How to STAIN and LACQUER a GUITAR, a complete guide | Quilted maple LES PAUL build | E4/4
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 พ.ค. 2023
- Version with full commentary - • How to stain and lacqu...
In this video I show you my entire process for finishing a custom guitar, including grain filling, staining, spraying coloured shader, spraying a burst, clear coating, wet sanding and buffing out the finish.
If you find any of this useful, please press the like button and subscribe to the channel.
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Relaxing to watch and nicely done although I'm not sure I learnt much from it. I wish there was some sort of commentary either as you were doing it or added afterwards, just explaining what you're doing, what you're using and what sort of things your thinking of/looking out for/taking into consideration as you're doing it. That would be really helpful and add a lot of value to the video.
I concur
Watch his “How I STAIN and LACQUER a PRS style guitar - Part 1 of 2” video. It has a verbal story.
If you check my latest videos, I released one last week with full commentary
The look on his face (new owner), priceless.
Making the world a better place, one guitar at a time.
Very Stevo Timothy.
@@byteme9718 👍😉
I'm a fine furniture maker of 30 years. This video makes me want to make a Les Paul... That Quilted Maple was Bonkers !
I imagine you’ve already got a lot of the tools to get the job done 👍
VERY well done! Thank you for sharing your expertise for other Luthiers. That is the sign of a true master of their craft.
Congrats! Watching this beast being made was as fun as watching the new owner receive it. Absolutely beautiful.
Thank you mate
Beautiful, beautiful instrument. Hope you enjoy it for years to come.
Wow that is the most gorgeous guitar I’ve ever seen. Love that color which was one of the candy colors I had painted on my blown gas flat show quality drag boat .
Thank you mate, glad you liked it
Love the colour and finish
Thank you mate
Thoroughly enjoyed watching this. Beautiful guitar! Thanks for sharing your experience and techniques.
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching.
Love the fact you have posted some more videos recently mate. Been a fan of your stuff on here for a few years. Always build amazing looking guitars
Thank you mate, I appreciate that. Trying to make some time to fit in a bit of youtube content, but don't old me to it.
@@ADFinlayson Lol that’s cool mate. Imagine a fair bit of time needs investing into creating a video to post and we don’t always have that luxury of spare time so I get it. Enjoy watching what you do post up regardless 👍🏻
Great detail to the color and lacquer!
Going to look like a piece of grape candy when done!
Never seen your videos before, but definitely appreciate the silent approach. Those of us who are visual do not need endless babble. Very cool, and nice touch with the reaction at the end. Love that wifey was just as excited as hubby to see it. Wholesome moment and your work was at the centre of it.
No idea what’s going on in this video. Can you overdub and talk about what you are using, techniques etc?
Seriously. Ain’t really helping me learn 😂
I agree... Even though there are some subtitles still ahould throw in some voice over....
I, Was enjoying it just fine. Not every year in high school did I, GET to take Shop. I, Learned a lil about a lil about of things. A lil later. ✌️🍻🕊️
Yep, definitely needs a talk over explanation on what he’s doing, materials used, etc, etc. And cut out extraneous background noises, or record at a lower volume.
Was gonna say the same thing, this video could have been a lot of help.
Beautiful guitar, great work
Another great video! I am learning a lot. You do make things look easy which I know is NOT the case. 😄
What a lovely and nice master-piece of artwork ...! Thanks a lot ffor this delicious video-clip! Love and peace on earth ...!!!
It was pleasure watching your work.
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching
Stunningly beautiful.
Thank you mate
What a lovely purple
Stunning guitar! I currently have a hollow body LP type on my bench waiting to be carved. I'm loving your channel!
Glad you enjoyed the video, you should post some videos if you’re working on your own builds. Ash
Amazing, thank you so much for sharing your process and knowledge.
You're welcome mate, thanks for watching
Great job!Excellent
Amazing video, that dudes joy when seeing his new guitar was awesome. Proud of you buddy 🤘🤘🤘
Thanks bud 🙏
One of the best Ive seen!
Really Great Work!
Appreciate that, thanks for watching.
Great work.
Excellent job!
One word : Professional.
thank you
Its amazing that purple guitars aren't way more wide spread because they always look incredible
I really enjoyed the video. Thanks for the time and effort you spent making it.
Thank you mate, glad you enjoyed it!
