Alder Body

[blethum]

I have a nice one piece alder body that I would like to apply a nice natural wood finish too. How would I go about doing this? What type of stains would look nice? - Thanks!

[68thinline]

I'm a big fan of dewaxed shellac for a sealer coat because its easy to apply and dries quickly. IMO alder looks best with a sunburst; try the tinted lacquer from stewmac in spray cans if you don't have spray equipment.

A "natural" finish usually implies some kind of oil but lacquer is best for durability and totally compatible with shellac.

If your set on an oil type finish, tung oilbis a good choice for bringing out the natural look of wood.

[blethum]

Thanks for the good advice!

I think I might go for the tung oil, since it seems easier to get. Would I be able to apply the tung oil directly to the wood right away, or would I have to seal the body with shellac first?

[boris bubbanov]

Consider applying a tinted grainfiller like Bartley's (a proportion of 1 part Light to 4-8 parts Natural) to a carefully sanded body and then go straight to the Minwax Tung Oil Varnish. (Or Tru-Oil or other heavily modified varnish product of this class).

If you were in New Mexico my advice would be to try pure Tung Oil or pure Linseed Oil but I do not think it will "go off" even in mid-summer in BC.

Do you have some pictures of the Alder? Some individual Alder bodies are very beautiful. Others may not excite the eye enough over time, and they can be bursted later on.



While it is true you don't "have" to use grainfiller on alder, all wood has pores and small divots, etc., and a grainfiller as a medium is everything a stain should be (but is not) on a guitar, and a grainfiller is better in every conceivable way that these shoe polish concoctions (which might contain silicones but always have waxes and other "release agents") and, to be perfectly frank, all the misery associated with Grainfillers really applies to oak, walnut and especially ash. Grainfillers are not a headache on maple, on most mahogany, nor on alder. IF you get more Grainfiller on than you can buff off timely/correctly, you can always wipe the body back down with acetone and be further along than when you started.

[68thinline]

Originally Posted by blethum

Thanks for the good advice!

I think I might go for the tung oil, since it seems easier to get. Would I be able to apply the tung oil directly to the wood right away, or would I have to seal the body with shellac first?

No. The oil needs to penetrate the wood and the shellac will prevent it from doing so.

[craigoslo]

I like double boiled linseed oil then briwax original (bees and carnuba mix)

[blethum]

I'll post a picture here on monday, I think it looks pretty nice.

[jkingma]

I've used alder for one body... an SG. I kept it natural. A few coats of shellac and a couple coats of wipe on poly. It looked great.

Here's a pic.