Poplar body finish. Ideas?

[Guitartom_ca]

I am doing a Poplar body build. I sort of like the grain so i want to put a finish on that i can see the grain through. i have some rub on poly here left over from another build. what i want is some ideas on the color to stain it before i apply the poly, or should i just use the poly without stain?

thanks

[woodman]

that's a nice piece of pop! super-easy to work, but soft, so poly's a good choice to protect it ... my poplar build's only a little over a month old and i'm already beating the dog out of it.

you might ask around about some of the wood dyes to get that grain to pop ... i'm sure a lot of people more experienced than me will chime in.

[Guitartom_ca]

that's what i had in mind.. something to make the grain to really pop out. then finish it in poly

[Wild Rice Chris]

I never like poplar once it's dyed or stained, never goes on evenly. You'd be better off sealing it and spraying a tint over it. My poplar guitar turned blue after trying to go natural.



With the rub on poly, I'd just keep it clear.

[pottedmeat42]

I think you should be fine either way. In my experience poplar is very "predicable", meaning that it tends to accept stain pretty evenly (*** i just noticed that another poster had a different experience so who knows ***). You may watch out for it's tendency to enhance or bring out a greenish tint. It looks like a nice piece. I've used Watco Danish Oil (Black Walnut) as the sole finish w/good results (but I was going for a very thin, satin finish). Hope that helps. =jason

[woodman]

yeah, the green color cast ... a warm-toned dye or stain (burnt orange, red-brown or whatever) might neutralize that.

[Preacher]

Butterscotch / Blonde works well too...

[robt57]

I honestly do not think that is poplar.


And if I am wrong, that is the nicest darn piece of poplar I ever have seen... ;)

[Durtdog]

No experience with poplar, but I had good results using 2 different stains on the same guitar. I started with a dark brown that saturated the grain pretty well, wiped it off pretty quickly, then applied an amber color that I let sit much longer. It really brought out the grain in an ash body. Sorry I can't remember the names of the colors.

[jwells393]

Originally Posted by robt57

I honestly do not think that is poplar.

Sure looks like poplar to me. I see the typical green.

I'd paint it.............. with one of the new Krylon spray cans.

.......

[spankdplank]

I've done a couple of blonde poplars and several solidly painted poplars, but as Chris Rice said, it is hard to get a good, even stain color on poplar, and the greenish tint of the wood can make it really tough to get the shade right when you are doing a blonde. My two cents, I would go with a solid color.

[Wild Rice Chris]

Looks like poplar to me also. And I second the Krylon suggestion.

[ramblinmike]

I think poplar is a nice looking wood. Especially those examples we've seen so far! I think a clear poly would do wonders for that body. And what about dying it green? Then you won't have to worry about the green issue! Or go to home depot and buy a few pieces of cheap poplar and see how different dyes look on them, just to give you a ballpark idea. That's what I did before dying my first maple top.

[Tom S]

Originally Posted by jwells393

Sure looks like poplar to me. I see the typical green.

Me too...it looks very representative of poplar to me. I too think it's a good candidate for paint, but if it were mine, I'd veneer it.

[milkshape]

I vote Poplar too, I've never tried to go natch with anything. Maybe wood conditioner would make it go on more evenly? Anybody every try conditioner and then stain? Might be a candidate for a burst, the yellow tinted clear in the middle could hide a little of the green, maybe?
But if it were me....paint.

[Brendan1981]

There are some products available in Australia made by Feast Watson... It is called Prooftint Pine Sealer and is used before staining... It makes the stain soak in a lot more evenly...

Here is a link: http://www.feastwatson.com.au/Sealer...PineSealer.asp

I've used it before on furniture and it works great...

Oh, and there Fungisheild product works in much the same way as well, but can also be used to dilute the stain...

[Dan German]

Butterscotch blonde and sunburst both seem pretty poplar.

What? Someone had to say it.....

[robt57]

I see the green now, still one nice piece of wood for sure...

[Arlo]

I used Re Ranch Fender neck amber on my Poplar thinline build and I actually like the vivid yellow tint it gave the wood.

[jwells393]

Arlo ................isn't that a maple top on that guitar?

[Guitartom_ca]

@ Arlo how did you get the color on the back of your poplar guitar.

Or is it another type of wood?

[Arlo]

I was told when I bought it the top was Poplar and the bottom is Mahogany.

I used the re ranch neck on the mahog as well. I think that is how it got that golden graham cracker color.

I got some pics of it with no paint so I will try and dig em up.

I couldn't swear that is poplar but I was told that by the guy who made it and sold it to me. So I jes figured it was that.

He gets his wood at a lumbah yahd in upstate NJ somewhere.

You know looking at it sure does have some flame going on so you could be right? Does Poplar flame like that???

Here is the original thread about the build but I see no non paint pics.

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/telecaste...ine-build.html

[Tom S]

It looks like flamed poplar, Arlo, which is a bit uncommon...on guitars anyway.

[reddogbass]

Guitartom's body is definitely poplar.

Arlo's may very well have a poplar top, but I can't remember seeing any poplar which is cut like that. It's generally milled as a utility lumber.

However, if you go into Home Depot and look in the poplar section, you will find some 1/4" thick x 6, 8, and 10" widths x 24" long. I've gotten some pretty nice grained stuff there (but never flamed like that), but it was tough to find some without the "green."

What I've done is get teh boards with the least amount of "obvious" streaks, and cut it out. I've have fair luck retaining the original color, without turning green, using lacquer sanding sealer, and then clear lacquer on top.

I love poplar for furniture because it's easy to work with and much more stable than alder. However you generally have to veneer it- unless you like green!

I have a bass neck I built from poplar, and it ain't too bad color wise. I'll get a picture later. Great neck too- and no truss rod!

[Nick JD]

I read somewhere that flame is caused by two branches (like at the fork of a tree) that start off apart when the tree is a sapling, and then "fuse" together as the tree fills out and gets old. And this causes the two grains to wave at the graft resulting in a perpendicular flame or curl.

Could be an old wife's tale though. Any millers out there?