What a beautiful guitar, amazing work!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed the video
That’s a gorgeous guitar.
Thanks mate, thank you for watching
This is a AWESOME video...and guys...for those of you who made negative comments....look this isn't a hold your hand how to video....by the time your watching this...these skills should already be in your build knowledge...using tools...setting up necks and gluing...using stains and airbrushes...these are things that should be mastered on individual levels...this is a fantastic presentation showing a professional at his love.....well done....and BTW...beautiful purple quilted maple LP 👍👍👍👍
Appreciate the comment mate, thank you
Well, some of us know how to set up guitars, intonation, neck adjustments, all that stuff. But for those of us that are building and putting color on for the first time, we'd like to know how to do it without really screwing it up. So, don't look down on us. Jerk....
Jamie, please keep your comments polite. If you check my latest videos you will see I released a how to video with full commentary last week
Great video, what a stunning finish. So good to see you back here. Looking forward to catching up with the other videos. All the best and keep up the great work.
Cheers Paul!
Freeking AWESOME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love that Tiger picture on his wall , I want a guitar like that !!!!!!!!!
Thank you. Tiger picture on the wall?
Thx for the video. You’re such a careful craftsman.
Appreciate the compliment, thanks for watching.
A Very talented Professional 🐝💤👍
Thank you mate
Wonderful video and stunning work.
Thank you Chris, glad you enjoyed it
Thanks for posting.
Que bello trabajo, gracias por compartirlo. Felicidades 👍
Thank you mate
巧夺天工真是人才。
Gorgeous piece of art, congrats 👏👏👏👍👍
Appreciate that mate, thanks for watching.
I really enjoyed the video and love the results. I read through all the comments you replied to, and judging by your level of sarcasm, you must be tired of answering why there's no commentary. I agree with the masses, but for a different reason. After reviewing the questions, most are about the products used and a lot less about your techniques, and I would also fall into that category. I think a simple matrix of what you used all in one place would answer the larger majority of users' questions and save you a LOT of time and frustration. Although I enjoyed the sarcasm, and you kinda earned the right IMO. I know I'm not immune, so fire away :)
I have never built a guitar or attempted a finish, so after seeing this video, I became inspired and bought a guitar kit with a maple flame top. My only hope for my first guitar finish is that I don't completely botch it. I feel I can follow your techniques by watching the video, but, my inner beginner needs more specifics on the products.
I took moments of your video and tried to piece everything together the best I could. Would it be too much to ask for you to correct me and fill in the blanks or add a bit more detail where necessary? 1000 thanks in advance.
Sealing faux bindings - Chestnut Sanding Sealer
Neck glue up - ?
Grain fill DIY - th-cam.com/video/Hx-6Mhd31qQ/w-d-xo.html
Preparing to spray some cherry shader - Spirit-based dye added to thinned-down lacquer
Clearcoat to protect the color - ?
Raising the grain before applying dye - Damp rag with water
Applying dye diluted about 50/50 - Angelus Purple, diluted with?
Acetone pulls out excess dye and helps to blend colour - ? Brand ?
Sanding sealer to prevent colours from running - Chestnut Sanding Sealer ?
Clear coat - Morrells lacquer
Spraying the edge burst - ?
Building up the clearcoats - Morrells lacquer
leveling the laquer - After 3 weeks, 1200 on top and 800 on the back.
buffing - Chemical Guys swirl remove
I appreciate the sentiment, but the people that leave the narky comments aren't the sort of people that read the comments.
Insanely helpful for a beginning luthier. Hope I can get spraybooth access eventually...thanks so much for this, subscribed!
Thanks for watching!
You don't need a spray booth and he doesn't have one.
I like the way you put that black veneer between the maple top and the body. I'm doing the same thing on my current build.
It’s a nice little separator, even if it does make more work of the glue up
So much of it is how it looks
Nice color....looks like one I did 👍
I do custom painting and airbrushing on the side and I have to say I'm not nearly as meticoulous as you are. You are truely an artist in your craft. Cudo's to you my friend. 👏👍👌
Thanks, glad you enjoyed the video
Dude, your work is outstanding. It would be interesting to have a commentary on the video about the materials you use, why and also why you use the overall approach that you do. Beautiful work.
If you wait 2 weeks, exactly that is coming
Thats perfectly pretty
awesome.
