2 finishing questions

I have spent countless hours planning and trying to decide how to finish my first tele build. What is the best sealer that I should use for my Douglas fir body? I have seen so many different things that I can't decide what I should do.

Also, i have seen someone finish their guitar with dupli color. Does anyone have any feedback on using this?

Do most of your 'finishing' work on the wood itself. If not, you'll be correcting those problems latter in the process when it's more trouble to do so. Meaning sealing, grain filling, etc.

If you are going with rattlecans, BINS shellac based tinted primer is a good sealer. I used Duplicolor for my refinish and it worked well. I'd sugest minwax poly for clear though, as the Duplicolor Clear took forever to cure.

Shellac makes a great sealer. I've used Duplicolor with no problems, though I generally use Minwax lacquer over the top. That stuff is way hard when it dries.

EG

I was going to finish my guitar with a dark green. I have a sprayer at my disposal is I was going to try to avoid the rattle can approach. So for the sealer I can just use a spray sealer? I have seen the sealers that require some sort of scrap off the excess approach. I have sanded the body so that it is smooth as a babies bottom. Just don't want all of my work to be a waste.

Also, I have a maple neck that I was going to finish with Tru-oil. Any thoughts on that?

...I have seen the sealers that require some sort of scrape off the excess approach. I have sanded the body so that it is smooth as a babies bottom...

You may be thinking of the grain filler that's a necessity even with sealer when you're working with open-pored wood like ash and mahogany (not necessary on tight grains like maple/cherry).

I don't know where doug fir falls on that grain continuum, but if it's recommended here, I wouldn't skip that step if you want a glass smooth finish.

BIN is a good sealer/primer but it sprays like a fire extinguisher. I've used Duplicolor and Rustoleum Painters Touch colors but if you use a lacquer top coat you have to apply light coats until you have some build or it could wrinkle the finish. If you mix your own you can use Mixol tints to get the color you want.

+3 on shellac under lacquer. The Zinsser Bullseye rattle can spray shellac (clear and tinted) is wax free.

Shellac makes a great sealer. I've used Duplicolor with no problems, though I generally use Minwax lacquer over the top. That stuff is way hard when it dries.

EG

So just to be sure that I do this correctly.

I should use grain filler, then sealer, then color. (paraphrase). I am not sure where Doug Fir falls as far as how open the grain is either.

For my neck it is ash not maple. I am going to use Tru-oil ..I think...Do I need any sealer for the tung-oil?

It can be confusing. Grain filler depends on your wood. Don't know about Douglas Fir, but pine tends to have soft and hard areas. The soft areas need to be filled. You can do that with shellac, just sand it back down to wood, then recoat. So you can fill with sealer adding all the more confusion to it.

Color can be applied directly to the wood, but you must make sure you don't sand through the color later. You can apply color when you apply lacquer by mixing the color in. A sealer coat will keep the wood from absorbing too much finish. Some people just use an intial coat or two of finish as a sealer.

As long as the wood is sanded smooth to 220 grit, you can apply tru oil directly and just build up the coats until level and smooth. It can take a while that way, but it works. You can apply two or three coats a day, scuff the next day and apply three more coats...and so on. There is a Tru Oil sealer on the market too.

It's best to lock onto someone elses tried and tru method until you learn what you are doing. Read Colt's thread on finishing and give that a try first.

I've been tru oiling my necks and lacquering the bodies. BTW...wax free shellac makes a great base coat for tru oil also.

So just to be sure that I do this correctly.

I should use grain filler, then sealer, then color. (paraphrase). I am not sure where Doug Fir falls as far as how open the grain is either.

For my neck it is ash not maple. I am going to use Tru-oil ..I think...Do I need any sealer for the tung-oil?

I use Cabot gloss poly (from Lowes) in a rattle can. I build up 6 or 7 coats with sanding between coats. after final coat cures for a week or so I wet sand. Then I polish with a powerball on my drill using Mothers plastic polish (from a headlight kit). Also use the fine sanding pads for wet sanding. Works well and its easy. I want to get me a buffer though. Would make it even easier to polish. Im sure taking the next step with a very fine swirl remover would even make it nicer. Gonna try that soon. Ill let you know