Finishing a guitar body

[SpiderWars]

Looking for suggestions on finishing a guitar body. I recently built a Pine Tele that I tried to finish but it turned into a clusterfuck...that actually looks kind of cool. It was a Black Cherry stain + poly and when I put it on it looked so drippy/saggy that I quickly wiped it all off. Looked pretty good so I did a second 'coat' same way. Looked better so I did a third coat on front and it looked a little worse so I stopped and left it. The back looks a little better than the front but it all looks a little relic'd and the guitar had good grain to begin with.

This will be one of those cheapo ebay Alder Strat bodies. I generally like to see the wood/grain but being Alder I think something more interesting than just tinted Danish Oil will look better. Can spray cans and elbow grease yield a cool, pro looking finish?

 

[ZEEGLER]

You can absolutely get a professional looking finish with spray cans. A lot relies on your prep work, and the environment that you're spraying in.

 

[scottosan]

Nitro is actually very forgiving. Lots of videos out there.

 

[SpiderWars]

You can absolutely get a professional looking finish with spray cans. A lot relies on your prep work, and the environment that you're spraying in.

I'm a sanding machine. I've done a ghetto french polish several times. Wet sanding with Danish Oil and increasing grit up to 3000 and it feels like glass. Never tried pumice tho.

 

[Hyperionguitarworks]

If you are planning on using rattle cans I'd buy the 2K clear cans they'll give you a pro quality looking and feeling finish.

 

[SpiderWars]

This could get ugly!

 

[SpiderWars]

Here's the neck, pretty sick flame on the back:

It was pale Maple (flamed quartersawn) but some tinted Danish Oil gave it some color.

 

[SpiderWars]

I've given it two good coats of sealer and I feel like I've sanded it to a toothpick but there are a few chatter marks on/in curves of the perimeter that I'm not sure if I've cleaned them up enough. I can't feel them but I know where they are so I can 'see' them if that makes sense. But the grain makes it harder to see. Since this kit has no primer and primer is allegedly a great final inspection tool I'm going to proceed with color. Hopefully worst case is I'll have to buy another can of Black...and build another toothpick.

 

[Racerxrated]

Looks like a fun project!

 

[SpiderWars]

Looks like a fun project!

Thanks!

Update: Several coats of color, stopping to fix something here and there. Then several coats of clear gloss. I only get one coat per good-weather-day, if it's too humid or cold I don't spray.

First lesson learned; use grain filler even for hardwoods. I sanded the fuck out of this thing and still there are a couple of spots I did not catch. I should have just scraped the whole body with grain filler and an old credit card and been done with it. Oh well, I think the only offenders will be on the back and some endgrain on the butt. This is kind of a pita.