# Lost in the upgrade: Best temporary finish for Swamp Ash body



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

My thread from last night was lost in the upgrade.

I am looking for a temporary finish for a swamp ash guitar body that can be easily removed AND/OR permit a refinish (over this suggested finish) by ANY other type of finish by the next owner without concern that the chosen new finish will not "adhere" or be rendered impossible in any way.

These are the suggestions that I can remeber: 
1) leave it in the "raw" state
2) Tung Oil
3) "Blonde" shellac
4) Zinsser Bulls Eye Shellac (contains no wax) ...I printed the info on this product, my memory is not that detailed...LOL

Thanks for everyone's help so far.

Cheers

Dave


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

Larry mention sanding sealer in the original post.....it would fit the bill

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Larry mention sanding sealer in the original post.....it would fit the bill


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

Yes, you don't want to leave it raw. At least put a sealer on it.


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## Taylor (Oct 31, 2014)

I can stand behind Zinsser BullsEye SealCoat; it's a sanding sealer, and it's phenomenal at locking moisture in/out and keeping wood stable. It'll take just about any finish you can throw at it-- or at least all the finishes that I've tried.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Thanks for reminding me about the sanding sealer suggestion. 

Cheers

Dave


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## ed2000 (Feb 16, 2007)

Nothing exotic
DupliColor touch up spray paint - Available in many colours including clear, $12 a can, covers well, easily removed with lacquer thinner and/or 220 to 400 grit sandpaper.

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Nothing exotic
DupliColor touch up spray paint - Available in many colours including clear, $12 a can, covers well, easily removed with lacquer thinner and/or 220 to 400 grit sandpaper.


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## LydianGuitars (Apr 18, 2013)

I'll state this again, having worked with wood and finishes for the last 20 years, the last thing you want is an incompatibility between finishes. I've done a lot of experiments and many mistakes. 
The only thing that will work for your application is a de-waxed shellac like the zinsser product. You can also mix your own with flakes from Lee Valley.

The only product that didn't like shellac is EM6000 water based lacquer, but that product was very finnicky from the start. It didn't like anything that wasn't produced by Target Finishes.


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## dradlin (Feb 27, 2010)

LydianGuitars said:


> The only product that didn't like shellac is EM6000 water based lacquer, but that product was very finnicky from the start. It didn't like anything that wasn't produced by Target Finishes.


I'd be interested to hear more about that... I was just about to shoot EM6000 over shellac.


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## LydianGuitars (Apr 18, 2013)

dradlin said:


> I'd be interested to hear more about that... I was just about to shoot EM6000 over shellac.


The EM6000 can have adhesion and crazing problems over shellac (I had to redo two projects because of this). The recommended base coat is EM1000. 

Also, the EM6000 is not really a full burn in product, it has a blueish hue to it (forget about it over darker finishes - I had to redo several projects because of this) and doesn't age well for a guitar top (scratches and dings look worse than they would with poly or conventional lacquer).

Its also very, very, very finnicky about the application method. Pressure, tip size, temperature, humidity. I stopped using it and I'm glad I did.


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## Swervin55 (Oct 30, 2009)

I wouldn't think that Tru Oil would be conducive to accepting most finishes.


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## Scotty (Jan 30, 2013)

Dave, can I ask why it is only a "temporary" finish? Is it a matter of wanting to restore it to its original colour at a later date? for value or change of mind?


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Scotty said:


> Dave, can I ask why it is only a "temporary" finish? Is it a matter of wanting to restore it to its original colour at a later date? for value or change of mind?


_I am looking for a temporary finish for a swamp ash guitar body that can be easily removed AND/OR permit a refinish (over this suggested finish) by ANY other type of finish *by the next owner* without concern that the chosen new finish will not "adhere" or be rendered impossible in any way.
_
I am getting it ready to sell and I want the potential buyer to be free of concern regarding the choice of finish he/she might choose to do/have done.


