Part 8: Mistakes Were Made...Part 2

In the grand scheme of things when you make a mistake while working on a guitar - it not like it's the end of the world. Usually there's a lot of swearing, maybe some throwing of tools (try not to throw anything that's meant to cut wood), and occasionally I will try to count to ten and start over. Usually what ends up happening is I count to 4, say "F___ it!", throw a screwdriver at the wall and go have a beer. Your mileage may vary.

To date, I have made only one real big mistake on this project. Big enough to make me walk away from the project in disgust for a couple of weeks. Big enough to question what exactly I was getting out of this project. My one big mistake? Not listening to Dan Erlewine.

For those of you not familiar - Dan is the master luthier at Stewart MacDonald (www.stewmac.com) one of the websites that sells parts for building your own guitar. I've spent about $100 to $150 at Stew Mac on this project so far. It's easy to do and I could easily spend more - but I'm a guy on a budget.

While researching how to build a guitar I read some of the "free information" on the Stew Mac site and found Dan to be a straight shooter who obviously knows his stuff. I had known about Dan for a while - I just forgot about him (or his name rather). He wrote the "how to repair your own guitar" book that started my interest in this craziness several years ago (okay, more like 10 years ago). Dan is the guy that repairs Carlos Santana's guitars (and BB King, and Stevie Ray Vaughn, and on and on...). To say he knows what he is talking about is a mild understatement. When it comes to guitar building - his advice is a great place to start (and maybe even a good place to finish).

So, here's what I did right...

I am staining my guitar - not painting it. The process is different - I knew this in theory just not in practice.
Once I had disassembled my guitar (see my last post) I got the body all ready for finishing. I sanded the body with 150 and then 220 grit sand paper to get it smooth but not too smooth. I read on the web (cause if it's on the web it must be true) that you shouldn't sand the body with anything finer than 220 if you are going to stain the wood. The rational being that the stain will have nothing to bond to if the surface is sanded finer than 220. It sounded almost plausible - so I went with it. FYI - there are two types of stains ones that seep into the wood grain and those that just sit on top of it. Your local hardware store will be able to tell you which is which - and which is better. The stain that I chose was the sit on top kind - 'cause they don't make midnight-blue stain that seeps into the wood grain. Who knew?

I also read on the web (in multiple places) that after you sand the body with 220-grit sandpaper you should then rub it with a damp rag or sponge to raise the wood grain. Use clean lukewarm water and a clean rag or sponge. You want it damp - not soaking wet. The water will raise the grain - then you sand it off using 220 grit sand paper. Wait until the body is completely dry - then sand it. This will lessen the grain-raising effect that water-based stains have on wood. Your end product will be smoother - or so I'm told.

So, here's what I did wrong...

I read somewhere (probably Stew Mac) that you need to use a sanding sealer when you stain wood. Now, if I had listened to Dan regarding WHEN you use sanding sealer I'd be playing my guitar right now. Instead I'm writing this while my first coat of lacquer is drying. Here's my lesson to impart to you grasshopper.

Remember Rockler? The store where I bought the mahogany for the guitar body? Well, they sell just about everything you could want for wood projects - including sanding sealer and lacquer top coat - in aerosol cans.





(Behlen Spray Sealer and Laquer Top Coat)


Perfect for the guy without a spraying rig (like me). I asked the guy at the store what order I should use the sealer - before or after I stain the guitar. The guy in the store said "before" I stain the guitar. It didn't sound right to me - so I checked the spray can. It said, "Use before you apply your color." My common sense was practically ringing bells telling me this didn't make any sense - seal the wood - and then stain it. Won't the stain just slide right off that freshly sealed wood? I decided to consult the Internet gods and see what they had to say. More than half of the sites that I went to said - Seal, then stain. I thought to myself, "Who am I to blow against the wind?" So I sealed the guitar with the sanding sealer first...





See, I wiped the stain on thick, and let it sit for 5 minutes, and repeated the process 3 times. Pay no attention to that fresh tasty beer you see in the picture)






(wiping off the stain to reveal - the stain didn't take - at all)



A few quick notes about 'how to.' Unless you have a very well ventilated room to work in (like 3 or 4 windows or doors - leading to the outside world) spray this stuff outside. I have a very loving and forgiving partner who let it roll off her back that I had to open all the doors (in March) on our first floor because I used our basement to spray the sealer. It stinks up the house for hours. Also, for the love of all that's holy - turn off your flame based (oil or gas) home heating systems while you're doing this if you are going to spray this stuff in the basement. Those kinds of mistakes will leave a mark!




(my makeshift spraying booth)

Like any spray-based application - spray lightly or it will run and you will be sad. Start with a light 'tack coat.' Which is another way of saying spray just enough on so that the next coat has something to adhere to. If your first coat is shiny - you went too far. First coat = light. I sprayed one ultra light coat - waited 10 minutes and then sprayed a heavy coat. I did one side until it started to get shiny then did the other side. By the time I finished the second side the first wasn't shiny anymore and so I put more on the first side. This is what's known as doing double coats. Be careful - it's easy to create a run spraying this heavy. I didn't have any runs - I was lucky.

So, back to what I did wrong... I sealed the wood and as any sane and rational person would expect - the stain had nothing to cling to - and didn't stain a thing. As you can see the guitar body - she don't take no stain. The piece of scrap wood that was not sealed - she's purdy. So, for all the supa-smaht guyz (that's New Englander for intelligent person) out there who think the wood needs to be sealed so that the stain will go on evenly please look closely at the pictures and realize you are mistaken and you are spreading filthy lies (why must you turn this work-shop into a den of lies!?).

If, for some reason, I am woefully in the wrong (yeah, like that happens) about the true nature of sanding sealer please feel free to leave a comment and set me straight. Otherwise - peoples - stain your wood - then seal it.

All of this could have been avoided if I had just listened to Dan. If you go to this web site you will see that the guy tried to tell me - and I wouldn't listen.

So, I let the guitar sit for 2 or 3 weeks while I contemplated why I had ignored my common sense. Finally, I took it off the hanger and sanded the guitar back down to the wood starting with 100 grit, then 150 and 220. Don't forget to wipe the body with water to raise the grain - 'cause you're basicly starting over from scratch (grrrrrrrrrrrrr...) then sand the body again with 220 - and now you are ready to stain the bejesus out of this hunk of mahogany.