How to finish Warmoth Body?

[SlimGrady]

I am looking to do a custom telecaster build through Warmoth because of the pickup routing options. I am doing something off the beaten path.

My question is, they have the DIY Paint finish option but it adds a few weeks to the turn around time and a significant chunk of money, can anyone tell me if I bypass the option what I will need to do to prepare the body?

I am not planning on adding color, only a tinted lacquer. Thanks.

 

[Freeman Keller]

Warmoth will finish their guitars for you, as I remember the option starts at $200 for basic one color or clear. They only use polyurethane now, have dropped their lacquer option.

You can of course buy the body unfinished and do it yourself. I have found the StewMac finishing schedule to be very good for what ever kind of wood you have and whatever kind of finish you want to achieve

Nitrocellulose Finishing Schedule - StewMac

A step-by-step flow chart of nitrocellulose finishing.

www.stewmac.com

 

[Wyatt]

The DIY finish prep now offered by Warmoth handles through the sealer coat — final sanding, pore filling (if required), and sealer coat. A good flat base coat so you can achieve a mirror smooth finish. Ready for poly or nitro color and clear coats.

what I will need to do to prepare the body?

Pore filling (if using Ash or similar) takes some practice to get used to. And sealing at the DIY level requires spraying several coats, sanding them back, and probably repeating the process a couple of times until all the low spots are leveled out and the surface is uniform flat.

 

[stratisfied]

If this is your first time tackling a project like this and your experience spraying coatings is nil, pick up a cheap body on eBay to practice on.

The type of wood (especially ash, mahogany and walnut) also adds the complication of grain filling and sealing.

The Wipe-on polyurethanes are no-brainer (I love ‘em), no experience required paths to great results but you will not successfully tint it for color. I’ve pulled it off on a rifle stock but that was because it had no large, flat surfaces which is where the streaks of color show. Colorants don’t dissolve in polyurethane and are merely suspended waiting for a low spot to accumulate in and cause a dark streak.

You could get a very nice result using a thinned stain for your desired color followed by the wipe-on polyurethane for you final finish.

 

[Sea Devil]

The "DIY finish" option sounds perfect for someone in your situation. Prep work is the most laborious and exacting part of finishing. You'll have a hard time screwing it up if it's already done!

 

[telemnemonics]

Get whatever you like and apply it yourself.
You will be happy to have it once you work the bugs out if not used to finishing.
I like Tung Oil finishes from Minwax and Watco, those are wipe on and add some amber tint but not so much like a high gloss factory look.
For the money saved and the nice natural look and feel it is my only finish, aside from variations like starting with boiled linseed for a few coats to change color etc and the number of coats moving from texture to flat semi gloss.

 

[telemnemonics]

On the left it was boiled linseed then watco.
Right was just Minwax Tung Oil finish.
Both over a decade of use now.

 

[SlimGrady]

On the left it was boiled linseed then watco.
Right was just Minwax Tung Oil finish.
Both over a decade of use now.

View attachment 1187865

This is exactly the type of look I am going for. I was planning to just use Alder wood but the streakier grain is intriguing. Mind if I ask what type of wood these are?

 

[telemnemonics]

This is exactly the type of look I am going for. I was planning to just use Alder wood but the streakier grain is intriguing. Mind if I ask what type of wood these are?

Both are swamp ash, which is my favorite body wood though I like alder a lot too and have several alder bodies with similar finishes.
Each individual chunk of lumber as arranged into a body varies a lot with ash, and the lighter body started darker while the darker one started lighter but I gave it the boiled linseed first to add some amber and darken it.

 

[telemnemonics]

Ash also

 

[HandCarver]

The easiest spray finish in rattle cans that I've tried is Varathane poly. It stays wet long enough to get a flow coat, and if you mist it on lightly it'll dry pretty flat (easy to sand and buff out). I would stay away from lacquer on a guitar if you've not sprayed lacquer before. It has a learning curve and you can get sick if you don't use proper safety steps.

+ 1 on Tung oil as well, but I'd use something better than Minwax - maybe try Southerland Welles. Tung oil takes many, many more layers if you want to build up a professional looking finish sheen, and the better the quality, the better the buildup of finish. At least that's been my experience. Tung oil wears very well and will amber light woods like ash/maple/spruce all on its own.

 

[HandCarver]

Ash also

View attachment 1188223

All four of these guitars are beautiful finishes. Nice work. The first acoustic I built was Indian Rosewood, and I used a polymerized Tung oil from LMII, open pore finish. That was in 1994, and the finish is still very good.

 

[bobio]

I wish I had the time and the energy to get into finishing. Another retirement bucket list
For now, I just click the check boxes for the finish I want on the Warmoth wizard ... lol
Couple of clicks and this Olympic White beauty popped out

 

[SlimGrady]

It is looking to me like Tung Oil or Truoil is going to give probably the best and easiest result for what I am looking to achieve. Any tips on applying it? Is any sanding and buffing needed or is it really as simple as wiping on a coat, letting it dry, and then repeat?

