I made a mistake with a piece of Cedar by applying gunstock stain on it. It was awful. I decided to sand as much stain out as possible. This was exhausting and it took a lot of 320 sandpaper. When I was fed up with sanding the sanding, out of sheer luck I had the Wipe on Satin Polyurethane Finish. I just decided to wipe several coats on it. The wood color, the smoothness of grain is my best achievement in finishing. I like the wipe on finish because I don't like working with the gooey stuff. It's just too annoying. This method is clean.
I'm in the process of doing my guitar. Just the top and your video is so helpful. Thanks for the video the guitar is coming out great I'm almost ready to put the wipe on poly on waiting for last coat of sanding sealer to dry. God bless you.
I use Mahogany for most of my guitar bodies, so my first step is mahogany grain filler, sand than brown Mahogany stain, let this dry for at least 2 weeks it is an oil base stain, than multiple coats of 1/3 poly, 1/3 linseed oil, 1/3 mineral spirts, this creates a beautiful finish
Excellent video. I have a brand new Mitchell M200, finished in satin. I'm planning on prepping and applying a high gloss poly to it. The only part I'm not looking forward to is the stripping of the hardware, especially the pickups. By the way, I'm impressed you play a seven string, I think that's more than I could bite off.
Thanks for this - I've just bought some minwax gloss and am going to do exactly the same as you've shown. I was also pleased to see your 'wipe off' technique as I've just discovered that this is the secret to using Tru Oil to get the finish I want. It's more about the wiping off than the wiping on if you know what I mean!
thank you for these 2 poly finish videos. i feel much more confident based on your explanations as to the reason for each of your steps. helps a very UN handy person like myself have more confidence - ill be stripping my tele body tomorrow and soon following your finish steps! be well!!
@@pigjubby1 it turned out really nice, but I found it soft. After a week of cure time, it still scratched with a firm thumbnail:( I feel that laquer is the way to go if you want a glass finish. For the rustic look, poly all the way... only my opinion....
@@UncleHan13 You should let it cure for at least 2 weeks for water based and a month for oil based. The stuff gets rock hard if you let it cure long enough.
Thank you so much. Your process of applying "Wipe On Poly" creates the finish that I want on one of my guitars. I'm building a buffing wheel set simular to your now... You are a Great inspiration.
No point building a setup like that unless you're going to do a bunch of guitars. A $4 buffing wheel in a drill press or even a hand drill does perfectly fine.
Excellent videos, Chris - I'm really enjoying the level of detail and learning a lot :) Re nitrocellulose on maple fretboards, what product do you use please?
great video! A question; you removed most of the 1st coat of poly. Then you applied 4 or 5 more coats of poly. Did you remove those coats as well? Or is the 1st coat the only one that gets removed?
Great video. If you have quite a dark dye stain and use an oil based sanding sealer over it, have you got any tips on not sanding through to the actual stain?.
Apply the sealer as smooth as possible (practice on scrap wood) in order to reduce the amount of sanding you’ll need to do. Sanding with too coarse of a grit will cause sand through. The same applies to sanding with too fine of a grit because of a tendency to work too hard to achieve a smooth surface. Practice on scrap to get a feel for how to apply the oil and to choose the right grit of sandpaper.
newbie here, is that okk if i just using BLO following with top coat to finish a body guitar ? without using sand sealer, sorry for my poor english thanks in advance
Hi there! Long time viewer, first time commenter. I'm looking to start a kit build with a mahogany body and neck, and I'm going for a high gloss finish. It looks like you're using a sanding sealer and then the wipe on poly, but not grain filler in these two videos -- is that right? Can you skip the grain filler with an open pore wood like mahogany? Thanks in advance! Love your videos.
@HighlineGuitars thank you! May I assume that the filler comes after the sealer, before the wipe on poly? A quick search has yielded some mixed results, so I figured I would ask. Thanks again!!
Great video. I'm planning on using the Minwax Gloss on a guitar body but their satin on the neck. Any advice on using both on the same guitar (i.e. I'm worried about the area where the gloss/satin meets)?
I wish these videos have been around a year ago when I was doing my first guitar kit. I totally bungled how to apply the stuff, and ended up with a lacquer finish that sucked. Probably going to sand down, do a shellac coat or two and try this.
Thank you for this excellent video, it is just what I was looking for as I intend to finish my guitar with a natural looking wipe on poly. I intend to put a few coats of poly on top of a pure tung oil finish as I’ve read in a professional article that it can be done and adds some durability. Please have you got any advice about applying wipe on poly on a pure tung oil finish? Thank you. Gaetano
The main thing is to make sure the tung oil has fully cured before you apply the poly. That will take at least a month. Also, don’t use paper towels (they leave fibers). Use a lint free cloth and resist over rubbing as that will cause rag to disintegrate.
Outstanding presentation. Your step-by-step illustration was very thorough. I have a question for you. How were you able to thoroughly MIX the MinWax Poly before applying from a Pour-Can like that. I have never refinished a guitar, but have used MinWax from pint / quart Can countless times on various furniture projects and before I use Poly from a can, the can needs to be MIXED thoroughly to re-incorporate any settling. I typically need to "Warm-Up" the Opened can around 80-90 degrees to ensure all the Settled Finishing components are MIXED. Thoughts?
After watching your videos I went with BLO and am really happy with it. I have a question about finshing the back of the headstock, though. I went with wipe on gloss Minwax for the headstock face, applied the frontside waterslide decals, used spay on Minwax to set them, and continued with the wipe on poly. The face of the headstock looks just as I hoped when I started. For the back of the headstock I'll be applying another waterslide decal and plan to use spray on satin Minwax to set the decal (and maybe a couple of coats of wipe on satin Minwax). I'm concerned that the sheen of the satin Minwax will be dramatically dissimilar to the rest of the neck's BLO sheen.
