Help with oil finishing ash body

[Cdwillis]

I have a northern ash tele style body that I'd like to do a natural finish on. I have a picture of something similar I'd like to achieve. I'm just not sure how to go about it even after reading some Google search results. I'm guessing some kind of dye or dark sanding sealer then sanding and Tru oil? I've also seen how one guy used a torch. Anyone done something like this before?

 

[kramersteen]

Re: Help with oil finishing ash body

I saw a dude around here who did a finish by burning the wood slightly and then coating over it. It looked very similar to that ^^

 

[Cdwillis]

Re: Help with oil finishing ash body

Yeah, that one looks torched now that I see a larger version of the picture. I originally came across it on my phone. Still, I like the way the grain is way darker than the rest of the top. How would I do that? I'm not really worried about making the guitar look like a burst finish.

 

[ChAoZ]

Re: Help with oil finishing ash body

painted this one black ,then block sanded the front - leaving the paint in the pores ,then finished with clear lacquer

 

[CTN]

Re: Help with oil finishing ash body

the dark edges definitely look torched but the rest could be accomplished with a "walnut" or other similar dark brown stain.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Help with oil finishing ash body

^ Yep, stain the whole body then sand back leaving the stain in the wide grain.

 

[phred]

Re: Help with oil finishing ash body

I would torch the sides, stain with whatever color you like, shoot a coat of sanding sealer, black grain fill, then shoot satin or clear poly.

 

[phred]

Re: Help with oil finishing ash body

This is a pine body I torched the stained with minwax colonial poly.

 

[kramersteen]

Re: Help with oil finishing ash body

I saw a dude around here who did a finish by burning the wood slightly and then coating over it. It looked very similar to that ^^

forum member Phred does it.

 

[GilmourD]

Re: Help with oil finishing ash body

Stain it black then sand it out. It'll stay in the pores after being sanded out.

FYI, this is my Tele which I dyed red (StewMac cherry red) and then finished with tung oil. I did not dye black first., just the red.

 

[Cdwillis]

Re: Help with oil finishing ash body

Thanks for the advice. I bought some walnut colored minwax stain. It's oil based so i won't have to worry about raising the grain like with a water based stain. I figure I'll stain it then sand it back down and see how it looks. Maybe do another stain depending on how I feel. Then Tru oil it.

 

[muttznmongrelz]

Re: Help with oil finishing ash body

I used Lemon Oil to get a color I liked then Stew Mac Clear Gloss Nitrocellulose on the Ash Tele I built a couple years back.

 

[Cdwillis]

Re: Help with oil finishing ash body

I went ahead and stained it with the Minwax dark walnut stain a couple days ago and let it dry. Still waiting on the Tru Oil to show up in the mail. It was sanded pretty smooth. Not perfect, but I didn't bother with grain filler.



Not sure if I'll leave it like this or try to sand it down with fine grit sandpaper to remove the stain from the nongrain areas then tru oil. I have some fine steel wool too.

 

[Rand-O-Monium]

Re: Help with oil finishing ash body

Off to a helluva start!!!

Grain be poppin'!

Diggin' teh Zeebs,too!

 

[GilmourD]

Re: Help with oil finishing ash body

That looks sweet!

 

[muttznmongrelz]

Re: Help with oil finishing ash body

Looks nice!

 

[jake_xms3_punk]

Re: Help with oil finishing ash body

That looks awesome! Have you decided how to finish it yet? Quick question: where are the controls going to go? I would have done all the routing and drilling before finishing

 

[Cdwillis]

Re: Help with oil finishing ash body

The controls are going to be a volume and 3-way in the same position as the charvel pro mods. I figured I would put some tape over the spots before I drill them.

I'm still waiting on my Tru oil and haven't made up my mind completely on the final finishing. I thought about filling the grain still. It looks good as it is though. I'm curious about how much the Tru oil will darken it. This is my first finishing project so I'm flying by the seat of my pants.

 

[GilmourD]

Re: Help with oil finishing ash body

The controls are going to be a volume and 3-way in the same position as the charvel pro mods. I figured I would put some tape over the spots before I drill them.

I'm still waiting on my Tru oil and haven't made up my mind completely on the final finishing. I thought about filling the grain still. It looks good as it is though. I'm curious about how much the Tru oil will darken it. This is my first finishing project so I'm flying by the seat of my pants.

I picked my TruOil up at a local gun shop.

 

[Cdwillis]

Re: Help with oil finishing ash body

The one local gun store in my town closed down. I walked in and it had been turned into a salon. Talk about confused. Walmart here doesn't carry it in the store anymore (bought some there once years ago).