A Finish to Use?

giedosst · #1 08-25-2010, 05:10 PM

Hey Low-End brothers and Sisters!

Got a finish question for you!

I'm planning on starting a build soon of a fretless jazz bass. The body is alder while the neck is maple with a maple fingerboard and walnut lines. Now my question is what would you guys use for a finish? I know that maple is not a great fingerboard but I like the sound and look so much! I plan on using nylon wound strings with it anyway so I'm not worried about roundwound eating through the neck. I've done builds before and have used Formby's Tung Oil with great results but I would like to get my wet sanding and finish skills better by doing a nice mirror high gloss finish over the body with no paint or dyes. Its Alder so I know it doesn't need a filler, but what finishes would you recommend that would allow me to do a nice high gloss without a sprayer or anything other than my two hands? I was also thinking of finishing the neck with tru-oil but I'm not sure how it would protect the fingerboard?

Your thoughts?

giedosst · #2 08-25-2010, 09:14 PM

The neck will be fretless by the way. I want to finish it all in tru-oil, but I'm not sure how well Tru-oil will protect the maple fingerboard from flatwound strings? What do you guys think?

Hookus · #3 08-26-2010, 06:01 AM

I would not use maple for a fretless, TBH. I don't think that tru-oil will hold up well.

giedosst · #4 08-26-2010, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hookus

I would not use maple for a fretless, TBH. I don't think that tru-oil will hold up well.

Ok, and your reasoning behind that is?

62bass · #5 08-26-2010, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by giedosst

Hey Low-End brothers and Sisters!

Got a finish question for you!

I'm planning on starting a build soon of a fretless jazz bass. The body is alder while the neck is maple with a maple fingerboard and walnut lines. Now my question is what would you guys use for a finish? I know that maple is not a great fingerboard but I like the sound and look so much! I plan on using nylon wound strings with it anyway so I'm not worried about roundwound eating through the neck. I've done builds before and have used Formby's Tung Oil with great results but I would like to get my wet sanding and finish skills better by doing a nice mirror high gloss finish over the body with no paint or dyes. Its Alder so I know it doesn't need a filler, but what finishes would you recommend that would allow me to do a nice high gloss without a sprayer or anything other than my two hands? I was also thinking of finishing the neck with tru-oil but I'm not sure how it would protect the fingerboard?

Your thoughts?

I use alkyd varnish, not polyurethane for mirror finishes. It's a lot of work and too long to explain here. Read up on it and practice before committing it to your bass body. I like the Benjamin Moore brand alkyd gloss. It cures hard enough to polish out to a mirror shine after a couple weeks. Waterlox High Gloss varnish is good too. It has some phenolic resin in it to make it a very hard varnish.

There's a good book out called Hand Applied Finishes by Jeff Jewitt that everyone lacking experience should get. Bob Flexnor has also written some good ones.

There's a lot of wrong information on many websites so don't trust them.

A bit of practice and you can get a beautiful hand rubbed finish on any suitable wood. Alder is rather plain in grain but it does respond well to this technique.

Wipe on oil finishes can look quite shiny if the right product is used and many coats applied. They generally aren't very hard so not as long lasting in my opinion. For me, nothing beats the look and feel of a hand rubbed alkyd varnish.

giedosst · #6 08-26-2010, 11:30 AM

Hmmmm....

Good stuff thanks!
I'll check out that book. Parts are on order so I got time!

I have worked with Tung Oil before and was really thinking about giving Tru-oil a whirl. I like oil finishes!

darkstorm · #7 08-26-2010, 02:46 PM

I wouldnt want maple for a fretless either. Cause maple fretboard basses Ive seen that have been around awhile have shown more evidence of fretboard wear to me then have rosewood. Rosewood isnt that great a choice either since woods like ebony are much harder but like rosewood, dont need finish on them like maple does.

giedosst · #8 08-26-2010, 03:15 PM

Ok,

besides the fact that maple needs to be finished on a fingerboard, do you think that tru-oil will provide enough protection from flatwounds?

Hookus · #9 08-26-2010, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by giedosst

Ok,

besides the fact that maple needs to be finished on a fingerboard, do you think that tru-oil will provide enough protection from flatwounds?

My answer is still no.

Hardening oil finishes penetrate the wood slightly, and harden within the wood, offering great beauty, but a VERY thin, almost non-existent surface finish. Since maple wears much more quickly, and is less stable than rosewood or ebony, I could absolutely see your maple board exhibiting signs of wear pretty rapidly with just an oil finish. Typically, maple boards are finish with something that hardens on the surface, thus protecting the wood itself from wear since the strings never actually touch the wood.

Just my .02, but someone on here may have tried tru-oil before.

Pilgrim · #10 08-27-2010, 09:35 AM

"I would like to get my wet sanding and finish skills better by doing a nice mirror high gloss finish over the body with no paint or dyes."

I've found that using no paint or due results in wood that's visually UNDER-whelming. You need something to accent the grain, either as a due applied before the finish coat or in the finish coat. A completely clear finish leaves wood looking extremely blah. That's OK for a maple fingerboard, but not desirable for the body of the instrument.

giedosst · #11 08-27-2010, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

"I would like to get my wet sanding and finish skills better by doing a nice mirror high gloss finish over the body with no paint or dyes."

I've found that using no paint or due results in wood that's visually UNDER-whelming. You need something to accent the grain, either as a due applied before the finish coat or in the finish coat. A completely clear finish leaves wood looking extremely blah. That's OK for a maple fingerboard, but not desirable for the body of the instrument.

Ok, cool!

What if I used a few layers of tru-oil to get the grain and character of the body looking good then seal it clear?

Hookus · #12 08-27-2010, 02:57 PM

You could only seal it with shellac. You can't lacquer or use regular sanding sealer on top of oil. After you use a layer of shellac, you can go with lacquer, poly, pretty much whatever.

What I have done on furniture to resolve this, was to dye pore filler black, or just use straight black dye, apply it thick, then sand until it is almost gone. It will fill the pores and make the wood grain pop. This method will even accentuate the figure in nice maple.

The nice thing about this method, is that you are not committed to using oil. Once you put oil on it, there pretty much is no turning back.

Pilgrim · #13 08-27-2010, 02:59 PM

There's another potentially helpful discussion at Bass Outpost:

http://bassoutpost.com/index.php?topic=4374.0

With wood, as long as you have compatible finish materials, you can use undercoats that bring out the wood's color or character, then apply sealing coats over the top.

giedosst · #14 08-27-2010, 04:14 PM

Hmmmm...

Ok forget the gloss mirror like finish. I should still be able to get a nice finish with a few coats of tru-oil right? Who else has done this?