Andyjr1515

I'll cover the basic method I use and then a couple of variations. Like always, I just will outline 'this is how I do it - and it consistently works for me - but I'm not saying this is how it should be done!' It's very simple. For a basic stained finish, non grain-filled, I do the following: I sand down to 250 grit. If it is a bought body, I take care that there is no releasing oil or similar on it and that I'm down to clean wood I vacuum the body with a brush attachment to make sure all the dust is out of the grain I apply the ink, straight out of the bottle, using a piece of old t-shirt or similar, bunched up and soaked in ink using a circular motion, making sure that the ink has properly gone into the grain. Latex or nitrile gloves are essential unless you want very brightly coloured hands for a few days.... I let it dry and repeat if necessary. 2-3 coats is usually fine. Remember that each coat will darken the end result The colour when the ink is first applied and still wet is the best indication of what the finished, varnished, colour will be. When the ink dries, it will look completely different - don't panic! I let it dry fully I finish it with Tru-oil or polyurethane varnish If I need to fill cracks or grain, I use one of two methods. Basically, the water-based ink will absorb differently on different woods and surfaces so, for example, if you sanding sealed it or used many types of filler, the ink colour would not absorb in those areas Grain Fill - Method one. Stainable Timbermate I use the dark stainable one This veneer had multiple deep fissures. The Metolux Timbermate will mix with water stains and - to an extent - absorb stain once dry. For best results I do both I mix some ink into the Timbermate Then prefill the gaps, then when the timbermate is dry and sanded, apply the stain in the normal way If I had just filled with the Timbermate out of the tub, the filled areas would have shown up as lighter shades. If I'd used the 'light stainable' Timbermate, even premixing ink into it, the same would happen. Using 'dark, stainable' Timbermate, premixed, the filled areas end up the same shade or slightly darker, both of which look fine on the finished result Grainfill - Method two. Tru-oil slurry and buff This is a method I've never seen other people do. Generally, it is said that you can't slurry and buff a stained surface because you will sand the stain away. Actually, if you are careful, you can. This is how I do it: I stain in the normal way I apply a coat of tru-oil and let it fully dry I apply a second coat of tru-oil, applied with 800 or 1000 grit wet and dry (you can also use micro-web) slurrying VERY gently. The slurry WILL take up some of the stain but the trick is not to go deep enough to expose unstained wood. Basically you are trying to slurry the first tru-oil coat, not the stained wood The slurry will fill grain perfectly well. While still wet (within 10 mins) very gently wipe the slurry off Let it dry, then repeat the slurry and wipe Repeat once more then leave as is (hand buffing to satin smoothness once it's properly dry) or add more tru-oil coats for a greater gloss or over-coat with varnish, whichever preferred. If you don't add the top gloss coats over the slurry and buffed finish, surely the ink will come off on your hands when you play? Well - it doesn't seem to. In fact, because I like satin necks, this is how I do all my stained necks nowadays - even for very, very regular players - so far they assure me they've never been caught red handed. Hope this helps Andy

Yes - sounds a good set of options. The Flamingo is a bit pinker and the Matador is a bit deeper, so between the three, you should be able to get what you're after. I'll add a post on how I apply these shortly

OK For sapele, I would use this - Diamine Wild Strawberry At less than £3 a bottle (and 30ml is plenty) you can afford to buy a shade darker and a shade lighter just in case your wood requires it. Pete's EB3 tribute was done with it - figured mahogany top, sapele back, mahogany neck: Pete plays it every week and keeps it on a stand next to a picture window exposed to full light. Two years later, it's still this colour. And I used the same ink on this mahogany double cut junior, that has been hanging on my wall for nearly three years and, again, it is still this colour: Personally, I think a Thunderbird would look great in this colour....

To be honest, this is one of the reasons I tend to use inks as stains. There are some issues with some specific colours with colour fastness, but the huge range of colours available from such as Diamine, and the very low cost, means that I can buy 4 or 5 shades and see which works best. So far I've been lucky with colour fastness but I know some other folks have had issues. The problem, though is that the actual colour is hugely influenced by the wood it's being applied to and sapele is a dark wood. Now, if you were going for cherry red, I know exactly which ink I would recommend for both colour and colour-fastness...

I agree with @Norris that £300 is good going for build. And in the words of a well-known advertisement..."And the thrill of playing a bass you've made yourself to your own spec? Priceless!"

Thanks, Stuart

From a structural point of view that's absolutely fine - similar position to a Curbow: One of the nice things on the Curbow is that this position makes the bass feel like a shortscale when it's a full 34". It's a principle I've followed on a number of my own builds.