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## nnieman (Jun 19, 2013)

When I make bodies to ship to clients I seal them with sealcoat or blonde shellac. 
You can dewax zisser shellac very easily. 
Just let the can sit for a couple of days and the wax will sink to the bottom. 
Then decant it into a different jar, leaving the wax in the can. 
Gently, to avoid mixing is the key to success. 

I wouldn't put anything over tru oil, but if you only do a coat or 2 then it should sand off in minutes. 

Mixing shellac from flakes is fun (I might be weird) but I wouldn't bother for a small project like this. 

You can also get shellac in a spray can, made by zisser. It is dewaxed It doesn't say it on the can but I contacted them and it is in fact dewaxed. 

Nathan


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## Guest (Oct 18, 2015)

greco said:


> I am getting it ready to sell and I want the potential buyer to be free of concern regarding the choice of finish he/she might choose to do/have done.


Can we have a peek?


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## Lincoln (Jun 2, 2008)

laristotle said:


> Can we have a peek?


I too am getting very curious. I'm a lover of swamp ash

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laristotle said:


> Can we have a peek?


I too am getting very curious. I'm a lover of swamp ash


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Many thanks for all of the suggestions so far.

This is a quick description of what I am doing.

I bought all the parts for a Tele partscaster last year thinking it would be fun to build a partscaster, as I had never done that before.

My goal was to build a guitar that had a total weight of under 6 pounds (or close to that).

The body is a one-piece swamp ash that I had routed for a humbucker in the neck and weighs just over 3 pounds. 
The neck has a RW board.

I assembled the Tele (with the unfinished body). The whole assembly went very smoothly and much more quickly than I expected...that was a lack of imagination on my part.

I considered advertising it here in the forum but sales of gear seem to be quite slow lately and shipping costs can be expensive. 

I then thought that I would put a "temporary" finish on the guitar, reassemble it and try to sell it at the local Elmira show next spring.

Cheers

Dave


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## Guest (Oct 18, 2015)

c'mon Dave. don't be shy. I wanna see.


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## Hammertone (Feb 3, 2006)

Use dewaxed shellac - in addition to most finishes, it can easily removed with alcohol.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Thanks for all the comments and advice. 
I hope this thread is helpful to others in the future.
I decided not to put any finish on the guitar and put it up for sale in the forum. It has been sold, with all the finishing products, to a GC forum member.


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## mr trick (Sep 21, 2013)

The temporary finish will need cleaning, grease from fingers etc, some sort of cleaner such as fantastic, murphy's oil soap, no finish will adhere to that mixture of dirt,grease and unknown substances. Shellac as a temp finish can be washed down with methyl hydrate, even to almost bare wood after degreasing.


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## Bastille day (Mar 2, 2014)

Once a clear topcoat is applied you will not be able to apply a stain at a later date.

Even if try to sand the topcoat off, the clear coat will still be in the pores.

Leaving it raw and your pores will absorb all kinds of unwanted stuff.

If you intend too stain and topcoat you may have to use a grain filler prior to applying the stain which a process done over a few days.

I usually worked with white oak which did not require grain filler as it has a tight grain much like maple.

You may get away without a sealer on ash as I think it is somewhat porous.

A conditioner prevents the stain from absorbing into the wood and should be used prior to a Minwax stain.

If I remember correctly, I always used Sherwin - Williams stain with a laquer topcoat.

If I had problems with pores showing up after a couple coats of laquer I would force the lacquer into the pores with a paint brush using a couple coats.

One or two coats per day if your filling the grain, finish sanding with 400 - 600 grit then spray a couple times.

Do not press to hard with the tack cloth, if you use one, as they can leave a sticky film, especially a new ones.

You can lightly mist a regular cloth with lacquer which makes a nice tack cloth as well if your in a bind.

Lacquer allows you much more room for error, a speck of dust can be removed once it flashes off with a piece of 600-1000 grit sandpaper.

Then you can continue, if it happens again, repeat and spray again.

Anything else just ask, I use to refinish furniture and worked in body shop as a painter way back when G.M. cars had lacquer paint.


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