@@HighlineGuitars Thanks for such a quick reply. Is there an alternative to using the Minwax to setup the decal? I tested a spare decal by lightly wiping on BLO over it and the ink immediately dissolved. Is there such a thing as spray on BLO? Would BLO even set the decal? Everything on the neck is shockingly how I envisioned it to be (this is my first time doing this); this is the last thing that needs to be done and I don't want to muck it up.
@@HighlineGuitars Thanks again for the insight. I actually had to sand the back of the headstock a bit this afternoon; some errant gloss poly from the front got on to the back. So, I'm reapplying more BLO to get the tint back to where it matches the rest of the neck. Looks like I'll be waiting a few more days for the fresh BLO to cure before implementing your suggestion. Beginners' mistakes. Again, I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge.
Great instructional video. Thank you. One question, if you stain the wood, do you still need the sanding sealing coat, or will the stain work as a sealer, and just go straight into the Poly coat?
@@tonyn1926 It will seal, but if you want a smooth glossy surface, you'll have to apply a lot, which can take a long time to finish and it may always feel tacky.
Thanks a lot for this mini series. This is exactly what I was looking for after I got discouraged by elite luthier that I cannot DIY a finish properly to at least some degree. It was quite hardish to find minwax supplier in Germany though. Anyhow! I wonder what the best workflow is with the sides and the back of the guitar. Do you apply sealer and poly separately on top, sides and back one after another? Looking forward to your reply. Cheers
Awesome video as always! Hey I was was just wondering, if I wanted to try this to achieve a high gloss mirror like finish would I do the same thing only with more coats and a little more buffing ? Thanks
I just used the minwax satin wipe on poly on a project I'm working on and ended up with some rag marks from my last few coats. It has been 5 days and it is no longer tacky and feeling pretty hard. How long do I need to wait before buffing? I plan to just do some light passes with steel wool to get the rag marks out and leave it at that because the rest of the finish looks exactly how I want it and I just want to smooth it out a bit. I used 14 total coats with no more than 3 applied per day.
@@HighlineGuitars Good to know, thanks! There is a bit of smell if I literally put my nose on it, but there is no actual odor emitting in the (small) room I have it hanging in. Does the smell need to be gone entirely before buffing then?
Hi Chris, you advise to wipe off the excess poly after 4 mins as the goal is to let it 'soak into the wood' ... I thought the sealer you advise to apply is designed to prevent this ? Sorry, a little confused.
Thanks for the informative video. I di think the sanding sealer process left a few questions unanswered. For the sealer, you brush on two coats per side before any sanding? The second coat goes right on the first without sanding? Once the second coat has dried, what are you sanding steps? Is this process the same with the guitar’s contour? Thank you!
It's a good idea to lightly scuff sand the sanding sealer with 220 grit between coats. After the second coat has completely dried, I will sand from 220 up through 400 grit before applying the wipe-on-poly. The process is the same with the contour.
Thanks for your response! Would you recommend getting both coats sanded on one side first before flipping and doing the backside or should the sealer be fully applied on the entire guitar before sanding to 400 grit and continuing with the Poly phase? Thanks again!
@@HighlineGuitars perfect!! Will do, working on it today. Do water based sanding sealers react similarly to the solvent based? Its still a time a time crunch to lay it out with the brush? I could only find the Varathane sanding sealer at my local hardward store. Hoping thats compatible with the oil based Wipe on Poly.
@@HighlineGuitars sanding sealer application was a flop. Used varathane sanding sealer that is water based and it left so many streaks even after the quick sanding. Very unfortunate. Not sure how to bounce back
It depends on the outcome you're after. If you want a glossy sheen, let the other coats dry without wiping off the excess. If you want a matte to satin sheen, wipe off the excess. Just know that a glossy sheen will take longer to cure. TEST ON SCRAP!!!
@HighlineGuitars oh I see. So if I'm after a satin finish I need to wipe off the excess on every coat. And how many coats do you recommend for a satin finish. I'm planning to make an open pore satin finish on my mahogany body acoustic guitar that I'm building. I'm wondering if I can get the job done with wipe on poly if I don't pore/grain fill the wood?
What do you think about the minwax polyshade product. Looking to put a finish on my unfinished maple neck. Also has a rosewood fretboard. What's the best to really make the rosewood color pop?
I'm looking at rolling the edges on a glossed Fender neck, just knocking the edge off slightly. Afterwards would you recommend a light coat of wipe on satin poly to reseal the wood where I've sanded, and then sand it/hit it with steel wool?
This was a great video and its just what I wanted, but I have few questions. Do you use sanding sealer on all wood surfaces? like a maple top or basswood back?
Hello friend... Help me? I had a body of my guitar painted. Used polyurethane varnish. It's been seven days, but I can still smell it and mark it with my fingernail. How many days should I allow to fully cure? Thanks
Oil-based polyurethane can take weeks, even months to fully harden and cure. A lot depends on the mixture and the environment (humidity levels and temperature) where it was applied.
I would like to dye spalted maple top tele green using water based finish. Would you recommend dyeing the spalted maple or adding the dye to wipe on poly? Or any advice is welcome
thoughts on watco danish oil? considering using it to both stain, and seal a roasted swamp ash body before using some wipe on poly. I think the danish oil is sufficient as a sealer?
Hi Chris! Last question for you (I think!): at 6:04 you mention using a sander with denim on it as an alternative to a buffing machine. I have that sander, and old denim. I got some Maguier's Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish. Do you think it would be safe to try the polish (or even the compound) with that sander and old denim? I've been doing the compound by hand (a lot of work), and I'm tempted to try the polish with the sander as a last step, but I really, really don't want to burn through my wipe-on poly.
Can you get a wipe on polyurethane that DOESN'T alter the colors? There are a lot of benefits to this method if you don't have much equipment (hell, I already have oil paints), it doesn't seem like you need protective equipment, no spray cans.... just a lot of work. I want part of the project to have a light blue color so an "amber" color is the last thing I need.
