How to STAIN and LACQUER a GUITAR, a complete guide | Quilted maple LES PAUL build | E4/4

[@kevinmackfurniture]

I'm a fine furniture maker of 30 years. This video makes me want to make a Les Paul... That Quilted Maple was Bonkers !

[@ADFinlayson]

I imagine you’ve already got a lot of the tools to get the job done 👍

[@user-dj1gl5ix3m]

Please make one. I'll watch

[@osXcanada]

Quilted maple, poetry in wood!! Whenever I get myself a bass built, it will be quilted maple!!

[@hkguitar1984]

The look on his face (new owner), priceless. Making the world a better place, one guitar at a time.

[@byteme9718]

Very Stevo Timothy.

[@hkguitar1984]

@@byteme9718 👍😉

[@Jack_O_AllTrades]

Relaxing to watch and nicely done although I'm not sure I learnt much from it. I wish there was some sort of commentary either as you were doing it or added afterwards, just explaining what you're doing, what you're using and what sort of things your thinking of/looking out for/taking into consideration as you're doing it. That would be really helpful and add a lot of value to the video.

[@geoffreyharbinson2488]

I concur

[@monday6524]

Watch his “How I STAIN and LACQUER a PRS style guitar - Part 1 of 2” video. It has a verbal story.

[@ADFinlayson]

If you check my latest videos, I released one last week with full commentary

[@patrickkoga2103]

@@ADFinlayson

[@okiedoak201]

This is a AWESOME video...and guys...for those of you who made negative comments....look this isn't a hold your hand how to video....by the time your watching this...these skills should already be in your build knowledge...using tools...setting up necks and gluing...using stains and airbrushes...these are things that should be mastered on individual levels...this is a fantastic presentation showing a professional at his love.....well done....and BTW...beautiful purple quilted maple LP 👍👍👍👍

[@ADFinlayson]

Appreciate the comment mate, thank you

[@JamieCarter-wv8rp]

Well, some of us know how to set up guitars, intonation, neck adjustments, all that stuff. But for those of us that are building and putting color on for the first time, we'd like to know how to do it without really screwing it up. So, don't look down on us. Jerk....

[@ADFinlayson]

Jamie, please keep your comments polite. If you check my latest videos you will see I released a how to video with full commentary last week

[@wingbird8197]

Im about to finish a kit guitar for the first time with zero prior knowledge, and i found this video one of the best I've watched. The subs wer enough for me to get on with, and the confidence and care in real time were more inspiring than hearing someone bang on about it because they are a subject matter expert. I won't be able to attempt doing it like you did, most likely using spray cans, but will follow the same structure of activities. Your purple burst looked amazing btw

[@ADFinlayson]

Thank you mate, glad you enjoyed the video. Good luck with your build

[@agtronic]

Never seen your videos before, but definitely appreciate the silent approach. Those of us who are visual do not need endless babble. Very cool, and nice touch with the reaction at the end. Love that wifey was just as excited as hubby to see it. Wholesome moment and your work was at the centre of it.

[@KyleKatarn145]

Its amazing that purple guitars aren't way more wide spread because they always look incredible

[@marbananta]

One word : Professional.

[@ADFinlayson]

thank you

[@mrdyvig]

VERY well done! Thank you for sharing your expertise for other Luthiers. That is the sign of a true master of their craft.

[@Ron_Masterjohn]

Wow that is the most gorgeous guitar I’ve ever seen. Love that color which was one of the candy colors I had painted on my blown gas flat show quality drag boat .

[@ADFinlayson]

Thank you mate, glad you liked it

[@rcranky64]

Beautiful, beautiful instrument. Hope you enjoy it for years to come.

[@phillamoore157]

Congrats! Watching this beast being made was as fun as watching the new owner receive it. Absolutely beautiful.

[@ADFinlayson]

Thank you mate

[@Tugend8]

What a lovely and nice master-piece of artwork ...! Thanks a lot ffor this delicious video-clip! Love and peace on earth ...!!!

