Purpleheart & maple bass guitar – day 5
The dye is dry, so I got up bright and early this morning to get the first coat of finish on. The dye is water based, so the grain got raised up a little. I have to be careful not to sand through the dye layer, so I used a Scotch-Brite pad to smooth things out, gently.
Sanding down the raised grain
After that, I rubbed it down with a cloth to gently buff it back to smooth and shiny.
Cleaning off the surface
Before I start applying finish, I decided to go ahead and drill the mounting holes in the control plate. I also applied a small counter-sink to keep the screw heads below the surface.
Drilling and counter-sinking the control plate
First coat of Tung oil on the back
I am going to use several coats of Tung oil to try to match the glossy shine of the neck. It is an easy finish to apply, just wipe it on, with an old tee shirt, and wipe off the excess. The thing I really like about it, is that there are no fumes.
Oiling the front
First coat went on in minutes and looks great.
First coat complete
After half a day, the first coat was dry so I sanded everything down with 400 grit sand paper to rough it up for the second coat.
Sanding down the first coat with 400 grit paper
Second coat applied
The second coat went on as easy as the first, and is looking good.
Looking good
I honestly liked the look of the natural maple better than the died wood, but the neck just didn’t match. Maybe I will have to make a matching guitar at some point that is all natural…
Midnight Woodworking 