Highline Guitars Thanks for such a timely response! I have always been so scared to touch Polly wants it is lay down! This is something I would’ve probably only tried had a made a horrible mistake!!! Thanks again!
Great video as usual! One thing I am not clear on: Are you applying poly then wiping off excess for every coat you do or just the first one or two coats?
Thanks for the quick response. This is my first wipe on experiment. I misunderstood and using gloss, did one wipe on/wipe off cycle, let it dry then did 8 wipe on coats over 3 days without sanding. Since I had a glued-in neck, I did all those coats with guitar hanging (mistake). Didn't realize how much the poly would flow and sag to the bottom. Leveling is a mess right now :-)
Chris, was getting a run in this morning on the treadmill while watching this video. Noticed your bike wheels and thought 🤔, he must ride. Then noticed the mug! And thought no shit! What year did you do Boulder?
@@HighlineGuitars that's awesome! Congrats! My IM journey started in '13. BTW. Your videos are great. I've tried a two products because of them. The Solarez and Crystalaq. REALLY like Crystalaq. Probably a comfort thing. I've been spraying WB finishes for 20+ years.
Nice Video. I tried the wipe-on-poly myself, but I ran into the problem that it starts to dry so fast, that it's going to be very sticky. It was impossible to wipe off any access, because the cotten would stick to it and it looks ugly. What do I do wrong???
I'm going to do a pickling stain on my next build and I wanted to try gloss wipe on poly instead of a spray on lacquer. Do you think the tint of the poly would be dark enough to change the white look or would it just slightly warm it up?
Impossible to say. There are too many variables such as the specific mix of polyurethane you will use. Even from one can to the next, same brand, can differ. You’ll have to test.
@@HighlineGuitars Fully intend to test on a piece of scrap from the guitar itself. You make a very good point about the inconsistency's among brands. I actually just asked another question on another of your videos about finishing a neck. Ive worked as a handy man for a number of years and ive done plenty staining and lacquer finishes but it was never important that the finishes come out perfect. They were just on trim and carpet to wood transitions etc. My other question was for a recommendation on what to do with the maple fretboard. Im very familiar with boiled linseed oil and so im going to be following your method for the neck with BLO. I always lightly sand back the necks on my guitars that have heavy lacquer finishes anyways so a more natural lighter finish seems right up my alley. But in the 20 years of playing guitar ive never once owned a guitar with a maple fretboard(plenty maple necks lol just not fretboards). I was considering tru oil but if i could get away with using the same BLO method on the neck that would be nice to avoid the smell of tru oil and because i have a ton of BLO already. Sorry this is getting long. Ill ask one more question and conclude the book ive written. I noticed your neck in the BLO video has a decal (waterslide i assume). What preparation had you done prior to laying down the waterslide? Im always looking at things from as many angles as possible and asking you for tips is just another way of collecting as much information as possible to make the best decisions for this specific project. Ive been building guitar pedals for several years and modding guitars even longer but this project will be a new one for me. Im confident with quite literally everything except finishes. Ive repaired a number of dings and dents with drop fills, sanding and polishing. But for some reason i dont feel as confident about finishing from bare wood. The staining ive got down, painting CERTAINLY got down but finishing is my blind spot. Thanks again for any advice its much appreciated. Even if the best advice you can give is to try different things and see what works for me lol.
Hello, great video!!! What kind of wipe on poly do you recommend for applying a decal to a headstock? I want to put my own water slide decal on a roasted maple headstock that is bare wood right now.
You not necessarily need poly but any wipe on poly should do the job. It's more a matter of the way you apply it and sand to get the correct level. There's tutorial on UA-cam
I used the Satin Miniwax for my headstock face but now, after several coats of satin, I'm thinking the gloss might have been a better choice to match the gloss finish on the body. Can I simply apply several coats of the Gloss Minwax on top of the satin?
@@HighlineGuitars Thanks. I meant to say several coats of BLO (24-48 hours between each coat and cured for 2 weeks). There's only one coat of satin Minwax thus far and only two hours old. There are 6 coats of BLO underneath so sanding the one coat of satin off shouldn't take down too much of the underlying cured BLO.
the key with satin is to use it as a final step. The problem with the satin finish is that as you build up layers, you also build up layers of flatteners. So do the majority of your finish with gloss, and only the last coat or two (I'm assuming thinned wipe-on poly) with satin. So 4-7 coats of gloss, followed by 1-2 coats of satin. Oh, and practice on a piece of scrap (ideally the same type of wood) first.
It depends on the climate, but usually I give it several days. Dry or wet sanding works equally well, however, to dry sand you need to use specialty abrasives like Mirka Abralon or Super Assilex.
Highline Guitars, is there a difference if the polyurethane is water based or solvent based? Is it possible to achieve the same gloss with a water based poly? Is the "hardness" of the finish different? Love your videos b t w.
It depends on what you mean by solvent-based. There are 1 part and 2 part solvent-based polyurethanes. The 1 part solvent-based polyurethanes are about the same hardness as water-based. The 2 part solvent-based polyurethanes are harder but extremely toxic. The gloss is the same no matter which polyurethane you use.
@@HighlineGuitars Thank you. My experience is from 1 part solvent based polys and water based polys (both of the wipe on variety). In Sweden (where I live) it is difficult to get hold of solvent based wipe on polys (I guess I could make my own thanks to your videos but I still prefer to use a commercially available product). I've ordered from Amazon before but can't find any sellers shipping those kinds of products to Sweden anymore...
How would you apply a wipe on finish if you didn’t have anything to hold the body with? Someone told me that you could hang it through the bolt holes But I don’t know how that would work. Once she got to finish applied to one side you could no longer handle the instrument due to the wet finish. It seems to me that hanging the body to finish it would only work if you were spraying the finish on. This is probably a simple procedure that would normally go without saying, but I have zero experience. I am really starting from the ground floor .
