged me. So I'm going to attempt to redo the finish on the top only. Here is what it looked like.. This is just a Tea Wash and then Tru-oil finish. I thought the Tru-oil was going to darken it more than it did.

So I got the top sanded and am starting the finish now.

Here it is with the top sanded back down to raw wood.

I am starting with a tea wash again, but this time I'm going to use a wood dye after to see if I can make it darker and hopefully get a better match. I'm doing the tea wash because they say it helps make the dye (stain) go on better. Don't know if it actually does, but I'm doing it anyway, I don't think it can hurt anything.

A tea wash is just what it sounds like. Make a cup of really strong black tea and apply several times letting it dry and lightly sanding in between applications.

I'll post some more pics after the tea wash is done.

 

[DirtySteve]

Here's the neck, this is what I'm hoping to get close to. The body wood is Black Korina (limba) and as you can see it matches up nicely so that's why I'm leaving the body back and sides as is and only refinishing the top.

 

[C-Grin]

Cool I liked the first way too but if you were not happy, I have started over more than once myself.

Make sure to use the proper tone tea

 

[C-Grin]

Gorgeous neck, show the whole back of that thing too please.

 

[DirtySteve]

Gorgeous neck, show the whole back of that thing too please.

Sure. This is the only pic I have of the whole back.

 

[C-Grin]

Nice ! That is gorgeous

 

[DirtySteve]

Nice ! That is gorgeous

Thanks. This one is my most successful build and probably my most expensive build, too. The way the top came out is the only thing I never liked about it, it's bugged me since I built it. So now I'm finally fixing it.

 

[DirtySteve]

Tea wash is done, don't know if you can tell a difference in the photos, but it did color it some and pop the flame a little. Next up is some staining with Keda wood dye.

 

[DirtySteve]

Staining is done, took 3 applications to get the color right. Now to let it sit 'til tomorrow to be sure it's completely dry. Then I'll apply the first coat of Tru-oil and watch the magic happen. This is going to be so much better to look at. When the dye was still wet (forgot to take a pic, sorry) it matched the neck color really well and the flame popped really nice so I expect it'll be just right when it's done.

It's dry to the touch in these pics, but not completely dry..

 

[DirtySteve]

Ha! I think I nailed it! :dood:

This is with just the first sealer coat of tru-oil.

 

[CoyotesGator]

Hell Yeah!!!

 

[ibmorjamn]

Ha! I think I nailed it! :dood:

This is with just the first sealer coat of tru-oil.

Perfect, looks like a perfect match!

 

[Session 5]

Ha! I think I nailed it! :dood:

This is with just the first sealer coat of tru-oil.

Really nice work!

 

[Mitch Pearrow SJMP]

That is truly a work of art my friend..
Looks as if you have nailed it brother.


Mitch

 

[DirtySteve]

Five oil coats so far.

 

[Session 5]

Sweet!

 

[DirtySteve]

To me it looks 10 times better already. I’m happy!

 

[Don O]

It looks great Steve !

 

[C-Grin]

That does look amazing, nice work

 

[DirtySteve]

Thanks guys!

I'm doing super thin coats this time and then wiping it with a dry rag after each coat. I've never done it this way before. I'm going for a really high gloss finish this time, which I've never done before. I'm guessing it's going to take somewhere between 30 and 40 coats.