Sealer for plywood

I've picked up a plywood telebody from ebay really cheap but it was finished really badly so ive spent a few hours sanding and stripping now it's looking really good well as good as plywood guitar can. Now before i prime it i assume it's gonna need sealing but i've never worked with plywood before and was wondering what to use (i'm after products available in the U.K)

thanks in advance for your help

Hi,
shellac,either clear or amber is probably your best bet. Good luck!
Oldteleguy

A plywood telecaster body ?

A good hot fire should seal its fate.

i know it's not the best but it only cost £5 with free postage and my students bash guitars about like anything so it saves my good guitars

Is it a Baltic Birch Ply or something like particle board?

Maybe a Squier? I did a quick search on ebay with "plywood tele body" and didn't get anything... tried "plywood body" and a Squier strat type came up

it looks like Baltic Birch and it also looked like it was home made (not to a very good standard) but like a i say it's now been stripped, sanded and slightyly re-shaped and now looks the best it can. I've ordered some of this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/170840274865?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 it should do the job. I'm gonna start the neck today (Maple)

The problem you may run into is that any really high quality smooth thin finish is going to shrink back and the the surface imperfections of the plywood will print through. So I agree with you that a good sealer is essential. I would have been thinking of a vinyl sealer under nitrocellulose lacquer, or an acrylic sealer under waterbased topcoats.

It's probably the perfect job for "Fullerplast" if you could get it. But if you do that, then forty years from now people are going to be criticizing you on the internet.

The problem you may run into is that any really high quality smooth thin finish is going to shrink back and the the surface imperfections of the plywood will print through. So I agree with you that a good sealer is essential. I would have been thinking of a vinyl sealer under nitrocellulose lacquer, or an acrylic sealer under waterbased topcoats.

It's probably the perfect job for "Fullerplast" if you could get it. But if you do that, then forty years from now people are going to be criticizing you on the internet.

40 years from now? People are already criticizing him today! :razz:

good luck on your project!

Too bad Fullerplast is 58$ a gallon.

http://van-dee.com/clear.htm

I have been aching to try it though.

he never finished this one, but it was a fun read. I'm sure there's some great info in there for you....

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/104493-warning-build-like-you-have-never-seen-before-may-offensive-some.html

i know it's not the best but it only cost £5 with free postage and my students bash guitars about like anything so it saves my good guitars

Sounds like a rowdy class.

Suggest painting the edge with PVA (Unibond) before using a plastic filler of some kind to edge and round over. I have done similar with Isopon, problem is that tends to crack way from the wood.

Otoh how long do you need them to last and how good do you want them to look? Applying PVA after shaping the edge will bind the laminate layers prior to priming and painting with a very solid colour. If you use a brush on gloss white heavy traffic floor paint it will be as tough as nails, but that has to go on thin, two coats, and takes ages to dry.

Two part epoxy works great for sealing or leveling plywood and it's super durable and doesn't shrink. If you hit it with a heat gun for just a second it starts to flow really well and is self leveling.

But, but, two-part epoxy is going to cost lots more than the £5 plywood body.

i ended using cellulose sanding sealer, it worked really well. it is now primed and ready for paint. which i have just ordered along with a pre-made neck and my electronics (imported from china)
total cost for this build has been £45 including all postage which i am really impressed with

I haven't seen cellulose sealer for years. Cool!

Too bad Fullerplast is 58$ a gallon.

http://van-dee.com/clear.htm

I have been aching to try it though.

Pretty sure fullerplast is basically polyester resin. It's like $5-10 a kg.

Pretty sure fullerplast is basically polyester resin. It's like $5-10 a kg.

+1... polyester is one of the few things around at that time that would have had the proper characteristics.

Polyester "finishing" resin is likely close. It contains a wax that floats to the surface during cure. This insulates the resin and allows all the material to cure to a non-sticky state. OTOH, "laminating" resin is wax free. This prevents the resin on the surface from curing until the next coat of resin is applied... a good layer-to-layer bond results.

Polyester primers were all the rage in autobody during the 70's... deep filling and near zero shrinkage. Then urethane came along.

Finishing resin or epoxy would be good choice for this.