You can use any sanding sealer that is compatible with oil-based polyurethane. I would recommend Zinsser's dewaxed clear shellac sanding sealer. You can get it at most home improvement stores.
Ive got some rag marks in my 4th coat due to my change in application process(bad choice), will my next coat help hide those streaks and level out out even?
I tried using the wipe on poly the way you did and it has wipe mark right away and seem to dry really fast. first coat look like crap. trying to reapply as you mentioned to reactivate to fix wipe mark does not work either. not sure where to go with this.
The first 2-3 coats will look like crap, as they are being soaked into the wood. It's not until the 3rd or 4th coat that it starts to vaguely resemble something nice. Based on my experience (with various furniture around the house) it will take a total of 6-9 coats of poly.
What’s the advantage of doing it this way over over just using spray-on nitro cellulose? That method seems alot simpler, plus nitro allegedly plays better because the guitar is able to “breathe.”
Nitrocellulose is toxic, highly flammable, turns yellow, and cracks easily. Wood doesn’t breathe. It doesn’t have a respiratory system. Wood can only absorb and expel moisture. That’s not a good thing. Nitrocellulose stops that from happening, but so polyurethane does so as well. Both nitrocellulose and polyurethane are classified as plastic.
Just one coat is enough? I’m experimenting on some blank maple as I have a unfinished Warmoth neck coming. This is my first experience with finishing and wipe on poly
caveat: I have not used the newer water-based wipe-on polys. Having said that, water-based polycrylic was a pain in the ass. Bubbles, streak, you name it! And, it left vaguely blue-ish tint. Oil-based wipe-on (such as MinWax), other than the smell (which doesn't rise to the level of lacquer) was a dream to work with. Extremely easy to work with, and with great results. Unlike polycrylic (which is not the same as water-born polyurethane), it ambers your wood a bit, which, depending on your goals, could be a good thing.
Excellent video Chris, I'm not a guitar guy but your technique has helped in finishing furniture with wipe on poly, totally subscribed!.
Thank you for a very helpful and clear demonstration and explanation. You demoed and described the areas left out by others. Appreciated.
I made a mistake with a piece of Cedar by applying gunstock stain on it. It was awful. I decided to sand as much stain out as possible. This was exhausting and it took a lot of 320 sandpaper. When I was fed up with sanding the sanding, out of sheer luck I had the Wipe on Satin Polyurethane Finish. I just decided to wipe several coats on it. The wood color, the smoothness of grain is my best achievement in finishing. I like the wipe on finish because I don't like working with the gooey stuff. It's just too annoying. This method is clean.
You can see the natural colors in the wood pop using this material and technique. I've been looking for this. Thanks.
I'm glad you mentioned the fretboard at the end...Thank God
You bet!
I'm in the process of doing my guitar. Just the top and your video is so helpful. Thanks for the video the guitar is coming out great I'm almost ready to put the wipe on poly on waiting for last coat of sanding sealer to dry. God bless you.
Thanks for the kind words!
I use Mahogany for most of my guitar bodies, so my first step is mahogany grain filler, sand than brown Mahogany stain, let this dry for at least 2 weeks it is an oil base stain, than multiple coats of 1/3 poly, 1/3 linseed oil, 1/3 mineral spirts, this creates a beautiful finish
Excellent video. I have a brand new Mitchell M200, finished in satin. I'm planning on prepping and applying a high gloss poly to it. The only part I'm not looking forward to is the stripping of the hardware, especially the pickups. By the way, I'm impressed you play a seven string, I think that's more than I could bite off.
Thanks for this - I've just bought some minwax gloss and am going to do exactly the same as you've shown. I was also pleased to see your 'wipe off' technique as I've just discovered that this is the secret to using Tru Oil to get the finish I want. It's more about the wiping off than the wiping on if you know what I mean!
Sam Deeks
thank you for these 2 poly finish videos. i feel much more confident based on your explanations as to the reason for each of your steps. helps a very UN handy person like myself have more confidence - ill be stripping my tele body tomorrow and soon following your finish steps! be well!!
me too
Really liked this. I'm currently working with the same minwax wipe on poly, so this video was perfect. Thanks.
How did it turn out? I'm thinking of the same.
@@pigjubby1 it turned out really nice, but I found it soft. After a week of cure time, it still scratched with a firm thumbnail:( I feel that laquer is the way to go if you want a glass finish. For the rustic look, poly all the way... only my opinion....
@@UncleHan13 You should let it cure for at least 2 weeks for water based and a month for oil based. The stuff gets rock hard if you let it cure long enough.
@@seanpolanski7626 Its still pretty soft, months after...but thank you for the suggestion ✌😃
Thanks a lot for these two parts, it's the best I have ewer found!!
Thank you so much. Your process of applying "Wipe On Poly" creates the finish that I want on one of my guitars. I'm building a buffing wheel set simular to your now...
You are a Great inspiration.
No point building a setup like that unless you're going to do a bunch of guitars. A $4 buffing wheel in a drill press or even a hand drill does perfectly fine.
Thank you so much for this video. It saved my project!
Great video, Chris! Thanks for sharing your personal techniques with everyone!
Really appreciate your contribution to the cause on this video. Thank you 🙏
Excellent videos, Chris - I'm really enjoying the level of detail and learning a lot :)
Re nitrocellulose on maple fretboards, what product do you use please?
Water-based polyurethane.
Actually not a bad finish, I've used on maple necks with great success. It last and if needed a very easy recoat.
That is one gorgeous fretboard. The grain is invisible. What wood is that? Or, is there an episode of you making it?
great video!
A question; you removed most of the 1st coat of poly. Then you applied 4 or 5 more coats of poly. Did you remove those coats as well? Or is the 1st coat the only one that gets removed?
