Will someone double check my plans before I get started?

I'm about to finish a mahogany Strat body in tobacco brown, with a satin lacquer finish (not doing all that in one day). Body is currently raw wood. I've been exchanging emails with Larry Anderson at StewMac, and made my purchases based on his recommendations. He suggested that I follow the Finishing Schedule (http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/Finishing/Finishing_schedules/i-nitrocellulose.html) on their site.

With that in mind, here is my plan:

1 - Sand body to 220
2 - Apply Colortone tobacco brown stain
3 - Apply Timbermate mahogany grain filler
4 - Apply Colortone gloss lacquer
5 - Final coats will be Colortone satin lacquer

Obviously there will be sanding between some of those steps.

Larry suggested that although the desired final finish is satin, that I would be better off spraying gloss for the first several coats because satin does not fill well.

I've never finished a guitar before, but I have finished some of the furniture in my house. It seems counter-intuitive to me to apply the stain first, then the grain filler. Seems to me that you'd want to apply the filler first and get it level, then the stain.

However, I submit to the expertise here.

search mahogany here in finely finished and it will show a couple good threads were people posted the steps and show pictures or the results.. you left out sealing..
Pictures in the search results are worth a look as they show grain filling differences in the contrast of various colors and not using any filler...silver fox is my favorite but you can see the need to have a dark filler for a normal result.

-Allen

Actually... you can switch the stain and filler steps... or you can also stain/fill/stain. I do this sometimes because sanding the filler smooth can sometimes remove stained wood in the process.

What I didn't see on your list was a sealer... which would occur after fill/stain but before clear-coating.

You CAN skip sealing... I find it helps prevent the wood from drinking up so much solvent... other than that it doesn't contribute to the overall quality of the finish. Sealer just speeds things along for the most part... especially for a glass finish. Some really sappy woods would benefit by keeping the guk in the wood from polluting the finish.

And getting your clear built up with gloss is just fine. In fact... you can wait till the last coat for the satin. Satin finishes are just regular materials with a powdered additive that floats to the surface and reacts with moisture in the air to form a gazillion little water droplets on the film as it hardens. This forms little mountains and valleys to disperse the gloss.

Keep in mind... these mountains and valleys get worn smooth, and your finish will acquire gloss in the wear areas (counter-intuitive... I know).

Knowing all this... don't expect to sand out any screw-ups in the last coat of satin. Any sanding and polishing will make it shine... so:

1) Get your clear built up perfectly.
2) Spray one full wet coat of your satin... under the best conditions... nice day... no beer... no bugs... dust... zombies... etc...
3) If you have a few dust nibs... just knock 'em down (light touch) after a few days with 0000 steel wool. If you're happy... then beer.
4) If you're not happy, sand with 320-400, go to Step 2.

I apply the grain filler first, then the stain. When you apply grain filler first, it fills in all the low spots, but there is quite a bit of left to sand off after it dries. If you apply it after the stain, you might end up sanding into the stain coat. I know the stain penetrates the wood, but this method has worked for me.

First pic is after Timbermate filler dries, second is sanded off, third is the finish.

Thank you for the replies.

So sealer after grain fill/stain (and sand).

Just a basic sanding sealer from Big Box? I don't want to have to order something else.

Thank you for the replies.

So sealer after grain fill/stain (and sand).

Just a basic sanding sealer from Big Box? I don't want to have to order something else.

I too would use a sealer.

You can purchase several different kinds locally

Zinnser shellac in aerosol form
Deft Sanding Sealer ( I wouldnt use their lacquer, but SS is fine)
Minwax poly sanding sealer
Birchwood Casey Sealer Filler

I have used all four with great success.

Deft Sanding Sealer ( I wouldnt use their lacquer, but SS is fine)
Minwax poly sanding sealer

I've used both of these.

Thanks again everyone. I'm glad to have this well of knowledge at my fingertips.