 

[Wyatt]

Tung Oil or Truoil

Two very different finishes with similar names ...

• Tru Oil is a mix of 3/4 resin varnish to 1/4 part tung or linseed oil, then that mix has been thinned 50% before bottling, it dries hardest out and is not a penetrating oil
• Tung Oil contains no resin, it's just tung oil thinned 50/50. It's a penetrating oil and a drying oil, it dries dry to the touch, creates a moisture barrier, but it create a hard finish. However, some finish companies market "Tung Oil" finishes with resin

In between is Danish oil (Watco is the most common brand), an even mix of resin, boiled linseed oil, and solvent, it doesn't dry quite as fast or hard as Tru Oil, but is a penetrating oil. Penetrating oils bring out more wood grain.

All three have their fans, I favor the hard ones like Tru Oil or Danish Oil. G&L uses Tru Oil on the oil-finished necks, Fender Custom Shop uses danish oil on their oil-finished necks. A quick Google will turn up dozens of threads and videos on applying any of them. It's generally wipe on, wipe off excess, dry, repeat until built to desired thickness. We wipe off excess to avoid runs and patchiness. Coffee filters are popular lint-free applicators, but many people have their own favorite solutions.

 

[Sea Devil]

Straight tung oil is a very difficult finish to apply. Of all the various formulations of "impure" tung oil, I find that Mohawk's Modified Tung Oil has the best ratio of ease of application to looks and durability. It can be renewed at any time with no witness lines. Four coats applied 6-24 hours apart will give you a decent level of gloss and a finish durable enough for bar tops. I don't recommend the Minwax version; it's totally effortless to apply, but doesn't have the same depth and warmth as the Mohawk.

I would recommend it over Tru-Oil, which requires many more coats, dries more slowly, and sometimes has issues with witness lines.

 

[schmee]

I am looking to do a custom telecaster build through Warmoth because of the pickup routing options. I am doing something off the beaten path.

My question is, they have the DIY Paint finish option but it adds a few weeks to the turn around time and a significant chunk of money, can anyone tell me if I bypass the option what I will need to do to prepare the body?

I am not planning on adding color, only a tinted lacquer. Thanks.

Don't underestimate how much work and trouble a home finish can be. If inexperienced, and I was going to home finish, I would probably not spend the money for a Warmoth body, unless I would do a natural finish without trying to fill grain etc. Then Nitro can spray or Tru oil or wipe on Poly is viable.

 

[P Thought]

It is looking to me like Tung Oil or Truoil is going to give probably the best and easiest result for what I am looking to achieve. Any tips on applying it? Is any sanding and buffing needed or is it really as simple as wiping on a coat, letting it dry, and then repeat?

All my "homers" have either Formby's Tung Oil Finish or Tru-Oil finishes. I started each one with a seal coat of Zinser's shellac thinned IIRC with 50% alcohol. At that point you can give it an alcohol-based stain or dye coat; the sealer coat prevents the color from penetrating unevenly.

Then the oil coats are no-brainers: wipe on a thin coat; let dry overnight or all day; buff back with fine steel wool (keep this away from your pickups!); wipe down with naphtha; repeat process as many times as you can stand it--mine all have 8-12 coats IIR, but more would be OK

After your last coat you can a) leave it alone for a nice semigloss finish; b) buff it with a buffing wheel for a shinier gloss; or c) buff it one last time with the fine steel wool for a nice satin finish--you'll have had a few previews of this look during your application of all those coats

Option a was my choice for all my bodies. I could, if I wanted, take any of them apart and add a coat or two, and/or change the gloss choices

Woods L-R: mahogany; redwood; myrtlewood; myrtlewood; Douglas Fir

 

[SlimGrady]

Don't underestimate how much work and trouble a home finish can be. If inexperienced, and I was going to home finish, I would probably not spend the money for a Warmoth body, unless I would do a natural finish without trying to fill grain etc. Then Nitro can spray or Tru oil or wipe on Poly is viable.

At this point I have decided to skip out on nitro. I think I am going to take the bare body and finish it with Tru Oil or Tung Oil (still undecided there) for the ease of application and it seems to produce very good results from what I am seeing.

 

[schmee]

At this point I have decided to skip out on nitro. I think I am going to take the bare body and finish it with Tru Oil or Tung Oil (still undecided there) for the ease of application and it seems to produce very good results from what I am seeing.

I have used both. Lately I'm really liking brushing this Minwax stuff on thin, it levels right out well. Same as Formby's Tung Oil Finish but they quit selling that. Tru Oil is nice but takes a lot of coats to get any lustre.

Three thin coats of the Wipe on Poly over alder: (ignore that yellow neck!)