Great video. If you have quite a dark dye stain and use an oil based sanding sealer over it, have you got any tips on not sanding through to the actual stain?.
Apply the sealer as smooth as possible (practice on scrap wood) in order to reduce the amount of sanding you’ll need to do. Sanding with too coarse of a grit will cause sand through. The same applies to sanding with too fine of a grit because of a tendency to work too hard to achieve a smooth surface. Practice on scrap to get a feel for how to apply the oil and to choose the right grit of sandpaper.
Thank you for your guidance on customizing my guitar collection .
Especially the inlays.
My pleasure!
newbie here, is that okk if i just using BLO following with top coat to finish a body guitar ? without using sand sealer, sorry for my poor english
thanks in advance
Hi there! Long time viewer, first time commenter. I'm looking to start a kit build with a mahogany body and neck, and I'm going for a high gloss finish.
It looks like you're using a sanding sealer and then the wipe on poly, but not grain filler in these two videos -- is that right? Can you skip the grain filler with an open pore wood like mahogany?
Thanks in advance! Love your videos.
You have to use grain filler if the grain and pores are open and you want a smooth, high gloss sheen.
@HighlineGuitars thank you! May I assume that the filler comes after the sealer, before the wipe on poly? A quick search has yielded some mixed results, so I figured I would ask. Thanks again!!
Great video. I'm planning on using the Minwax Gloss on a guitar body but their satin on the neck. Any advice on using both on the same guitar (i.e. I'm worried about the area where the gloss/satin meets)?
I wish these videos have been around a year ago when I was doing my first guitar kit. I totally bungled how to apply the stuff, and ended up with a lacquer finish that sucked. Probably going to sand down, do a shellac coat or two and try this.
Thank you for this excellent video, it is just what I was looking for as I intend to finish my guitar with a natural looking wipe on poly. I intend to put a few coats of poly on top of a pure tung oil finish as I’ve read in a professional article that it can be done and adds some durability. Please have you got any advice about applying wipe on poly on a pure tung oil finish? Thank you. Gaetano
The main thing is to make sure the tung oil has fully cured before you apply the poly. That will take at least a month. Also, don’t use paper towels (they leave fibers). Use a lint free cloth and resist over rubbing as that will cause rag to disintegrate.
how can the wipe on poly 'soak into the wood' if you applied sanding sealer to it?
I guess he means ‘adhere’ to the wood.
Hey Chris, such a great video! if I wanted to keep the satin finish would you stop at lets say 2000grit? for final sanding
Outstanding presentation. Your step-by-step illustration was very thorough. I have a question for you. How were you able to thoroughly MIX the MinWax Poly before applying from a Pour-Can like that. I have never refinished a guitar, but have used MinWax from pint / quart Can countless times on various furniture projects and before I use Poly from a can, the can needs to be MIXED thoroughly to re-incorporate any settling. I typically need to "Warm-Up" the Opened can around 80-90 degrees to ensure all the Settled Finishing components are MIXED. Thoughts?
I would guess you simply put it some warm water and then shake
After watching your videos I went with BLO and am really happy with it. I have a question about finshing the back of the headstock, though. I went with wipe on gloss Minwax for the headstock face, applied the frontside waterslide decals, used spay on Minwax to set them, and continued with the wipe on poly. The face of the headstock looks just as I hoped when I started.
For the back of the headstock I'll be applying another waterslide decal and plan to use spray on satin Minwax to set the decal (and maybe a couple of coats of wipe on satin Minwax). I'm concerned that the sheen of the satin Minwax will be dramatically dissimilar to the rest of the neck's BLO sheen.
Yes, it will be different.
@@HighlineGuitars Thanks for such a quick reply. Is there an alternative to using the Minwax to setup the decal? I tested a spare decal by lightly wiping on BLO over it and the ink immediately dissolved. Is there such a thing as spray on BLO? Would BLO even set the decal? Everything on the neck is shockingly how I envisioned it to be (this is my first time doing this); this is the last thing that needs to be done and I don't want to muck it up.
@@keepitshortnsweet I would spray some Zinsser shellac. Let it dry and follow with the wip on poly.
@@HighlineGuitars Thanks again for the insight. I actually had to sand the back of the headstock a bit this afternoon; some errant gloss poly from the front got on to the back. So, I'm reapplying more BLO to get the tint back to where it matches the rest of the neck. Looks like I'll be waiting a few more days for the fresh BLO to cure before implementing your suggestion. Beginners' mistakes. Again, I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge.
Great instructional video. Thank you. One question, if you stain the wood, do you still need the sanding sealing coat, or will the stain work as a sealer, and just go straight into the Poly coat?
Stain doesn't seal.
@@HighlineGuitars Thank you sir. How about the wipe on Poly, will that seal, or still need the Sanding sealer?
@@tonyn1926 It will seal, but if you want a smooth glossy surface, you'll have to apply a lot, which can take a long time to finish and it may always feel tacky.
@@HighlineGuitars Thank you.
Thanks a lot for this mini series. This is exactly what I was looking for after I got discouraged by elite luthier that I cannot DIY a finish properly to at least some degree. It was quite hardish to find minwax supplier in Germany though. Anyhow!
I wonder what the best workflow is with the sides and the back of the guitar. Do you apply sealer and poly separately on top, sides and back one after another?
Looking forward to your reply.
Cheers
I apply both to the entire body all at once, starting with the top. Then I move to the sides and finish with the back.
Thanks! So I guess you apply sides and back while the guitar is hanging right?
Awesome video as always! Hey I was was just wondering, if I wanted to try this to achieve a high gloss mirror like finish would I do the same thing only with more coats and a little more buffing ? Thanks
Yes, but be sure to test on scrap first.
