Need Advice/Help - oil finish on carved guitar

[dbo_texas]

Hey everyone,
I'm working on my first carving ever, and it was going really great until I got to the finishing process. Let me first say that I did a lot of research before I started, and thought I had the right approach, maybe just not the right application method. I talked to several folks at Woodcraft and this is the method they suggested.

Background: I'm carving a custom guitar body, and this is the first thing I've ever carved in my life and I don't have any background with wood working or finishing.

How I applied the finish: I'm not sure what type of wood this is (maybe ash or alder). It is pretty soft. I sanded the heck out of it (up to 1200 grit) and it was smooth as butter. Not an easy task considering all the nooks and crannies on this thing. Then I sealed it with a 1:1 mixture of shellac + denatured alcohol (2 coats). Up to this point it still looked terrific. Then I was ready to apply the danish oil finish and this is where the trouble started. I used Watco Danish Oil with the Medium Walnut dye. I didn't like the yellowish look of the wood and wanted to make it a little more brown. Anyhow, to apply the oil, I brushed it on, let it sit for 15-20 minutes, and then wiped it off with a rag. As you can see from the pictures in the link, the oil has soaked in deeper in some areas and created a blotching affect that really makes the finish look like crap (especially on the leg, arm, and face). At some point I decided I could live with this look and ended up putting on 3 coats of the medium walnut danish oil, followed by 3 coats of the natural/clear danish oil. After stewing about it for some time, I've decided I'd like to try to fix this if it won't be a 40 hour effort.

I've spent countless hours on this, and if there is any way to save it I'd love to hear some advice. I really only care about how this looks on the skin of her body (such as the leg, arm, face, etc)...the hair I am not too concerned about. What I would like to know, is if there is a good & relatively "safe" way to fix this. I definitely don't want to screw it up any more than I already have.

Here is a link to my carving:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OlCZSnwhfs...2_IMG_1693.JPG
Here is a link to my blog if you are interested in the entire project and process:
Applied Nonsense: Ahrrrrgh!!!

[Tom Ellis]

dbo, That is a great job of carving, too bad about the finish you were after. The shellac served as a sealer, and helped to resist the stain in some areas, but they could almost look like some shadowy areas around the carving. You might check with a luthier in your area to see how to resolve.

Tom

[rare yellow zebra]

Hi dbo,

"Oh no,I've screwed this up. This wasn't what I had planned" Are words that I have uttered on too many occasions.I have learned to step back, chill and go grab a beer, or walk the dog, do something that takes my mind elsewhere. When I reevaluate my mess, the mistake is either fatal (chuck it out-time to start again), benign (not quite what I had planned, but I can work around this) or on rare occasions my mistake has actually enhanced what I was trying to do.

Imo your mistake falls into the final category. When I looked at your guitar, I didn't see "blotches", I saw shading/shadowing. You must be living a good life and have good karma because your stain stayed in the right places. I wouldn't touch it. And I wouldn't say a word about it to anyone when showing them your finished guitar. Folks will think" Wow, not only can this dude(ette) carve, but (s)he has really mastered shading."

Am not sure what your artfully shaded guitar is made out of, but if it was at all soft, it isn't ash. Ash is very hard, they make baseball bats from it.
Jay

[dbo_texas]

Thanks for the replies fellas. I actually like the shading effect that I get in most areas...it's really only on the skin that it bothers me. Particularly on the large portion of her leg since it is so visible and shouldn't really have the shading effect. Some options that people have suggested (but sound a little risky) are resanding, stripping, and bleaching. That sounds like a difficult and dangerous road especially since I've never tried it before. What about using a darker stain and applying it a little more carefully (like wiping it on with a rag instead of brushing it on and letting it sit)? That is probably how I should have applied it in the first place and I don't think I'd be in this situation if I had rubbed it on one thin layer at a time instead of soaking it. Live and learn...