[@patrickkem689]

Great detail to the color and lacquer! Going to look like a piece of grape candy when done!

[@housearrestproductions2240]

Holy hell, man! I'm a 47 year old, physically disabled man who's been divorced now for about 3 years and loving every moment of my somewhat new existence in this world, as my daughters are grown now as well so it's just me. I've played guitar since I was young and, now that I DEFINITELY have the time, even though I'm still kinda low on the funds, I've decided to build my very first. Not gonna lie, never been a huge fan of wood finishes at all, as I thought I'd seen all of them. BUT the way that wood grain stands out with that purple color and the dark stained back is GORGEOUS! Now as we speak, I'm browsing the internet looking for "quilted maple les paul kits" 😆. But because I was a professional tattoo artist for years before getting injured, I guess I can't help myself but to add a bit to mine. I'm thinking a dark wood stained back just like yours, with a dark pink dyed top. Then up in the top corner somewhere, not covering too much of the grain, a '60s style pinup model. Just wondering what you think about the idea and if you might have any tips for a newbie like myself. Also, I'm assuming it would be safe to paint her on TOP of the dyed wood? Thanks in advance for any help and once again, that's one BEAUTIFUL guitar!

[@pedraw]

I love watching this stuff.......I enjoy doing on occasion too. awesome instrument you've built

[@ADFinlayson]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@sebrura]

That’s a gorgeous guitar.

[@ADFinlayson]

Thanks mate, thank you for watching

[@monday6524]

Another great video! I am learning a lot. You do make things look easy which I know is NOT the case. 😄

[@pauljeglum9786]

I do custom painting and airbrushing on the side and I have to say I'm not nearly as meticoulous as you are. You are truely an artist in your craft. Cudo's to you my friend. 👏👍👌

[@ADFinlayson]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed the video

[@Lodewikus]

I really enjoyed the video. Thanks for the time and effort you spent making it.

[@ADFinlayson]

Thank you mate, glad you enjoyed it!

[@leonaudacity5313]

Love the colour and finish

[@ADFinlayson]

Thank you mate

[@hendo2209]

Stunning and inspirational work. Congratulations.

[@ADFinlayson]

Appreciate that, thanks for watching. Ash

[@miyaaaaw]

What a beautiful guitar, amazing work!

[@ADFinlayson]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed the video

[@silcoxone]

One of the best Ive seen! Really Great Work!

[@ADFinlayson]

Appreciate that, thanks for watching.

[@petedazer3381]

Beautiful guitar, great work

[@yolybuilds3680]

No idea what’s going on in this video. Can you overdub and talk about what you are using, techniques etc?

[@spleantrampoline]

Seriously. Ain’t really helping me learn 😂

[@stealingtomorrowband]

I agree... Even though there are some subtitles still ahould throw in some voice over....

[@Fred-uu9zk]

I, Was enjoying it just fine. Not every year in high school did I, GET to take Shop. I, Learned a lil about a lil about of things. A lil later. ✌️🍻🕊️

[@johnburns5783]

Yep, definitely needs a talk over explanation on what he’s doing, materials used, etc, etc. And cut out extraneous background noises, or record at a lower volume.

[@robbybassett3953]

Was gonna say the same thing, this video could have been a lot of help.

[@Joe___R]

To get the back plates to perfectly match you can cut them out of the mahogany body using a very fine blade in a scroll saw or fret saw before gluing the maple cap on. You can glue the block back once you cut the cover off, then machine out the cavity to give the needed recess for the back plate to sit on. This method will make the back plates almost disappear.

[@jeffpricefamily3905]

Freeking AWESOME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love that Tiger picture on his wall , I want a guitar like that !!!!!!!!!

[@ADFinlayson]

Thank you. Tiger picture on the wall?

[@hkguitar1984]

Amazing, thank you so much for sharing your process and knowledge.

