Need a little help "duplicating" a fairly easy finish (I think)

I got a raw mahogany Strat body that I need to get finished and assembled. Recently I disassembled a coffee table and end table that I have, and refinished them in black. I believe they were originally oak, and finished in a light stain. I simply sanded them lightly and sprayed with a rattle can in satin black enamel. And it turned out great. I'd like to duplicate that with my Strat.

It's really cool that the grain stayed intact. I'd love to have this guitar turn out looking just like that, but I don't want to spray with enamel, do I?

Piece of furniture (complete with my black Lab in the back ground, and a few guitars):
http://i926.photobucket.com/albums/ad105/TheGoodTexan/photo-3.jpg

Here's the mahogany Strat body. $65 from GFS... not bad at all:
http://i926.photobucket.com/albums/ad105/TheGoodTexan/photo-2.jpg

Problem is that body doesnt have any grain. You can get the pattern but you wont get the texture.

http://www.paintinganddecoratingconcourse.com/articles/Faux-Woodgraining-Oak-Plainsawn.html

Maybe the picture is not doing it justice. It has tons of grain.

And I'm not looking to duplicate the grain pattern of that first piece... just the appearance of the paint on the wood, highlighting what grain is there.

From looking at your furniture photo... I'm am betting that was Lowe's brand semi gloss... looks EXACTLY like oak pieces I've built around here.

Nothing wrong with using enamel... nothing at all. The need for lacquer is driven by fast dry times and having a sandable, buff-able finish. All things considered, enamels are generally a tougher finish.

The pore pattern of mahogany is more regular, and probably will not show those patterns like oak does. But it still could look very cool.

Enamel paint is fine, lacquer is ok also. The key is you want thin even coats.

You could even brush on acrylic paint. Again the key being apply very thin coats. thick layers will tend to fill/clog the pores and lessen the visual effect.

From looking at your furniture photo... I'm am betting that was Lowe's brand semi gloss... looks EXACTLY like oak pieces I've built around here.

Nothing wrong with using enamel... nothing at all. The need for lacquer is driven by fast dry times and having a sandable, buff-able finish. All things considered, enamels are generally a tougher finish.

I did get it from Lowe's, but I think it was Krylon. Not sure... the cans are down in the garage right now.

I took 0000 steel wool and lightly rubbed the parts of the table once I had disassembled it. Then sprayed about 4 very light coats of the enamel. Turned out great.

My main concern with the guitar body is getting it sealed properly, so that it won't warp or split. So I'm trying to get a decent finish as easy as possible.

I think many of these "new" paints are really urenamellackethanes anyway.

The pore pattern of mahogany is more regular, and probably will not show those patterns like oak does. But it still could look very cool.

Enamel paint is fine, lacquer is ok also. The key is you want thin even coats.

You could even brush on acrylic paint. Again the key being apply very thin coats. thick layers will tend to fill/clog the pores and lessen the visual effect.

So no need to fill the gain on the mahogany in this case then, correct?

If the wood was properly cured... and likely it was... cracks shouldn't be a problem.

Very few finishes actually seal in or out moisture... epoxy is probably a near exception. Paints simply ****** the flow of moisture in and out... a good thing. Mahogany was used for its physical properties long before and esoteric stuff.

Either way... your Lowe's enamel will work fine. You might want to test the "look" in the neck pocket first... see if you like it?

Cool.

Thanks for the help everybody.

The pores in mahogany aren't as gathered up in neat little stripes like oak... there is a pattern though... I bet it would still look cool.

No grain filter and don't apply it too heavily.

No worries about a sealer as that will fill those pores your wanting to showcase.

If you have a spray rig Sherwin Williams has black lacquer under coat that would do well. Out would wear super fast though

if ya plan on clear coats after the thin black I think you better fill pores, keep your black as thin as you can so you can see the touch of grain. otherwise its gonna be a total pita when you go to final sand, wax and buff. i went through a similar dilemma with poly and butternut that i didn't grain fill.

I'm sure there's other tricks out there though, just my .02c.

No grain filter and don't apply it too heavily.

No worries about a sealer as that will fill those pores your wanting to showcase.

If you have a spray rig Sherwin Williams has black lacquer under coat that would do well. Out would wear super fast though

I don't have a spray rig.

When I did the furniture pieces, I did extremely thin coats. Didn't really get full coverage until about the 3rd coat. After the 3rd coat dried thoroughly, I hit it again with a little steel wool, and did one more coat.


if ya plan on clear coats after the thin black I think you better fill pores, keep your black as thin as you can so you can see the touch of grain. otherwise its gonna be a total pita when you go to final sand, wax and buff. i went through a similar dilemma with poly and butternut that i didn't grain fill.


I'm not sure why I would want clear coats at that point. But I am a complete novice at this.

I got a similar finish to your photo on a mahogany LP Junior I built. I'm no expert finisher and don't own any spray equipment so I usually keep it as simple as possible. I applied 2 coats of black aniline dye on the neck and body, and then a few coats of clear using a spray can. No grain filler, sealer or anything. You can definitely see and feel the grain of the wood through the finish, similar to your photo above, although the grain patterns are different.

Pat

If you like the coffee table, I would do the same thing on the guitar body. Nothing wrong with enamel, and the mohoghany will have plenty of pores to show through.

I did a little web searching, and remembered that some of the recent budget model Gibson Melody Makers have this type of finish. So I found a good picture.

Is this what I can expect from spraying satin onto mahogany with unfilled grain? Cause that's basically what I'm after.

http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac88/nightshade_photo/GibsonMelodyMakerDualPickupVoxDA5.jpg

I did a little web searching, and remembered that some of the recent budget model Gibson Melody Makers have this type of finish. So I found a good picture.

Is this what I can expect from spraying satin onto mahogany with unfilled grain? Cause that's basically what I'm after.

http://i888.photobucket.com/albums/ac88/nightshade_photo/GibsonMelodyMakerDualPickupVoxDA5.jpg

I had one in white, and the grain pores showed through just like that picture.

That is exactly what you will go, so long as you don't fill the grain, and apply the color coat thin.

If you are looking to get a little bit more adventurous you could try ebonizing the mahogany. A strong ebonizing solution will turn the mahogany a very deep brown/black, but also show a bit more natural variation than a pigment coating.

You would still need to apply some sort of clear protective topcoat after the ebonizing.


Dang, now I want to make one myself...

That is exactly what you will go, so long as you don't fill the grain, and apply the color coat thin.

If you are looking to get a little bit more adventurous you could try ebonizing the mahogany. A strong ebonizing solution will turn the mahogany a very deep brown/black, but also show a bit more natural variation than a pigment coating.

You would still need to apply some sort of clear protective topcoat after the ebonizing.


Dang, now I want to make one myself...

Thats an idea, and you could use a wipe on finish like Formbys tung oil or a Danish oil.

"So I'm trying to get a decent finish as easy as possible. "

I really like the ebonizing/oil finish idea above, but given your statement from post #6above, use the spary cans. I think Krylon is great, and it should give you very similar results to that black Melody Maker. Follow as well as you can, the same procedure you used on the oak furniture.