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We stock a variety of finish types that can be used on your
guitar. For this kit we’ll be using our ColorTone Wipe On Poly.
It’s nonflammable, simple to use, very forgiving, and can be
applied indoors.
Make an application pad out of cotton, an old t-shirt works
well. Make a wad about the size of a ping-pong ball to use as
the filler and tightly wrap it in the middle of a cover cloth. Tie
it up with a rubber band and you’re ready to go. You’ll use a
handful of these during the finishing process, 3-6 should do.
Color coats
ColorTone Liquid Stains mixed into the Wipe-On Poly make
an easy to apply and nice looking translucent finish.
For the body, mix 1/4oz of red (or the color of your choice)
ColorTone Liquid Stain into 4oz of the ColorTone Wipe-On
Poly finish and mix well. Conduct a test on some scrap wood
to ensure the color looks the way you’d like it to. If it’s too
dark, add a little more finish to weaken the color. If it’s too
light, add an additional drop or two of stain. Remember, a
small amount of stain goes a long way!
As you apply the color watch for streaks and uneven areas,
keep working the pad in a circular motion over these areas
followed by long strokes running the length of the instru-
ment until you have uniform tinting over the entire surface
of the body
For the neck, mix 1/8oz straw (or the color of your choice)
ColorTone Liquid Stain into 2oz of Wipe On Poly finish. Apply
the color to the neck in the same fashion as the body. Any
residual finish that ends up on the fretboard face will be
scraped back once it dries.
Allow the color coats to dry 2-3 hours.
Final top coats
Do not sand on your color coats. Apply 4-6 additional coats
of clear over the top of the color or until you’ve reached your
desired thickness. Allow 30 minutes to one hour between
coats and allow the final coat to dry for 14 hours.
Applying finish