[@ADFinlayson]

You're welcome mate, thanks for watching

[@seanjennings20]

Love the fact you have posted some more videos recently mate. Been a fan of your stuff on here for a few years. Always build amazing looking guitars

[@ADFinlayson]

Thank you mate, I appreciate that. Trying to make some time to fit in a bit of youtube content, but don't old me to it.

[@seanjennings20]

@@ADFinlayson Lol that’s cool mate. Imagine a fair bit of time needs investing into creating a video to post and we don’t always have that luxury of spare time so I get it. Enjoy watching what you do post up regardless 👍🏻

[@k9taxi]

I like the way you put that black veneer between the maple top and the body. I'm doing the same thing on my current build.

[@ADFinlayson]

It’s a nice little separator, even if it does make more work of the glue up

[@PaoloRS1]

Great video, what a stunning finish. So good to see you back here. Looking forward to catching up with the other videos. All the best and keep up the great work.

[@ADFinlayson]

Cheers Paul!

[@mimtirona9622]

It was pleasure watching your work.

[@ADFinlayson]

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching

[@Mr986Willis]

Stunning guitar! I currently have a hollow body LP type on my bench waiting to be carved. I'm loving your channel!

[@ADFinlayson]

Glad you enjoyed the video, you should post some videos if you’re working on your own builds. Ash

[@bradthurber4881]

I really enjoyed the video and love the results. I read through all the comments you replied to, and judging by your level of sarcasm, you must be tired of answering why there's no commentary. I agree with the masses, but for a different reason. After reviewing the questions, most are about the products used and a lot less about your techniques, and I would also fall into that category. I think a simple matrix of what you used all in one place would answer the larger majority of users' questions and save you a LOT of time and frustration. Although I enjoyed the sarcasm, and you kinda earned the right IMO. I know I'm not immune, so fire away :) I have never built a guitar or attempted a finish, so after seeing this video, I became inspired and bought a guitar kit with a maple flame top. My only hope for my first guitar finish is that I don't completely botch it. I feel I can follow your techniques by watching the video, but, my inner beginner needs more specifics on the products. I took moments of your video and tried to piece everything together the best I could. Would it be too much to ask for you to correct me and fill in the blanks or add a bit more detail where necessary? 1000 thanks in advance. Sealing faux bindings - Chestnut Sanding Sealer Neck glue up - ? Grain fill DIY - kzbin.info/www/bejne/fqmQZ4CemZhkp7M Preparing to spray some cherry shader - Spirit-based dye added to thinned-down lacquer Clearcoat to protect the color - ? Raising the grain before applying dye - Damp rag with water Applying dye diluted about 50/50 - Angelus Purple, diluted with? Acetone pulls out excess dye and helps to blend colour - ? Brand ? Sanding sealer to prevent colours from running - Chestnut Sanding Sealer ? Clear coat - Morrells lacquer Spraying the edge burst - ? Building up the clearcoats - Morrells lacquer leveling the laquer - After 3 weeks, 1200 on top and 800 on the back. buffing - Chemical Guys swirl remove

[@ADFinlayson]

I appreciate the sentiment, but the people that leave the narky comments aren't the sort of people that read the comments.

[@redbank542]

Love the colour ❤

[@VATO_1RG]

For the people complaining about commentary, he has a link to his full video with commentary in the description😂

[@ProfessorHumblesDelusions]

Thx for the video. You’re such a careful craftsman.

[@ADFinlayson]

Appreciate the compliment, thanks for watching.

[@surajnagesh1851]

911: whats your emergency? Me: This dude building a guitar is wilding!

[@ColinWatters]

Great video, thanks. Tip for others.. allow plenty of time for the finish to harden before trying to sand and polish. The harder it is the better the result. Learned that painting cars.

[@ADFinlayson]

Good advice, even more prevalent with wood too as the lacquer will always shrink down into the grain, no matter how well filled it is.

[@YoureNowOnTV]

What kind of time frame would be reasonable between spraying and a re-coat or sand? I guess environmental conditions play a role in the hardening time?

