Re: Guest Luthier Series - Peter Crossley (Crossley Guitars)
to prevent a taped, or natural binding getting bleed into it from the top colour.
Ok first really polish the timber so that it shines, Go through the grits, finishing off with say 800, then hit it with 00 steel wool, then 0000 steel wool, hold the body to the light, it should gleam.
Now mix up a batch of wash coat. This is 1 part boiled (clarified) linseed oil to 9 parts mineral turpentine.
put a fair bit onto the body and rub in with an old piece of denim. Keep rubbing, this will increase the shine of the guitar top.
what you are doing here is sealing the ends of the cells in the timber.
Get ready with your stain. roll up into a small ball a piece of t shirt material.
the ball should be about the diameter of one of your American Quarters.
Oh I forgot a step. wear latex gloves, unless you like the idea of very stained fingers for a couple of weeks !!!
now put another coat of the washcoat on the guitar top.
rub it in again but not completely, should feel a little oily.
now with your small ball of t shirt, get the stain onto that and rub the stain from the middle of the top to the edges.
Dont mask off the sides of the guitar, you are doing it all by hand here.
Take your time, and make sure that the stain does not get stripey. So keep that ball moving.
Its all done by hand.
It does take nerves of steel, and a self belief in your own ability, but its how I do mine, and they dont bleed.
If you do get a bit of stain onto the edge, dont worry, sand paper will take it out.
let it dry a bit first, dont try to remove it with thinners, as this will push the stain further into the wood.
Oh the reason I dont use tape, is that the adhesive on masking tape (even the good stuff) will wick the stain under it, making more of a mess than no tape at all.
Capilliary action. Not what we are after.....
Good Luck !!!
Pete
Better make this the last one, or it could keep going on for ever !!!!
