Questions about finishing mahogany

I've always wanted a mahogany Strat body, with everything else being "traditional", but not knowing what that might sound like, I never wanted to put the money or time into it.

But I just got an email from Guitar Fetish that they mahogany Strat bodies are (finally) in stock, after being unavailable since October. So at $64.95, I ordered one.

My desire is to keep it as raw feeling and natural looking as possible. If it's possible to put no finish on it whatsoever, that's what I'll do. If I need to seal it, then I'll just rub a few coats of something clear on it.

What should I do with it?

My main goal at this point is to simply transfer all the parts from my mid-80s 50's reissue and got a solid idea of what tonal differences there might be.

To give it some depth and to seal it correctly, you should use some black grain filler. After that, I believe you can use pretty much any kind of finish.

So fill the grain, lightly sand... then I can rub it with something to seal it?

Just a simple clear satin finish is fine with me.

..Nevermind.

If it was mine, I'd finish sand it, then stain it with an oil stain like Minwax red mahogany. Linseed oil finish over that. Knockout!

I've always wanted a mahogany Strat body, with everything else being "traditional", but not knowing what that might sound like, I never wanted to put the money or time into it.

But I just got an email from Guitar Fetish that they mahogany Strat bodies are (finally) in stock, after being unavailable since October. So at $64.95, I ordered one.

My desire is to keep it as raw feeling and natural looking as possible. If it's possible to put no finish on it whatsoever, that's what I'll do. If I need to seal it, then I'll just rub a few coats of something clear on it.

What should I do with it?

My main goal at this point is to simply transfer all the parts from my mid-80s 50's reissue and got a solid idea of what tonal differences there might be.

Teak Oil

Let me be a little more detailed (I was pretty tired when I typed that last night).

I'm not looking for a "knock-it-out-of-the-ball-park" intensely deep and rich high gloss beautiful finish on this body. And I'm not really interested in something that will protect the wood itself from dents and the like. My desire is to simply treat the wood with whatever it needs to protect it from the elements which might cause it to warp or bow, or seems to split, etc.

Without getting into a discussion regarding how different types of finish might impact the tone of a guitar... (which my opinion is highly subjective on that)... this is just going to be a project-type parts-caster, and I want as little finish on it as possible, for this purpose.

The guitar that will be the "donor" for parts is one that I've played for quite a while. It's alder, and I know that guitar and what sounds I can get out of it. So by simply doing a "body transplant" I can get a good idea of what a mahogany-body Strat will sound like for my purposes. Once I do that, I'll reassemble the donor guitar back to original, and see how to go forward with the mahogany body.

And I want to get to that point with as little time and money invested in it as possible. It would be nice to have a finely finished tobacco-burst mahogany body Strat... but that's not where I'm at with this little project.

With all that said, is it necessary to fill the grain and sand? If I can simply do a few coats of teak oil, (or Tru-oil?), I'd love to do that and be done with it - if that will properly protect the wood from the elements.

Thanks everyone for your help!

easy
first prep the wood and sand to 2500 grit
don't bother with grain fill
burnish with the back of a piece of sandpaper -
you will already have a satin sheen

then use diy danish oil
50mm\il of polyurethane varnish [clear matte gloss whatever]
50mil of turpentine
50mil of boiled linseed oil

slop it on and leave for 10 mins then wipe it off with a rag
repeat 3 times at 12 hour intervals it will cure in a warm room after a few days - when it does'nt smell any more its done
the front of the guitar you may want to run a coat or two of diy wiping varnish over - this will give better protection aginst damage by liquids like beer and dog pee

diy wiping vanish
50mil of polyurethane varnish [clear matte gloss whatever]
75mil of turpentine - you can use thinners

same deal with application wipe on lerave for a couple minutes wipe off
or you can wipe on and let it build a little with a few coats

scrub it down with a pad of 0000 steel wool and buff with the back of a bit af sandpaper

both finishes will look very natural and wood like - i dont bother grain filling

btw tru-oil it is stinky sticky stuff i reckon and dont let it get on my guitars

i just cant be bothered with all the grain fill and endless shooting of lacquer, sand throughs, sanding and buffing out - i have done quite a few like that and now i just want to show the wood off to its best - i want it feel like wood and not have it burried under a pile palsticy chemical goop

heres and eg of the last one i did

http://www.carltonguitars.com.au/resources/Image/18/3_18_body.jpg

easy
first prep the wood and sand to 2500 grit
don't bother with grain fill
burnish with the back of a piece of sandpaper -
you will already have a satin sheen

When I worked in the woodshop at Tobias some years ago, I developed a process very similar to this that made the finishing department fall in love with me. When I got there, the woodshop was responsible to sanding to about 600, then hand the necks and bodies (or neck-thrus) over to finishing. But there was a drum sander in the back of the shop that was rarely used, and we had attachments for it that had an air bladder so that you could adjust the sponginess of it.

I found sanding drum papers that were 1000, 1500 and 2000 grit, and I would "buff" the raw wood bodies on that drum sander, and by the time I got to 2000 grit, there was very little air in the bladder. The result was necks and bodies that appeared to already have a coat of clear on them before they even left the woodshop. The raw wood would shine.

When the finishing department completed their process (rubbed or painted), the final product looked like glass.

Teak Oil

+1. What it sounds like you want is an oil finish as opposed to a film finish. Teak oil would work well. If you want it course and woody felling, don't fill the grain. If you want it slicker, do fill the grain. I don't think you would need to sand past 320.

Tru-Oil