[@ADFinlayson]

@@YoureNowOnTV yes and what you're spraying too, this is pre-catalysed cellulose lacquer so it cures pretty quickly. I tend to leave 30-45 minutes between coats - I know I can leave lacquer in the gun for that long without issue, and I'll spray max 3 coats per day. If I want to level between coats, then I'll normally spray 3 coats in the day and level sand (dry) the following morning. I won't wet sand and spray on the same day. The manufacture says this can be buffed within 3 days but I'll always leave at least 10 days before doing final level and buffing because it will still shrink into the grain. If I was spraying traditional nitrocellulose, I'll leave it at least 2 weeks before doing and level sanding (apart from the odd bit of denibbing) because it takes that much longer to harden and shrink into the grain.

[@ColinWatters]

@@YoureNowOnTVThe time between coats is normally specified in the instructions. The time between applying a coats and sanding it is normally a lot longer. With most products I make a test on scrap wood and leave them overnight. It varies a lot. Some primers you can carefully sand after a few hours if you don't allow the paper to clog, but with some gloss paints they recommend allowing a week. In general the harder the finish is the better the gloss you can polish in. If you are polishing away with compound and it's not getting better it's probably still too soft. Edit: When wet sanding by hand the paper tends to clog if the paint is too soft. When it's nice and hard it tends to make a fine slurry you can wash out of the paper.

[@YoureNowOnTV]

@@ADFinlayson Thanks so much for taking the time to reply to my questions. Greatly appreciated! 😀👍

[@buckchaser4725]

Thoroughly enjoyed watching this. Beautiful guitar! Thanks for sharing your experience and techniques.

[@ADFinlayson]

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching.

[@AbComp870]

What a lovely purple

[@peterm3964]

Purple and gold hardware . Wow . Now some Gold pickup covers

[@andrewaporter]

Very beautiful work but hardly a complete guide.

[@angusmackay7281]

Dude, your work is outstanding. It would be interesting to have a commentary on the video about the materials you use, why and also why you use the overall approach that you do. Beautiful work.

[@ADFinlayson]

If you wait 2 weeks, exactly that is coming

[@quartercirclebk]

Insanely helpful for a beginning luthier. Hope I can get spraybooth access eventually...thanks so much for this, subscribed!

[@ADFinlayson]

Thanks for watching!

[@byteme9718]

You don't need a spray booth and he doesn't have one.

[@buzzmay207]

A Very talented Professional 🐝💤👍

[@ADFinlayson]

Thank you mate

[@a.abeyta6237]

Thanks for posting.

[@dannykgould3606]

Amazing video, that dudes joy when seeing his new guitar was awesome. Proud of you buddy 🤘🤘🤘

[@ADFinlayson]

Thanks bud 🙏

[@Alexis_Riveros]

Que bello trabajo, gracias por compartirlo. Felicidades 👍

[@ADFinlayson]

Thank you mate

[@petecoates6410]

Fantastic work as ever - would be great to know which make of stains and lacquers youre using here. The guitars just keep getting better and better !

[@ADFinlayson]

For this one I used, Angelus dye and Morrells Lacquer

[@petecoates6410]

@@ADFinlayson thats great thanks AD. Love the self build buffing wheel setup. Thats on my to do list for the new workshop!

[@ADFinlayson]

@@petecoates6410 Sorry to disappoint you but it's actually the Stewmac buffer, I just build the stand for it. I was going to make one but when I totted up all the parts, it didn't work out much cheaper than the Stewmac one when it was on sale and the stewmac one came with mops and compound.

[@godsinbox]

So much of it is how it looks

[@patrickkem689]

Great job!Excellent

[@JETFOURLITRE]

Definately not a complete guide to anything, but really cool to watch.

[@Textra1]

Stunningly beautiful.

[@ADFinlayson]

Thank you mate

[@cobratex7]

Excellent work and stunning finish. Just when gluing the neck I would have have placed a block on the fretboard before clamping rather than clamp directly onto the frets themselves.

[@ADFinlayson]

Why?

[@scottsbaitsandtackle]

Nice! Got a double neck I got to do!