Good job
To get the back plates to perfectly match you can cut them out of the mahogany body using a very fine blade in a scroll saw or fret saw before gluing the maple cap on. You can glue the block back once you cut the cover off, then machine out the cavity to give the needed recess for the back plate to sit on. This method will make the back plates almost disappear.
Amazing guitar! And The Running Mates are the owners. Nice!
Yes indeed, thank you!
Nice! Got a double neck I got to do!
Absolutely awesome work. I want a strato, I live in Europe.
Nice job guitar looks good. I know one thing if I decide to do this stuff, I'm going to make different color guitars , not just black and white. Gives each guitar its personal touch and character . 😎👍👋✌️🎸🎸
Thank you. The great thing about maple is you can dye it almost any colour and still see the beautiful figure
@@ADFinlayson 👍👋💯
Brilliant! Though my Les Paul studio doesn’t have a figured maple top it could use a nicer finish.
For the people complaining about commentary, he has a link to his full video with commentary in the description😂
Beautiful job, and very inspiring!
Thank you Troy, thanks for watching.
Ash
Fantastic work as ever - would be great to know which make of stains and lacquers youre using here. The guitars just keep getting better and better !
For this one I used, Angelus dye and Morrells Lacquer
@@ADFinlayson thats great thanks AD. Love the self build buffing wheel setup. Thats on my to do list for the new workshop!
@@petecoates6410 Sorry to disappoint you but it's actually the Stewmac buffer, I just build the stand for it. I was going to make one but when I totted up all the parts, it didn't work out much cheaper than the Stewmac one when it was on sale and the stewmac one came with mops and compound.
Great video, thanks. Tip for others.. allow plenty of time for the finish to harden before trying to sand and polish. The harder it is the better the result. Learned that painting cars.
Good advice, even more prevalent with wood too as the lacquer will always shrink down into the grain, no matter how well filled it is.
What kind of time frame would be reasonable between spraying and a re-coat or sand? I guess environmental conditions play a role in the hardening time?
@@YoureNowOnTV yes and what you're spraying too, this is pre-catalysed cellulose lacquer so it cures pretty quickly. I tend to leave 30-45 minutes between coats - I know I can leave lacquer in the gun for that long without issue, and I'll spray max 3 coats per day. If I want to level between coats, then I'll normally spray 3 coats in the day and level sand (dry) the following morning. I won't wet sand and spray on the same day. The manufacture says this can be buffed within 3 days but I'll always leave at least 10 days before doing final level and buffing because it will still shrink into the grain.
If I was spraying traditional nitrocellulose, I'll leave it at least 2 weeks before doing and level sanding (apart from the odd bit of denibbing) because it takes that much longer to harden and shrink into the grain.
@@YoureNowOnTVThe time between coats is normally specified in the instructions. The time between applying a coats and sanding it is normally a lot longer. With most products I make a test on scrap wood and leave them overnight. It varies a lot. Some primers you can carefully sand after a few hours if you don't allow the paper to clog, but with some gloss paints they recommend allowing a week. In general the harder the finish is the better the gloss you can polish in. If you are polishing away with compound and it's not getting better it's probably still too soft. Edit: When wet sanding by hand the paper tends to clog if the paint is too soft. When it's nice and hard it tends to make a fine slurry you can wash out of the paper.
@@ADFinlayson Thanks so much for taking the time to reply to my questions. Greatly appreciated! 😀👍
So many more questions
Very nice, especially if you're a Deep Purple fan.
I am!
Excellent work and stunning finish. Just when gluing the neck I would have have placed a block on the fretboard before clamping rather than clamp directly onto the frets themselves.
Why?
Some commentary about what you are using at different steps would make this video a lot more useful. Otherwise, its just fun to watch.
That is by far the best wood glue you can buy.
Definately not a complete guide to anything, but really cool to watch.
That was sexy, I am not a fan of the banding but it's not my guitar so it doesn't matter what I like😂😂😂😂. Plus I can't play well enough to buy a high end guitar like that. Very nice work
Awesome job on this!! Subbed :)
Appreciated Terry, thanks for watching
Don't know if you've ever tried it but simple painters tape can help with tearout while drilling.