Wow....I see what you mean. Great finishing jobs!

I love that colour on guitars and basses Very, very cool

...and look forward to hearing this What do you reckon to the preamp?

Wonderful job! Can't wait to see it

And finished! I've wired the electrics '50's style' to give a broader range of tone possibilities if Jane needs them in the future and added magnets for the cover with a thumbnail access: I know guitars - particularly slim guitars and fancy wood guitars - and gold trimmings aren't everyone's taste but, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the 5lbs 4oz Swift Lite Mark 2 As always, many thanks for the encouragement and help along the way - always greatly appreciated!

Absolute work of art

Well, it's getting closer. The last bits always take an age but I'd be surprised if I can't finish it this week. Final weight, putting everything left to fit on the digital scales, is looking like a touch under 5 1/4 lbs

Lovely job - I've just done mine too

Yes - in many ways it's absolutely fine, but for some of the figured woods you get an extra shot of wow from the true glosses. If you didn't see them next to each other, you'd never really think about it.

I don't think it is that, John (although you never know). I'm going by the fact that my wife's pottery glazes do the same thing - again when the bond with itself is stronger than the bond with the fired clay. I think she calls it creep - although she may have just been referring to me generally....

With the old formulation of Ronseal Hardglaze, I used to do the basic build-up at about 30-40% thinners and then, for the final couple of wetting wipes, around 50%. But the new formulation doesn't like that at all. What happens is that the attraction of itself to itself is stronger than the adhesion to the surface - even a roughed up one. The wet varnish literally parts itself in random places, leaving deep streaks all the way down to the untreated surface - not usable. The trouble is, using wipe-on techniques relies on the varnish being thinned. Hence the experiments with the gloss version of Osmo (which is very low volatiles and very easy to apply). Trouble is, it's not a true gloss the way it's come out on my attempts. Here's the Alembicesque with Ronseal: And my own one, using the glossy version of Osmo - everything else being identical .... same wood , same pre-treatment: When I get a break in playing the above one, I'll be taking the bits off and giving it a quick coat of Ronseal, just to get that beautiful figuring to pop out.

Yes - hence the mouse nest material shoved in there while I was varnishing

Actually, with the new Ronseal formulation, miniscule streaks is a problem. It really doesn't self level as it used to and as it ought to and yet it doesn't like being thinned either. But, as Norris says, microfibre cloths don't shed anything.

After a couple of slurry-and-wipe sessions with Tru-oil, I've then given it three wipes with slightly thinned Ronseal Hardglaze applied, as usual, with a budget soft micro-fibre cloth. Although the new formula Ronseal is a bit quirky and doesn't self level quite enough, this is probably the quickest I've got to an acceptable finish at 3 days total from sanded wood: After a week of letting it harden fully, I will polish it up properly with Meguiars Ultimate compound but this is perfectly tough enough for normal handling already so hopefully the build will be finished over the next 2-3 days

It's a bit daft that it doesn't say on the website, but I think, looking at the other samples, that one is on figured, flamed, wood and the other is on straight grain. On the teal one you've chosen, you can just see the green coming out in the parts of the flame that are straight grained... Bear in mind that the samples appear to be on maple - the darker wood of your body will give you a different colour tone. Best way of finding out is to put some on in the bottom of the neck pocket. Apply with a small pad made up of lint free cloth and un-thinned. The colour when it is still wet will be indicative of both the colour tone and the depth of colour once it has been clear coated. The colour will look quite different once it's dried. If it has dried and you want a reminder of what it's going to look like, just wipe it over with a slightly damp cloth. Great job on the body, by the way!

It's another beauty, Jez

On the home straight now - the finishing I've spent a bit of time sanding out rough-sanding lines, smoothing curves and starting to get close to the finished neck profile (I'll finally finish that once it's all strung up and playable) and now started the slurry-filling and preparation for varnishing. The figuring on this amboyna simply HAS to have full gloss, so I'm going to revert to Ronsealing the body and tru-oil slurry and buff for the neck. But, I also slurry and wipe with tru-oil before applying the gloss - I find it shows up any missed sanding marks and also produces a wonderful grain-filled base for the gloss coat. Got a bit more to do on the back, but the top is just drying fully before the first gloss coat: The back is almost there - just a touch of sanding work remaining around the control chamber. I will also deepen the hatch rebate before the gloss goes on: Present weight - 3lbs 10oz

It's ended as good as it started. Stupendous!