[@llillo32]

Gorgeous piece of art, congrats 👏👏👏👍👍

[@ADFinlayson]

Appreciate that mate, thanks for watching.

[@GilaMonster971]

Nice color....looks like one I did 👍

[@lemokolyon]

Very nice, especially if you're a Deep Purple fan.

[@ADFinlayson]

I am!

[@haovan8077]

巧夺天工真是人才。

[@mikestroud9969]

Nice job guitar looks good. I know one thing if I decide to do this stuff, I'm going to make different color guitars , not just black and white. Gives each guitar its personal touch and character . 😎👍👋✌️🎸🎸

[@ADFinlayson]

Thank you. The great thing about maple is you can dye it almost any colour and still see the beautiful figure

[@mikestroud9969]

@@ADFinlayson 👍👋💯

[@rocinblues]

Excellent job!

[@chrisherald2338]

Wonderful video and stunning work.

[@ADFinlayson]

Thank you Chris, glad you enjoyed it

[@IanHornsby-g7t]

Bloody amazing, its given me inspiration

[@ADFinlayson]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed the video

[@TroyBoleyn]

Beautiful job, and very inspiring!

[@ADFinlayson]

Thank you Troy, thanks for watching. Ash

[@kevinshackleford790]

Great work.

[@predigr]

Absolutely awesome work. I want a strato, I live in Europe.

[@steveeymann6374]

Don't know if you've ever tried it but simple painters tape can help with tearout while drilling.

[@ADFinlayson]

Yes you're right and I have tried it, no substitute for taking it slow though

[@steveeymann6374]

@@ADFinlayson oh I definitely agree. I use both tactics when drilling into a surface like that.

[@EricfromBloatGames]

Amazing guitar! And The Running Mates are the owners. Nice!

[@ADFinlayson]

Yes indeed, thank you!

[@seancollins3106]

beautiful top on that guitar. the craftsmanship on the wood is excellent. I'm sure it was cleaned up, but there was noticeable purple bleed onto the faux binding. I'd be concerned if it wasn't...

[@richardcarpenter154]

Thats perfectly pretty

[@wombatau]

When spray painting, make your first coat very light and leave it until it tacks up (tack coat) before spraying your second coat. Then when you spray your second coat, you can really flood it. If you don’t do a tack coat first you can only spray light coats and it makes getting a high build gloss finish really difficult. Also don’t finish your passes over the body itself, change directions upon an imaginary surface beyond the object you are painting.

[@ADFinlayson]

That sounds like a good technique for spraying 2k

[@wombatau]

@@ADFinlayson Works for all paints, learned it from a pro many years ago, best painting tip I ever got. It’s a fast first pass that looks sparse and crappy which is let sit until it gets tacky but does not smear when touched (I just check on the masking paper or tape), then the second pass is slow and heavy until almost the point you’d think it would normally run but it doesn’t. The trick I found was resisting the urge to touch it up again straight away, and just waiting a full tack again before doing it. The first thing it knocks out is overspray, but the best thing it does is just saves time in colour sanding later.

[@jamesbennett4638]

What's the point of an instructional video with no instruction? Yes some of the process is self explanatory but not all of it. A commentary on what you are you doing, why you are doing it and with what material or compound would be helpful and far more interesting. I appreciate there are those who do not like commentary but that's what the volume control or mute button is for. That having been said, NICE job on the guitar it looks truly stunning.

[@ADFinlayson]

If i'd taken the extra time to explain every step the video would be over an hour long and wouldn't get watched, if I separated it out into a series it wouldn't get watched. Both those options would involves many hours of extra work, when you could just ask in the comments section if you need advice.

[@markrajfura4443]

For a complete guide you need commentary for those like me that have never done this it would be nice to have tips. But video looks really nice.

[@StevenMilliken-m8s]

Brilliant! Though my Les Paul studio doesn’t have a figured maple top it could use a nicer finish.

[@billhubbell3414]

Thanks for inviting us into your shop.

