Help with burst

[stillaliveandwell]

Refinishing Les Paul top. Here's what I have done. Stripped and sanded top. Stained with medium brown dye. Sanded back to enhance the grain. Stained entire top with vintage amber. So far so good. Before starting to spray burst should I spray a coat of sanding sealer? Should I spray a coat of clear laquer. Should I lightly sand sealer or laquer before spraying burst? Whats next?
Thanks for your help.

 

[alk-3]

The very first step (after grain enhancing) should have been two coats of clear (or sealer).
Here's what I do more or less (I never do any 'grain enhancement' though).

1 - stain, then sand to enhance the grain
2 - spray one light coat of clear lacquer
3 - sand lightly to remove raised grain
4 - spray slightly heavier coat of clear lacquer
5 - spray lemon yellow over entire top
6 - spray a medium coat of clear lacquer
7 - spray burst with read, brown, or whatever colour you choose
8 - scrape binding
9 - spray medium coat of clear lacquer
10 - spray amber tinted clear lacquer over entire guitar
11 - apply clear coats (not so many that it gets too thick, but not so few that you risk sanding through, into the colour coats, your finishing experience will partially dictate how many coats you spray).
12 - let guitar sit for 3 to 4 weeks so the finish can off gas
13 - sand away any orange peel with 400 grit wet sandpaper
14 - sand with progressively finer grits up to 1500 or 2000 grit
15 - buff with PROPER buffing compound it must contain NO SILICONE if it does not specifically say on the package that it contains no silicone, then you can be sure that it does. don't risk it if it does not specify. Silicone can contaminate a finish making it difficult to repair finishes in the future, and can contaminate a whole shop if it gets airborne off the spinning buffer.

 

[Fletch]

The very first step (after grain enhancing) should have been two coats of clear (or sealer).
Here's what I do more or less (I never do any 'grain enhancement' though).

1 - stain, then sand to enhance the grain
2 - spray one light coat of clear lacquer
3 - sand lightly to remove raised grain
4 - spray slightly heavier coat of clear lacquer
5 - spray lemon yellow over entire top
6 - spray a medium coat of clear lacquer
7 - spray burst with read, brown, or whatever colour you choose
8 - scrape binding
9 - spray medium coat of clear lacquer
10 - spray amber tinted clear lacquer over entire guitar
11 - apply clear coats (not so many that it gets too thick, but not so few that you risk sanding through, into the colour coats, your finishing experience will partially dictate how many coats you spray).
12 - let guitar sit for 3 to 4 weeks so the finish can off gas
13 - sand away any orange peel with 400 grit wet sandpaper
14 - sand with progressively finer grits up to 1500 or 2000 grit
15 - buff with PROPER buffing compound it must contain NO SILICONE if it does not specifically say on the package that it contains no silicone, then you can be sure that it does. don't risk it if it does not specify. Silicone can contaminate a finish making it difficult to repair finishes in the future, and can contaminate a whole shop if it gets airborne off the spinning buffer.

Alk, one question. Where in your process is the grainfiller applied to the back and neck?

fletch

 

[alk-3]

Alk, one question. Where in your process is the grainfiller applied to the back and neck?

fletch

Hey Fletch, the whole process I outlined above only pertains to the top, because the original poster mentioned he was only spraying the top.

If you want to add the back and neck into the equation, the grain filler would get done before anything else, and be allowed to dry for 2 weeks, then just cleared and ambered along with the top, unless you want it to look aged, then there are a few steps in between that would help it look well used, and faded in areas, but that's a whole new topic altogether.