How to STAIN and LACQUER a GUITAR, a complete guide | Quilted maple LES PAUL build | E4/4
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- Опубліковано 21 вер 2024
- 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.
~ Graphics by Vecteezy
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
@@ADFinlayson
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 👍
Im about to finish a kit guitar for the first time with zero prior knowledge, and i found this video one of the best I've watched. The subs wer enough for me to get on with, and the confidence and care in real time were more inspiring than hearing someone bang on about it because they are a subject matter expert. I won't be able to attempt doing it like you did, most likely using spray cans, but will follow the same structure of activities. Your purple burst looked amazing btw
Thank you mate, glad you enjoyed the video. Good luck with your build
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.
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
One word : Professional.
thank you
Its amazing that purple guitars aren't way more wide spread because they always look incredible
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.
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
For the people complaining about commentary, he has a link to his full video with commentary in the description😂
VERY well done! Thank you for sharing your expertise for other Luthiers. That is the sign of a true master of their craft.
What's the point of an instructional video with no instruction? Yes some of the process is self explanatory but not all of it. A commentary on what you are you doing, why you are doing it and with what material or compound would be helpful and far more interesting. I appreciate there are those who do not like commentary but that's what the volume control or mute button is for. That having been said, NICE job on the guitar it looks truly stunning.
If i'd taken the extra time to explain every step the video would be over an hour long and wouldn't get watched, if I separated it out into a series it wouldn't get watched. Both those options would involves many hours of extra work, when you could just ask in the comments section if you need advice.
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
That’s a gorgeous guitar.
Thanks mate, thank you for watching
Congrats! Watching this beast being made was as fun as watching the new owner receive it. Absolutely beautiful.
Thank you mate
Purple and gold hardware . Wow .
Now some Gold pickup covers
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
Another great video! I am learning a lot. You do make things look easy which I know is NOT the case. 😄
Great detail to the color and lacquer!
Going to look like a piece of grape candy when done!
Love the colour and finish
Thank you mate
What a lovely and nice master-piece of artwork ...! Thanks a lot ffor this delicious video-clip! Love and peace on earth ...!!!
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.
Very nice, especially if you're a Deep Purple fan.
I am!
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 - ua-cam.com/video/Hx-6Mhd31qQ/v-deo.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.
What a beautiful guitar, amazing work!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed the video
Beautiful guitar, great work
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 👍🏻
I really enjoyed the video. Thanks for the time and effort you spent making it.
Thank you mate, glad you enjoyed it!
Some commentary about what you are using at different steps would make this video a lot more useful. Otherwise, its just fun to watch.
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
One of the best Ive seen!
Really Great Work!
Appreciate that, thanks for watching.
Freeking AWESOME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love that Tiger picture on his wall , I want a guitar like that !!!!!!!!!
Thank you. Tiger picture on the wall?
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
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?
Amazing, thank you so much for sharing your process and knowledge.
You're welcome mate, thanks for watching
It was pleasure watching your work.
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching
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.
What a lovely purple
A Very talented Professional 🐝💤👍
Thank you mate
Thx for the video. You’re such a careful craftsman.
Appreciate the compliment, thanks for watching.
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.
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!
Thoroughly enjoyed watching this. Beautiful guitar! Thanks for sharing your experience and techniques.
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching.
Amazing video, that dudes joy when seeing his new guitar was awesome. Proud of you buddy 🤘🤘🤘
Thanks bud 🙏
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! 😀👍
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
So much of it is how it looks
Thanks for inviting us into your shop.
Thats perfectly pretty
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...
Stunningly beautiful.
Thank you mate
巧夺天工真是人才。
Brilliant! Though my Les Paul studio doesn’t have a figured maple top it could use a nicer finish.
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.
I have to TOTALLY AGREE with comments regarding no commentary on what you were doing! Hard to learn without instructions. Couldn't even finish the clip, there was no point. It's like watching someone prepare/cook a delectable dish but they don't tell you how it's done; you have to guess.
If you want a full commentary watch my latest video. All products and processes explained
ua-cam.com/video/HjO5n86wiI0/v-deo.html
Gorgeous piece of art, congrats 👏👏👏👍👍
Appreciate that mate, thanks for watching.
Great job!Excellent
Wonderful video and stunning work.
Thank you Chris, glad you enjoyed it
Absolutely awesome work. I want a strato, I live in Europe.
Excellent job!
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 👍👋💯
Nice color....looks like one I did 👍
Definately not a complete guide to anything, but really cool to watch.
Thanks for posting.
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.
awesome.
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.
Beautiful job, and very inspiring!
Thank you Troy, thanks for watching.
Ash
Great work.
Nice! Got a double neck I got to do!
Amazing guitar! And The Running Mates are the owners. Nice!
Yes indeed, thank you!
Que bello trabajo, gracias por compartirlo. Felicidades 👍
Thank you mate
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!❤
After a minute of watching it I realized I wasn't going to waste any more time.
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.
You could've narrated the video. You're just going "here's me, doing a thing with some stuff aaaand there you have it. Simple!"
911: whats your emergency?
Me: This dude building a guitar is wilding!
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
That is by far the best wood glue you can buy.
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
While viewing the video I found it extremely well filmed, but I would rather hear a voice over/ narration than listen to air compressors and sprayers with no verbal communication of the techniques used. The subtitles in white were very easily missed when concentrating on the video.
The guitar turned our very nice, unfortunately I was not able to learn anything due to lack of commentary. An explanation of the process and materials you used would have been very helpful. I fast forwarded to the end and it turned out beautiful. I was just expecting more of a teaching video which I realized that was not your intent. Great work though.
Watch my latest if you want an explainer video ua-cam.com/video/HjO5n86wiI0/v-deo.html
So many more questions
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
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
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
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 ua-cam.com/video/Hx-6Mhd31qQ/v-deo.html and the finish is Morrells cellulose lacquer
Awesome job on this!! Subbed :)
Appreciated Terry, thanks for watching
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.
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
Good job
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.
Nice video but you didnt say anything about the type of stains or topcoat products you used.
Ok so many questions!!!!
What and did you seal/prep before the color stains? Did you apply with a sandpaper? Sounds scratchy? Is it water based?
Same for sealer? Need a supply list please!!! @A D?
for the back and neck I applied a grain filler that I made straight on the wood (there is a video on my channel on how I make my grainfiller). The top does not get any sealer before dye, dye on to bare wood then sanding sealer over the top to stop the colour running. All the finishes I used including sealer are cellulose based, even the grainfiller has lacquer in it.
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
Please don't take this as criticism, I have very little knowledge so it's curiosity and learning. I feel like you're very close to the instrument when you're spraying. Is there a particular reason, or is it perhaps just the camera angle?
The tip of the gun needs to be just a few inches away from the work piece and I need to be close enough to clearly see what is going on.
i can only dream if having one... New Sub here🙏
Thanks for watching mate
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 !