Looking at the timestamps on the original photos, I cast this aside in early 2014.
That's a one-piece Walnut top on a Korina body, finished with one of the Wudtone kits.
But I really didn't like the off-puke colour that it produced. After a fair few hours spent hand-carving the top, I was too annoyed with the finish to do anything about it, so I just put it to one side and tried to forget about it.
But, adopting the self-imposed principle of finishing old half-finished projects before I start anything new (and watching what
@Rabs has been doing with his walnut) this one is next on the list.
First job was to remove the previous finish. A few bits of sandpaper, and a few hours later, and I've got this ...
On the upside, at least the pukey-brown is largely gone. On the downside, the top is pinker and less striking than I'd remembered.
But, with a couple of coats of simple Danish oil on it, it's looking a bit better ...
I'll probably add some more coats to build up the finish / shine, but if anyone's got any other suggestions, now's a good time to mention them!
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Have just watched the video though again. I've only put a couple of coats of Danish on it so far, so I think the next stage may indeed be a bit of wet sanding.
Ohh nice ....... The thing with Tru Oil is that the amber tint that its got generally tends to just make the wood that much darker... That walnut that I just used was African Walnut too which has a really rich colour.
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I did some wet-sanding / slurrying today, and it's incredible. I have *never* achieved a smoother finish with any other approach, and it's no harder to do it this way either - if anything, I'd say it's probably an easier finish to apply.
Incredibubbles.
In other news, I had an eBay neck (from one of those Chinese suppliers who'll essentially make a neck to your specs) that had been fitted into this body, so it makes a whole lot of sense to use that neck now. Except that the fret-ends had been shaped way to shallow (looks like they used the fret-end file the wrong way around, so I've got a 30deg angled end, rather than a 60deg angled end).
That neck is now de-fretted, and I'm going to add some position markers too whilst I'm at it (I'd specced it without markers on the board).
Decided that it was worth spending time getting the neck right after I saw - or felt - how well the body turned out with the slurry oil finish.
and if you get a bit wrong you can just go back a step
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And the effort was really worthwhile. I used 600 grit wet & dry, and that removed the last remnants of any rough spots (in the corners of the carved top) really effectively.
After all these years, I've finally tried it, and like it!!
Apart from anything else, it has fully solved - for the finishes I generally use - grain filling. It does it. And it does it so much more effectively and much more easily than any other method or material I've used.
When I gloss, I now do this first. Even when I stain, I do a variation of the same technique. And when I made the recent ultra-modern bass, I used the same technique with Osmo varnish rather than tru-oil. With that one, the finish has to be felt to be believed.
I'm pleased you've discovered it too, @TTony