I just used the minwax satin wipe on poly on a project I'm working on and ended up with some rag marks from my last few coats. It has been 5 days and it is no longer tacky and feeling pretty hard. How long do I need to wait before buffing? I plan to just do some light passes with steel wool to get the rag marks out and leave it at that because the rest of the finish looks exactly how I want it and I just want to smooth it out a bit. I used 14 total coats with no more than 3 applied per day.
It’s ready to buff when there’s no odor.
@@HighlineGuitars Good to know, thanks! There is a bit of smell if I literally put my nose on it, but there is no actual odor emitting in the (small) room I have it hanging in. Does the smell need to be gone entirely before buffing then?
Hi Chris, you advise to wipe off the excess poly after 4 mins as the goal is to let it 'soak into the wood' ... I thought the sealer you advise to apply is designed to prevent this ? Sorry, a little confused.
I like to use tack cloth for poly. Goes on real smooth with no particles.
Tack cloths are a must for solvent-based finishes, but they can be risky with water-based products.
Thanks for the informative video. I di think the sanding sealer process left a few questions unanswered.
For the sealer, you brush on two coats per side before any sanding? The second coat goes right on the first without sanding?
Once the second coat has dried, what are you sanding steps?
Is this process the same with the guitar’s contour?
Thank you!
It's a good idea to lightly scuff sand the sanding sealer with 220 grit between coats. After the second coat has completely dried, I will sand from 220 up through 400 grit before applying the wipe-on-poly. The process is the same with the contour.
Thanks for your response!
Would you recommend getting both coats sanded on one side first before flipping and doing the backside or should the sealer be fully applied on the entire guitar before sanding to 400 grit and continuing with the Poly phase?
Thanks again!
@@marguetamusic I would fully coat, sand, and recoat. Doing one side at a time takes too long.
@@HighlineGuitars perfect!! Will do, working on it today. Do water based sanding sealers react similarly to the solvent based? Its still a time a time crunch to lay it out with the brush? I could only find the Varathane sanding sealer at my local hardward store. Hoping thats compatible with the oil based Wipe on Poly.
@@HighlineGuitars sanding sealer application was a flop. Used varathane sanding sealer that is water based and it left so many streaks even after the quick sanding. Very unfortunate. Not sure how to bounce back
Great and highly helpful video. Thank you.
So my friend. The varnish used to paint my guitar was polyurethane catalyst for cars. Still, is it normal to take a few weeks to fully heal?
I don't know. I don't know anything about the product you used.
Best tutorial and very informative.. thanks very much!
Shoul I wipe the excess on all coats or just the first coat and just let the other coats dry?
It depends on the outcome you're after. If you want a glossy sheen, let the other coats dry without wiping off the excess. If you want a matte to satin sheen, wipe off the excess. Just know that a glossy sheen will take longer to cure. TEST ON SCRAP!!!
@HighlineGuitars oh I see. So if I'm after a satin finish I need to wipe off the excess on every coat. And how many coats do you recommend for a satin finish. I'm planning to make an open pore satin finish on my mahogany body acoustic guitar that I'm building. I'm wondering if I can get the job done with wipe on poly if I don't pore/grain fill the wood?
Thank you Chris
Nice finishing , if i want color more dark ? With same way you did i mean with wipe on poly i can or different way ?
Just realized I could take old shoe bottom material to cut for wrapping sandpaper on.
Sorry to bug ya again Chris, I was just wondering how long do I need to let that dry before sanding and buffing? 🙂
About a month, give or take a week. It all depends on the temperature and humidity where you live.
What do you think about the minwax polyshade product. Looking to put a finish on my unfinished maple neck. Also has a rosewood fretboard. What's the best to really make the rosewood color pop?
The best finish IMO is polymerized tung oil for a neck and fretboard. BLO works well too, but it takes longer to dry.
I used polyshade over clear poly. It was very hard to get it smooth, probably better to start with polyshade on the first coats.
I've been using spray sanding sealer for well over a decade.
Do you have a video on how to build a buffing machine like yours ?
Oops - found it - ua-cam.com/video/qHvHcbOtg3s/v-deo.html
Yes, I do. Go to my channel and search for buffing machine.
how long do you wait between coats?
and how long do you wait after the final coat before sanding/buffing it?
It usually takes 3-4 hours between coats and about a week before sanding/buffing.
What wood is this and did you use a pore/gran filler prior to staining?
Alder body with a Chechen top. No pore/grain filler.
I'm looking at rolling the edges on a glossed Fender neck, just knocking the edge off slightly. Afterwards would you recommend a light coat of wipe on satin poly to reseal the wood where I've sanded, and then sand it/hit it with steel wool?
This was a great video and its just what I wanted, but I have few questions. Do you use sanding sealer on all wood surfaces? like a maple top or basswood back?
Thanks for this!!!
Can i do same with gun stock ?
Great videos. Noticed a CNC in your shop, I have a small hobby type CNC but would like to upgrade. You have any recommendations?
Currently, I have an X-Carve Pro. Before that, I had a machine that I designed and built myself. They are the only machines I can recommend.
Looks amazing, thanks Chris!
Would a random orbital palm sander with a sheepskin pad work for buffing out poly to work out orange peel?
I have it applied for two years and now I see that yellowish note, so I need to remove it without sanding, how i do this?
You can't.
thank you . question please why not let the oil set and dry . as opposed to wiping it off ?
Can you apply this over a painted surface? And if so can it be polished to a high gloss?
Hello friend... Help me? I had a body of my guitar painted. Used polyurethane varnish. It's been seven days, but I can still smell it and mark it with my fingernail. How many days should I allow to fully cure? Thanks
Oil-based polyurethane can take weeks, even months to fully harden and cure. A lot depends on the mixture and the environment (humidity levels and temperature) where it was applied.
@@HighlineGuitars If I put it to dry in the sun, does it speed up drying or not? Thank you friend!
Do you wait for one side to dry before doing the other side? Or do you just wait 5 minutes until it is tacky?
It depends on how much of a hurry I am in.