[dbo_texas]

Thought I'd give an update on my finishing issue. After a lot of internal debate, I ended up resanding the areas that had the blotching. I used a combination of dry/wet sanding using the natural Danish oil and it slowly lightened up the blotchy areas. I only focused on the skin areas that were the worst (the leg, arm, face). It's not perfect, but I'm much happier with it than before. It definitely has a more even look to it. Here's a pic of the "almost" finished guitar. I just have to replace the metal machine heads with some cocobolo machine head tuners I found online.
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/phot...eat=directlink

[telecarver]

The issue with staining a carving is that the exposed end grain will absorb the stain like a sponge while the flat grain will not. Are you using shellac chips in the denatured alcohol or a can of pre-mixed shellac? If it is premixed then the thinning with the alcohol is the problem. It didn't seal the grain well enough. This method might work with a flat surface but not with a carving. I use two coats of Bulls Eye Universal sanding sealer. It is a de-waxed shellac base. Also Watco Danish Oil is for applying as a stand alone oil finish and should not be used as a stain over a pre-sealed carving. Trying to stain a light wood carving darker without getting the blotchy look is difficult problem. I have experimented with dozens of techniques over the years and have never found anything that I'm completely satisfied with. Check out my post on this thread for the best method I have found for alder:
What's best to finish a carving made from mahogany

[dbo_texas]

I used a can of the pre-mixed shellac. I knew the end-grain was going to be a problem...I just wasn't sure what to do about it. This is the first time I've ever even worked with wood, let alone try to stain/finish it. Do you have to dilute the Bulls Eye Universal sanding sealer or just apply right out of the can? As for applying the Watco Danish Oil on top of the shellac coat - I was just following the advice I got from someone at Woodcraft who had a lot of wood finishing experience. I tried researching the best way to apply it, and I found about 20 different opinions online so I wasn't sure how to proceed. What types of woods would it be appropriate to apply to without requiring a sealer? I did test the danish oil on a scrap piece of light colored wood (flat, not carved) with and without the shellac to see the difference, and I can say for a fact that without the sealer, it looked horrible and had a completely uneven finish. With the shellac applied before the oil, it actually looked pretty good (again...this wasn't a carving and didn't have exposed end grain). I actually read through your other post this morning so thanks for the details! I will say, that next time I do apply this oil finish, I'm going to hand rub it on with a rag instead of brushing it on and letting it soak in. I'm guessing even doing it in super thin layers, you will still get some of the problems with the end-grain, but I doubt it will be as severe, and it will surely be easier to sand out if you see it starting to get too blotchy or dark. The problem with brushing it on is that it soaked in pretty deep into the wood, so sanding it out became difficult.

[telecarver]

WOW! I'm impressed that this is your first project!
When it comes to wood finishing, finishing a carving is a completly different ball game than most wood finishing projects. Do a test piece of the same type of wood, preferably from the same board and carve some areas to expose some end grain. I apply the Bulls Eye right out of the can. One thing to consider is that two coats of Bulls Eye will form a pretty much impervious finish. The purpose of this is to completely seal the end grain so that no stain will soak in. The average color between the light and dark areas will give the whole piece a dark rich look while still allowing for the details to stand out. I do it this way so that when I apply the stain it catches in the recesses and brings out the details and dimension while allowing the highlights to be more visible. If your goal is to only darken the wood I recommend a gel stain. It is very thick and will not soak in as much. The thinned shellac technique will work somewhat as a sealer for this type of stain because some of the stain can still soak in. You can also use stain controller that you will not have to mix. The Watco is too thin and soaks in too quickly to use on a carving. When you open the fresh can of gel stain, pour off the excess liquid to have a thicker consistancy. Save the liquid and stir it back in if necessary. Use a rag to apply and start with a very small amount. Wipe your stain on another piece of wood so that most of the stain is removed and then wipe on a thin film on the end grain. Have two other rags ready. One clean and one with a small amount of mineral spirits. You will use the clean rag to wipe off as much stain as you can and the rag with the mineral spirits to wipe off any stain that is too dark that the clean rag won't remove. Don't have the rag too wet or it will thin the stain too much and cause it to soak in more. Start with the end grain first and go slow and careful. If you see that the stain is soaking into the end grain too much, you may need more sealer. After you do the end grain, you can then match the flat grain to the end grain by the amount of stain you wipe off the flat grain. You can leave the stain in the recesses to accentuate the carving.

[dbo_texas]

For anyone interested, I finished the guitar a few weeks ago and overall I'm very happy with the way it turned out.

http://http://appliednonsenseforyour...day-to-me.html

[dbo_texas]

Here is the finished guitar for those who are interested:
Custom Carved Strat Guitar by Dbo - YouTube