Natural poplar?

[bunglenutter]

Hi all - I've started collecting bits and pieces for a Tele build, my first. I haven't got a lot of money to spend, and spotted a relatively inexpensive poplar body blank which arrived today. I would like my Tele to have a nice natural finish with the wood grain visible and was just wondering about people's opinions on using poplar for this?

Thanks!

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[adjason]

Sure that will look pretty good-you might consider tru oil for your first builds finish

 

[PumpJockey]

I have done several with poplar and clear finish. I like them (obviously).

 

[bunglenutter]

What would the difference be between a TruOil finish and a nitro finish?

 

[bunglenutter]

I have done several with poplar and clear finish. I like them (obviously).

They look lovely. I read that poplar can often contain green/blue hues in the grain - did your finish eliminate this? Sorry for any silly questions - very much an amateur at woodwork.

 

[alscort93]

That should look nice. I believe Poplar is close grained enough that you shouldn't need grain filler either. I used a 2:1, denatured alcohol/amber tinted shellac on some poplar scraps, turned out pretty nice, even took away from the green streak, although on my phone yours doesn't appear to have a green streak,

 

[bunglenutter]

That should look nice. I believe Poplar is close grained enough that you shouldn't need grain filler either. I used a 2:1, denatured alcohol/amber tinted shellac on some poplar scraps, turned out pretty nice, even took away from the green streak, although on my phone yours doesn't appear to have a green streak,

On close inspection the darker grain lines have a very slight purplishness to them.

 

[Elias Graves]

Poplar often has really nasty green mineral stains in it and that's why you don't see too many clear poplar bodies. As long as they aren't there, it looks pretty good. I think that one would be a great candidate for a semi opaque finish.

Tru oil and the like is a mix, generally of tung oil and a spirit varnish. Easy to apply at home and looks good.
Nitro is a form of lacquer, typically sprayed. You'll need to work with good ventilation and good results require some practice. If you've never painted with spray before, read up on it, get some cheap spray paint and scrap wood to practice on before you try out new techniques on your guitar.

EG

 

[bunglenutter]

I would like a nice satin/matt finish on this Tele - is this achievable with TruOil?

 

[dsutton24]

This one's poplar with a transparent blue finish:

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The green streaks can be used to your advantage. You see a lot of transparent red poplar finishes, and they can be very striking. I went with the blue, and the greenish streaks worked well. At least I think so!

 

[flatfive]

Yes, you can achieve a satin finish with Tru-Oil. In fact, this
is the easiest and most direct finish to achieve with Tru-Oil.
If you apply it as per directions, and don't apply too many
coats, you'll get a satin finish. If it is too shiny for you, there
are various methods to make it more matte, such as using
0000 steel wool and wax.

By the way, sometimes people use a red tinted finish to offset
the green that's present in poplar. I don't think Tru-Oil can be
mixed with common dyes like TransTint, though. You could
consider dyeing the wood directly, but poplar is often said to
be tricky to dye.

ps here's a red poplar tele in tinted lacquer

 

[bunglenutter]

Thanks very much for the responses - one other thing, I think poplar needs to be sealed after its all cut and routed etc, I take it you can apply finish after sealing?

 

[dsutton24]

Yeah, just use your favorite sanding sealer. I used Deft on mine.

 

[Rod Parsons]

You can. You could go to the "Fine Finishing" section of TDPRI and get tons of information with pictures.

 

[PumpJockey]

Thanks very much for the responses - one other thing, I think poplar needs to be sealed after its all cut and routed etc, I take it you can apply finish after sealing?

What little green tint there was disappeared during finishing:

- Minwax "Natural" stain, which doesn't color but does emphasize the grain
- spray on sanding sealer
- spray nitro satin

 

[Funkee]

image removed

Yowza! That thing looks awesome. How does it sound? Any chance you did a build thread on it?

 

[dsutton24]

It's a jangle machine! Between the Telecaster twang and the chorus from the 12 string octave strings... well, it's bright as hell. I did do a short build thread. I lost a bunch of pictures somehow, so it's not very descriptive, but here it is:

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/tele-home-depot/318735-telemaster-12-string-not-bad-considering.html

 

[hemingway]

That is absolutely beautiful. I'm going to do a telemaster build soon, and was thinking of a solid sonic blue, no pickguard, and gold hardware. But that finish might make me rethink.

I don't have any spraying equipment, though. Do you think it's possible to do that finish with the see-through paint without it?

 

[CraigB]

This wood has quite a bit of the ugly green streaks underneath its transparent amber lacquer finish, which renders the green hue to just slightly darker brown streaks.

On your blank I see little, if any, green streaks. You can't go wrong tinting the lacquer. Go for it!