I would like to dye spalted maple top tele green using water based finish.
Would you recommend dyeing the spalted maple or adding the dye to wipe on poly? Or any advice is welcome
thoughts on watco danish oil? considering using it to both stain, and seal a roasted swamp ash body before using some wipe on poly. I think the danish oil is sufficient as a sealer?
What do you recommend to get a fairly buffed surfaced without the buffer?
Foam buffing pads and an electric hand drill.
Can this technique be done with brush-on poly too?
Sure.
@@HighlineGuitars thank you!
brush-on is harder to work with. If you want to make your own wipe-on, dilute the brush-on 50% with mineral spirits.
@@mattpeterson553 thanks for the tip!
Hi Chris! Last question for you (I think!): at 6:04 you mention using a sander with denim on it as an alternative to a buffing machine. I have that sander, and old denim. I got some Maguier's Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish. Do you think it would be safe to try the polish (or even the compound) with that sander and old denim? I've been doing the compound by hand (a lot of work), and I'm tempted to try the polish with the sander as a last step, but I really, really don't want to burn through my wipe-on poly.
You’ll need to test on some scrap first. I can’t say if it’ll work since I don’t know anything about your sander.
Can you get a wipe on polyurethane that DOESN'T alter the colors? There are a lot of benefits to this method if you don't have much equipment (hell, I already have oil paints), it doesn't seem like you need protective equipment, no spray cans.... just a lot of work. I want part of the project to have a light blue color so an "amber" color is the last thing I need.
is like a vintege look finish. nice
Really great job!! Does the minwax poly have to say wipe on? Will this process work with regular poly? Thanks
No, it can be regular.
Highline Guitars Thanks for such a timely response! I have always been so scared to touch Polly wants it is lay down! This is something I would’ve probably only tried had a made a horrible mistake!!! Thanks again!
Great video as usual! One thing I am not clear on: Are you applying poly then wiping off excess for every coat you do or just the first one or two coats?
Every coat.
Thanks for the quick response. This is my first wipe on experiment. I misunderstood and using gloss, did one wipe on/wipe off cycle, let it dry then did 8 wipe on coats over 3 days without sanding. Since I had a glued-in neck, I did all those coats with guitar hanging (mistake). Didn't realize how much the poly would flow and sag to the bottom. Leveling is a mess right now :-)
Chris, was getting a run in this morning on the treadmill while watching this video. Noticed your bike wheels and thought 🤔, he must ride. Then noticed the mug! And thought no shit! What year did you do Boulder?
I did the Boulder Ironman in 2014. My third and final Ironman. These days I just run for fun.
@@HighlineGuitars that's awesome! Congrats! My IM journey started in '13.
BTW. Your videos are great. I've tried a two products because of them. The Solarez and Crystalaq. REALLY like Crystalaq. Probably a comfort thing. I've been spraying WB finishes for 20+ years.
Nice Video. I tried the wipe-on-poly myself, but I ran into the problem that it starts to dry so fast, that it's going to be very sticky. It was impossible to wipe off any access, because the cotten would stick to it and it looks ugly. What do I do wrong???
Obviously you waited too long.
I'm going to do a pickling stain on my next build and I wanted to try gloss wipe on poly instead of a spray on lacquer. Do you think the tint of the poly would be dark enough to change the white look or would it just slightly warm it up?
Impossible to say. There are too many variables such as the specific mix of polyurethane you will use. Even from one can to the next, same brand, can differ. You’ll have to test.
@@HighlineGuitars Fully intend to test on a piece of scrap from the guitar itself. You make a very good point about the inconsistency's among brands. I actually just asked another question on another of your videos about finishing a neck. Ive worked as a handy man for a number of years and ive done plenty staining and lacquer finishes but it was never important that the finishes come out perfect. They were just on trim and carpet to wood transitions etc. My other question was for a recommendation on what to do with the maple fretboard. Im very familiar with boiled linseed oil and so im going to be following your method for the neck with BLO. I always lightly sand back the necks on my guitars that have heavy lacquer finishes anyways so a more natural lighter finish seems right up my alley. But in the 20 years of playing guitar ive never once owned a guitar with a maple fretboard(plenty maple necks lol just not fretboards). I was considering tru oil but if i could get away with using the same BLO method on the neck that would be nice to avoid the smell of tru oil and because i have a ton of BLO already. Sorry this is getting long. Ill ask one more question and conclude the book ive written. I noticed your neck in the BLO video has a decal (waterslide i assume). What preparation had you done prior to laying down the waterslide? Im always looking at things from as many angles as possible and asking you for tips is just another way of collecting as much information as possible to make the best decisions for this specific project. Ive been building guitar pedals for several years and modding guitars even longer but this project will be a new one for me. Im confident with quite literally everything except finishes. Ive repaired a number of dings and dents with drop fills, sanding and polishing. But for some reason i dont feel as confident about finishing from bare wood. The staining ive got down, painting CERTAINLY got down but finishing is my blind spot. Thanks again for any advice its much appreciated. Even if the best advice you can give is to try different things and see what works for me lol.
Great video.Thanks
Would you use wipe on poly vs. rattle can gloss on a painted guitar?
Hello, great video!!! What kind of wipe on poly do you recommend for applying a decal to a headstock? I want to put my own water slide decal on a roasted maple headstock that is bare wood right now.
I don't know. I have never done that before.
You not necessarily need poly but any wipe on poly should do the job. It's more a matter of the way you apply it and sand to get the correct level. There's tutorial on UA-cam
What's your favorite finish?
I used the Satin Miniwax for my headstock face but now, after several coats of satin, I'm thinking the gloss might have been a better choice to match the gloss finish on the body. Can I simply apply several coats of the Gloss Minwax on top of the satin?
M D sounds like you don’t have a choice unless you sand it off and start over.
