First Build - Finishing Help/Opinions

Hey guys,

So I wasn't going to do a thread on my build, but now I am about to start the finish on it... and I am stumped. I need your help guys.

I'm going to start the finish on my bass soon (taking my time). I found a wipe on poly at my local RONA store. The wood in the body is Curly Maple and Purpleheart.

At this point I haven't done finish sanding yet, but will do that soon. What do I need to do between Sanding and applying the Poly? Do I need to Grain fill? With what? Does this sound like a good idea or should I try a different approach?

Thanks in advance for your help. BTW this is my first build, let me know what you think.

 

Thanks Yelo, I'm fairly new here, and I still remember reading through my first LC Build. I read yours from start to finish and was amazed. So it means a lot for you to say that.

 

Thanks Hopkins,

I was mostly concerned about grain filling, so that's good to hear. As far as what I'm looking for, I think a fairly glossy finish will help "pop" the curl in the maple... or no??? Am I out to lunch to think this?

http://www.minwax.ca/wood-products/interior-clear-protective-finishes/minwax-wipeon-poly

This is the stuff I was looking at using.

 

Ok I've been lagging on this build for a while. It's been a pretty busy summer. I'm going to kind of turn this thread into a build thread if you don't mind.

Last night I went into the "shop" and did some work, I realized that I was asking all kinds of questions about finishing, but I'm still not ready for it yet. Last night I started the control cavity cover.

First I took a cut-off from the body, that had matching grain, and cut it with a hand saw to about 1/4" thick.




Next I started routing out for the cover. I didn't get any pics of this... because it was kind of a frustrating thing for me. I used two straight edges butt into each other to make a 90 degree angle pattern for my bit to follow.

SCREW-UP ALERT!!

Ok so as I was routing out the cavity cover into the body, I had trouble with my router tipping on an angle. So after I had my two straight lines done, I just moved the straight edge along every pass. then my straight edge started tipping too. I got really frustrated with how this was turning out. So I grabbed a longer straight edge and was pushing down on one end of it, so it wouldn't tip, and was using the router with one hand (I know, it's probably against all safety rules). As I was doing this I ended up routing into my straight line.

This pic is with the cover on (not thicknessed or final size)


Luckily it is at the back, so I cut a small triangle out of the cut off from the cover, and will glue that in later.

I assembled this bass a while back, and played it at a couple shows, and so far it will be my favorite that I have owned. I'm really looking forward to finishing it so I can use it again.

 

Ya my arm was a little sore after that. Last night I hand planed the cover down to close thickness, will use the orbital sander to get it flush. I also glued in the small triangle infill piece, but didnt get any pictures. I leave for holidays tomorrow so will be at least a week before any more progress.

 

So yesterday was New Bass Day for me. This bass is finally done! I posted here if you want to see pics. http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/nbd-i-made-its-finally-done-1019810/