Yes you're right and I have tried it, no substitute for taking it slow though
@@ADFinlayson oh I definitely agree. I use both tactics when drilling into a surface like that.
beautiful top on that guitar. the craftsmanship on the wood is excellent. I'm sure it was cleaned up, but there was noticeable purple bleed onto the faux binding. I'd be concerned if it wasn't...
Buen trabajo pero te daría unas recomendaciones, al copiar los agujeros del puente usar una agujereadora de banco o un controlador de verticalidad, la toalla que pongas debajo para lijar el cuerpo virgen deberían cambiarla o lavarla ya que Deja residuos de arena, la colocación del mástil provisorio para pintar, deberias usar un papel más rígido para copiar los agujeros y podrías poner unos tornillos de diámetro menor con un poco de cinta de enmascarar para no agendar los originales o instalar unos de mayor medida luego, el agua para lijar deberían aplicarlo a la lija en vez de a la guitarra así se humedece menos la madera. Son solo sugerencias para no correr riesgos es un hermosos oficio y un buen trabajo saludos!❤
For a complete guide you need commentary for those like me that have never done this it would be nice to have tips. But video looks really nice.
美しい☆
Thanks for inviting us into your shop.
Absolutely love this guiitar, it is the exactly colour I'm hoping to achieve on my own build! Which dye are you using?
Angelus leather dye
Subscribed just because of the grain filler description. Awesome work. Do you have like a signature style build, something not Les Paul or Fender?
Thank you mate, I will build anything within reason, I usually just make what people ask me to make.
Very good angles on al lthe techniques; I'm most interested in a list of the products (and potentially even the tools) you used for this process. What kind of stain, grain fill, poly coat etc. Are you using here?
I use angelus dye to do the purple with a cotton rag. The grainfiller I made myself - I have a video on that th-cam.com/video/Hx-6Mhd31qQ/w-d-xo.html and the finish is Morrells cellulose lacquer
What a great video.
Questions lol what clear did you use and how long did you leave before sanding back.
And what compound ?.
Sorry for all the questions.
Morrells lacquer, I left it about 3 weeks I think
When spray painting, make your first coat very light and leave it until it tacks up (tack coat) before spraying your second coat. Then when you spray your second coat, you can really flood it.
If you don’t do a tack coat first you can only spray light coats and it makes getting a high build gloss finish really difficult.
Also don’t finish your passes over the body itself, change directions upon an imaginary surface beyond the object you are painting.
That sounds like a good technique for spraying 2k
@@ADFinlayson Works for all paints, learned it from a pro many years ago, best painting tip I ever got. It’s a fast first pass that looks sparse and crappy which is let sit until it gets tacky but does not smear when touched (I just check on the masking paper or tape), then the second pass is slow and heavy until almost the point you’d think it would normally run but it doesn’t. The trick I found was resisting the urge to touch it up again straight away, and just waiting a full tack again before doing it. The first thing it knocks out is overspray, but the best thing it does is just saves time in colour sanding later.
These have been a huge help prior to doing a stain job on a tele body that I have. One question that I have. Do you not sand the sanding sealer after it has had time to dry and before the clear coat?
No, I only use sanding sealer to prevent the stain from running. I’m not using it as a base coat
Fabulous video. Thank you! After using grain filler, you sprayed a red shader. What is that shader made of?
Thank you mate, spirit based dye added to thinned-down lacquer
Terrific job, as expected. Well done.
You inspired me to buy my first kit (les paul with quilted maple top).
About staining: how do I get a light pink stain/grain in quilted maple under light grey? It is possible at all?
Thanks in advance! :)
Ps: vik guitars are my colour reference (the type of paint job I'm looking for)
TBH I think you will struggle to get that affect with a veneered top on a kit. To get that colour you need to dye it black and do a lot of sanding back before dying it pink. You really need a solid cap for that or you risk sanding through the veneer
Purple and gold hardware . Wow .
Now some Gold pickup covers
Hi, thanks for the video. Superb! One question: when staining/finishing a headstock that has an inlay on it, how do you avoid staining the inlay itself? Do you mask it (some inlays are lines, so thin, that masking is difficult or not an option). If you sand it, you also sando over the finish... so, how do you do it? Thank you very much! Best regards!
