Refinish:A complete A-Z tutorial required>

[mojo hobo]

Hi Fellas,
I wonder if any of you can oblige and give me the complete step to step stages of a refinish project with photos and links to items used and how to?I know i am asking is a little bit of a cheek,but i thought you guys could point me to some threads that contain all the above points or an articale /book ...I know you first sand or strip,then grain filler,whats that? then what process stage is next.

Thanks in advance,I am really really grateful



MOJO HOBO

[Last]

I wrote a fairly thorough tutorial a while back.

Link

If you need any further explanations or even a detailed one pertaining to a particular problem you may encounter or effect you'd like to achieve I'd be more than happy to help as would many others here.

Good Luck~!

[mojo hobo]

Thank you ever so much LAST,
Great and very useful thread ,packed with a lot of the info that i was looking for on the refinish stages ,thanks again
The finish i am looking for is a classic honeyburst top,any ideas what dye/stain i would use to archive it,also did you shoot the nitro from a can or a air-spray gun.

do you use the grain filler to stop the dye soaking to deep into wood or is it just for refinish smoothness,

Many thanks.


MOJO HOBO

[SG Lou]

Another place to check out is this:

Guitar Refinishing

[mojo hobo]

THANKS FOR THE LINK , SG LOU.
Loads more info for me to digest,yum yum!


mojo hobo

[Last]

Originally Posted by mojo hobo

Thank you ever so much LAST,
Great and very useful thread ,packed with a lot of the info that i was looking for on the refinish stages ,thanks again
The finish i am looking for is a classic honeyburst top,any ideas what dye/stain i would use to archive it,also did you shoot the nitro from a can or a air-spray gun.

do you use the grain filler to stop the dye soaking to deep into wood or is it just for refinish smoothness,

Many thanks.


MOJO HOBO

I've used an Amber dye & found it way too bright. It's going to be a personal preference though. As for shooting nitro, I'm not set up with an air gun so all of my nitro gloss finishes have been done with rattle cans.

The wood grain pore filler is to keep the nitro from seeping back into the grain causing dimpling. You absolutely must use this for mahogany timber. As for maple it's got a much tighter grain so you're fine without it.

I've actually used a minwax product that opens the pores to allow my dyes to sink as deeply as possible. Plain water will also open up the grain. Just wipe down the maple & let it dry. You can feel the roughness of the open pores.

Hope this helps.

[mojo hobo]

GREAT STUFF;LAST,

Yes it will be a 2-PIECE MAPLE TOP AND MAHOGANY BODY orville and a MIJ epiphone japan,the orville i think only requires the top refinished ,it is still in japan at the moment till i ship next week,while the epiphone needs a lot more work ,see my previous posts and you will see what i mean

OK, i have the basic facts about a refinish ,i am going to sand the body with an orbital sander to remove poly and strip down to bare wood again,how do you feel about a chemical stripper for this job?Near the binding i will hand sand.

Then I WIPE the body with naptha( lighter fluid) to remove all fine dust,once smooth and old finish is removed completely,i shoot with a light coat of nitro ,then i use grain filler for the mahogany,wipe down with hessein or rough sack material.At what stage do i apply stain or dye the more coats the darker the finish,do i sand between coats of dye,do i apply dye after grain filler and sanding.
or apply grain filler,sand, stain ,shoot a thin nitro coat.



I then sand using a light grade paper to level and smooth grain filler,wipe again,then shoot again with nitro ,sand ,shoot,do i need to polish between
and what do you use recommend for polishing,sorry again?

ON maple i do not need to use a filler just wipe the top down with water to open the grain and wood then apply stain water based or acohol based ,i think acohol is the better option ,am i right? what is the pros and cons of each.
I just want a honeyburst plaintop with a mahogany back.

Then I shoot with nitro leave 4 -5 days then fine sand ,polish re-shoot nitro and repeat this step at least 3 times.then final polish.
scrap binding with a razor blade or just leave.

I am planning to buy a cheap AM-TECH air spray gun for nitro.

I know too many questions ,sorry ,but as much help would be very very grateful and you might go to heaven. LOL


MOJO HOBO

[mojo hobo]

Bump!
OK another question about refinishing,can someone tell me what is naptha,is it just lighter fulid,can i use just lighter fulid,I am in the u.k and having trouble finding neat naptha,is there a subitute that i can use ,white- spirits,methalated -spirits,ipa (alcohol)
Someone? please help?
Also after reading some threads on here ,is a nitro spray can application just as effective as a air -brush application .it is in the sanding between coats and final polish,has anyone used belhen pore-o-pac grain filler and reducer.

many,many thanks!



MOJO HOBO