Finishing
There are many ways to finish your new custom guitar. Paint and stain are the most common ways, but a
myriad other options exist. Here, we’ll cover a few popular techniques. These will be very general explana-
tions so be sure to follow the recommended instructions that come with whichever finishing product you
choose to use. The important thing is take time to plan and apply your finish properly. Rushing a guitar’s
finish never turns out well.
No matter what finish you choose, your first step will be sanding the guitar. Starting with a medium-grit
sandpaper, go over the entire body and all of the neck except for the fretboard. You want to create a smooth
even surface to work with. Applying a grain-filler can be beneficial for filling in pores in the wood and creat-
ing a smooth even surface to work with. Before applying any finishing materials, make sure all screw holes
are pre-drilled. Drilling a hole after can easily crack your finish. Reopening a pre-drilled screw hole, howev-
er, is simple with a toothpick or small drill bit and will not damage your finish.
The most common finishes are paint and stain. Stain is preferred when you want to show off the wood grain
of your guitar. This is particularly good for guitars with a veneered top, like the Flamed Maple of SADIYG-08
or the Spalted Maple of SADIYG-09, or with a prominent wood grain, like the swamp ash of SADIYG-05. Paint
will cover the wood grain of your custom guitar in any color or pattern you can imagine. Pretty much any
painting technique can be used on a guitar, from spray-paint to hand-brushing, solid colors to intricate pat-
terns or images.
Following will be a quick rundown of the steps involved in several popular finishes to help you decide which
finish you want to create. These are general rules of thumb. Instructions included with your finishing mate-
rials should be followed closely for best results.
STAINED FINISH
• Start with a well-sanded guitar body and tape off any parts you do not want to stain. The body cavities
can be ignored.
• Use a rag or sponge to apply the stain, keeping it damp throughout the process.
• Allow the stain to dry completely. It will be soaking into the wood during this process. Check the in-
structions on your stain to find out how long this will take. It usually takes an hour, but some can take
longer, or be ready to work with sooner.
• Sand the stained area with a fine sandpaper or steel wool. The finish will remove a lot of the color and
leave a faded, washed-out look. This is normal and necessary to the process. It will enhance the grain of
the guitar.
• Re-stain and re-sand with progressively finer sandpapers or steel wools until you achieve the desired
effect.
PAINTED FINISH
• Start with a well-sanded guitar body and tape of any parts you do not want to paint. The body cavities
can be ignored.
• When painting a guitar, you’ll want to begin with a primer coat. Bare wood is a difficult surface for a
paint topcoat to adhere to. The primer coat will create an interface between the guitar body and the
topcoat that will keep your finish looking good for many years to come.
• Apply the primer evenly over the surface to be painted. Allow it to dry according to the manufacturer
instructions. There is usually a specific time that is best for applying paint to primer so follow the direc-
tions closely.
• Use a medium grain sandpaper to smooth the primer coat before applying paint.