@@HighlineGuitars Thanks. I meant to say several coats of BLO (24-48 hours between each coat and cured for 2 weeks).
There's only one coat of satin Minwax thus far and only two hours old. There are 6 coats of BLO underneath so sanding the one coat of satin off shouldn't take down too much of the underlying cured BLO.
the key with satin is to use it as a final step. The problem with the satin finish is that as you build up layers, you also build up layers of flatteners. So do the majority of your finish with gloss, and only the last coat or two (I'm assuming thinned wipe-on poly) with satin. So 4-7 coats of gloss, followed by 1-2 coats of satin. Oh, and practice on a piece of scrap (ideally the same type of wood) first.
How long should a wipe on poly finish dry before you can sand and buff out? Also, dry sanding vs wetsanding?
It depends on the climate, but usually I give it several days. Dry or wet sanding works equally well, however, to dry sand you need to use specialty abrasives like Mirka Abralon or Super Assilex.
Why not use polishing rags? like what's sold to apply tung oil. It leaves almost no lint.
I use Viva towels. Cheap, no lint, and available at my local grocery store.
Highline Guitars Thanks… I’ll try them… I love your videos by the way
Highline Guitars, is there a difference if the polyurethane is water based or solvent based? Is it possible to achieve the same gloss with a water based poly? Is the "hardness" of the finish different? Love your videos b t w.
It depends on what you mean by solvent-based. There are 1 part and 2 part solvent-based polyurethanes. The 1 part solvent-based polyurethanes are about the same hardness as water-based. The 2 part solvent-based polyurethanes are harder but extremely toxic. The gloss is the same no matter which polyurethane you use.
@@HighlineGuitars Thank you. My experience is from 1 part solvent based polys and water based polys (both of the wipe on variety). In Sweden (where I live) it is difficult to get hold of solvent based wipe on polys (I guess I could make my own thanks to your videos but I still prefer to use a commercially available product). I've ordered from Amazon before but can't find any sellers shipping those kinds of products to Sweden anymore...
So I don't have a buffing machine like that but I do however, have a buffer for cars with the application pad and the buffing pad. Would that work?
Yes, just not as fast or as efficiently as a buffing machine.
great video as always !! thanks again !! =)
How would you apply a wipe on finish if you didn’t have anything to hold the body with? Someone told me that you could hang it through the bolt holes But I don’t know how that would work. Once she got to finish applied to one side you could no longer handle the instrument due to the wet finish. It seems to me that hanging the body to finish it would only work if you were spraying the finish on.
This is probably a simple procedure that would normally go without saying, but I have zero experience. I am really starting from the ground floor .
I attach a length of scrap wood into the neck pocket with a pair of wood screws.
Do you use any sanding sealer?What sealer do you recommend to use with this poly?
You can use any sanding sealer that is compatible with oil-based polyurethane. I would recommend Zinsser's dewaxed clear shellac sanding sealer. You can get it at most home improvement stores.
You using water based or oil based polyurethane??
For this video, it was an oil-based wipe on polyurethane.
Ive got some rag marks in my 4th coat due to my change in application process(bad choice), will my next coat help hide those streaks and level out out even?
How did it turned out finally?
@@WW-1995 it went away with another layer!
@@mikedeisle5 Nice
I tried using the wipe on poly the way you did and it has wipe mark right away and seem to dry really fast. first coat look like crap. trying to reapply as you mentioned to reactivate to fix wipe mark does not work either. not sure where to go with this.
The first 2-3 coats will look like crap, as they are being soaked into the wood. It's not until the 3rd or 4th coat that it starts to vaguely resemble something nice. Based on my experience (with various furniture around the house) it will take a total of 6-9 coats of poly.
What’s the advantage of doing it this way over over just using spray-on nitro cellulose? That method seems alot simpler, plus nitro allegedly plays better because the guitar is able to “breathe.”
Nitrocellulose is toxic, highly flammable, turns yellow, and cracks easily. Wood doesn’t breathe. It doesn’t have a respiratory system. Wood can only absorb and expel moisture. That’s not a good thing. Nitrocellulose stops that from happening, but so polyurethane does so as well. Both nitrocellulose and polyurethane are classified as plastic.
ser kan you give measurements how to cut guitar body?
Just one coat is enough? I’m experimenting on some blank maple as I have a unfinished Warmoth neck coming. This is my first experience with finishing and wipe on poly
I suggest watching the video....
OMG! Thank you! I TOTALLY should have done that first. My mistake!!!
@@ClearlyBlurry_ You are welcome... So now you know the answer..
Yes 100% I completely know the answer now! I can’t believe how baffled I’ve been for the last few weeks trying to figure this out!
@@ClearlyBlurry_ Fantastic! Congrats, good work, well done, thumbs up...
How would you compare wipe on poly to Solarez?
Solarez cures in minutes. Wipe on poly cures in days.
Does it matter if my MinWax Wipe-on poly is water based and not the regular one?
This video was specific to oil-based wipe-on poly. However, I don't see any reason you couldn't do it with water-based. Give it a go and good luck!
caveat: I have not used the newer water-based wipe-on polys.
Having said that, water-based polycrylic was a pain in the ass. Bubbles, streak, you name it! And, it left vaguely blue-ish tint.
Oil-based wipe-on (such as MinWax), other than the smell (which doesn't rise to the level of lacquer) was a dream to work with. Extremely easy to work with, and with great results. Unlike polycrylic (which is not the same as water-born polyurethane), it ambers your wood a bit, which, depending on your goals, could be a good thing.
What are the polishing compounds?
These days I use Menzerna P204 and P175.
hey does anyone know if i can use wipe on poly on an acoustic guitar?
could you use this poly technique over nitro lacquer paint?
lacquer never cures, so... no I would not.
What if my guitar body is dyed with colors do i need to use sanding sealer
Yes.
Who does the background tune that you use on your video intros? :)
Good old Garage Band.