Good question, if you're using pearl then it should really stain the inlay, just make sure you've sanded it well. You could also stick to water based dye and use some minteral spirits to wipe down the inlay once the dye is thoroughly dry or even try light sanding with a high grit like 400-600, if you pull a tiny bit of colour out of the maple headstock veneer then it's not the end of the world, it will just make the figure pop a bit more.
Fantastic process! How long did you let the clearcoat cure before adding on the hardware.
Thank you, I normally leave it a few weeks before buffing, I’ll had hardware as soon as I’m happy with the buff
Realy nice work! Thank you. One question left: did you don‘t do sanding between sealer and lack coat?
I just spray a bit of sealer in light mist coats to prevent the dye running or looking patchy then lacquer right over the top. It’s not as well prepped of a surface compared to a properly levelled base coat but with a few coats of cellulose melted into each other, it levels it’s self off quite nicely
Greetings ! That is a great video ,it greatly helped me understand the finishing routine. I would like to ask you if you have used automotive polyurethane and wether it mixes well with stains or not , to achieve a transparent look . Thanks in advance !
Thanks for watching, I have never sprayed poly so I couldn't give you an informed answer, sorry.
@@ADFinlayson Its ok ! Thank you very much !
Great work. I have a build I am doing, I want to put the faux binding on it, what to i use to seal it so the dye doesn't seep down on it? The finish is my Achilles heel. Thanks in advance.
Sanding sealer
Would it make much sense to use painters tape on the quilted maple top when drilling the bridge post holes to help prevent tear-out? Just a thought.
If a drill bit wants to tear the wood, tape isn’t going to help.
Lots of confidence there, never checking the neck angle.
You see a tiny snippet of what actually happens in building a guitar. If you saw the whole thing then the video would be hours long
Makes me feel better, thanks, lol@@ADFinlayson
For the eye screw used to hang the guitar, do you get the same size as your button? Or do you go bigger/smaller?
The pilot hole I drill for the hook is 2mm for a 3mm hook screw, the strap button screw is the same size screw just longer
Stunning work .Been a car painter 50 and that was great to watch .
Is it two pack clear you use ?
Thank you mate. I’m sure as a car painter you could give me a few tips. No it’s cellulose from Morrells. It’s my go to finish unless I want the paint to check, then I’ll use Dartfords nitrocellulose
@@ADFinlayson There are no durable NC clears and the thicker the coating the faster it fails.
Awesome. Which grits do you go through when level sanding the clear coat?
I like to say I start with 1200 on the top and 800 on the back. But that's on a good day, it really depends how well the paint goes on and how good the grain-fill went.
? What did you brush onto the binding in the beginning and why? Beautiful work.
Sanding sealer, helps prevent dye soaking down into the sides
What type of dye do you recommend? Ive seen Analine, water soluble powders, etc. Also, do you have a video on how to cut inlays?
watch my latest video Shawn, I explain all my products and processes th-cam.com/video/HjO5n86wiI0/w-d-xo.html
Quick question, my take away from watching this is that you can spray the lacquer on a little heavier then you would say a paint finish, even though it is kind of starting to get they puddled look like it's almost gonna run but it isn't, it's just swirly, It doesn't matter because your just gonna come back in the next step and level it anyways and then polish and buff it so those steps are gonna take it back down to a flat even finish anyways. Does that sound right? Or am I thinking wrong? And when you leveled it, are you just using water to wet sand it basically? Or is that acetone or alcohol or something you got in the spray bottle?
the paint is thinned a fair bit, but I put on as much as I can in a coat without getting runs, otherwise I'll be spraying for weeks. The spray bottle is water with a few drops of dish soap.
Great video, do you refinish guitars as commissions? Have a Gibson Explorer I'm thinking of getting refinished...
thank you mate, it depends! do you want to email details to ash@adfinlaysonguitars.co.uk
i need some of your grain fill lol
HI great video, but could do with some detail such what product used if not brand the type, and "raisng the grain before dyeing, what did you use to raise the grain water? as i say some details would be greatly appreciated many thanks, what grit of sandpaper you advise at the stages etc, edit *** its a lovley finish, Im building a Les Paul style guitar at the moment, mine Ive put a Flame maple veneer on it, its a mahogany body same as yours with a maple neck im torn between letting the Mahogany & maple show, or a solid rich deep blue to match a rich blue dye finish on the veneer.
Yes, a damp rag to wet the grain, that's all
@@ADFinlayson thanks