[@Ron_Masterjohn]

That is by far the best wood glue you can buy.

[@nymsmacgregor7232]

Be careful...if Gibson doesn't try to sue you, Don Henley will try..... Beautiful work...!! Nyms

[@autistica1]

You could've narrated the video. You're just going "here's me, doing a thing with some stuff aaaand there you have it. Simple!"

[@nachonak]

Buen trabajo pero te daría unas recomendaciones, al copiar los agujeros del puente usar una agujereadora de banco o un controlador de verticalidad, la toalla que pongas debajo para lijar el cuerpo virgen deberían cambiarla o lavarla ya que Deja residuos de arena, la colocación del mástil provisorio para pintar, deberias usar un papel más rígido para copiar los agujeros y podrías poner unos tornillos de diámetro menor con un poco de cinta de enmascarar para no agendar los originales o instalar unos de mayor medida luego, el agua para lijar deberían aplicarlo a la lija en vez de a la guitarra así se humedece menos la madera. Son solo sugerencias para no correr riesgos es un hermosos oficio y un buen trabajo saludos!❤

[@Happyfingcampers]

That was sexy, I am not a fan of the banding but it's not my guitar so it doesn't matter what I like😂😂😂😂. Plus I can't play well enough to buy a high end guitar like that. Very nice work

[@777visionquest]

awesome.

[@mrnolan27]

WIfe just came in and saw me watching this. " No more guitars! You have too many!...... and no you are not starting another hobby!" Might have gotten in less trouble watching porn lol. Great job and what a beauty!!!!

[@Terry3Gs]

Awesome job on this!! Subbed :)

[@ADFinlayson]

Appreciated Terry, thanks for watching

[@coreyfleig2139]

Fabulous video. Thank you! After using grain filler, you sprayed a red shader. What is that shader made of?

[@ADFinlayson]

Thank you mate, spirit based dye added to thinned-down lacquer

[@beposmith6663]

After a minute of watching it I realized I wasn't going to waste any more time.

[@jpsilverplaylists]

Good job

[@norgis3299]

Subscribed just because of the grain filler description. Awesome work. Do you have like a signature style build, something not Les Paul or Fender?

[@ADFinlayson]

Thank you mate, I will build anything within reason, I usually just make what people ask me to make.

[@chicagoray1972]

Great work. I have a build I am doing, I want to put the faux binding on it, what to i use to seal it so the dye doesn't seep down on it? The finish is my Achilles heel. Thanks in advance.

[@ADFinlayson]

Sanding sealer

[@SurvivinginCalifornia]

Fantastic process! How long did you let the clearcoat cure before adding on the hardware.

[@ADFinlayson]

Thank you, I normally leave it a few weeks before buffing, I’ll had hardware as soon as I’m happy with the buff

[@corkywillis]

Nice video but you didnt say anything about the type of stains or topcoat products you used.

[@vmann-jd5yw]

Lots of confidence there, never checking the neck angle.

[@ADFinlayson]

You see a tiny snippet of what actually happens in building a guitar. If you saw the whole thing then the video would be hours long

[@vmann-jd5yw]

Makes me feel better, thanks, lol@@ADFinlayson

[@spokes28]

? What did you brush onto the binding in the beginning and why? Beautiful work.

[@ADFinlayson]

Sanding sealer, helps prevent dye soaking down into the sides

[@Annunaki_0517]

Would it make much sense to use painters tape on the quilted maple top when drilling the bridge post holes to help prevent tear-out? Just a thought.

[@ADFinlayson]

If a drill bit wants to tear the wood, tape isn’t going to help.

[@michelecurcio837]

Ok so many questions!!!! What and did you seal/prep before the color stains? Did you apply with a sandpaper? Sounds scratchy? Is it water based? Same for sealer? Need a supply list please!!! @A D?

[@ADFinlayson]

for the back and neck I applied a grain filler that I made straight on the wood (there is a video on my channel on how I make my grainfiller). The top does not get any sealer before dye, dye on to bare wood then sanding sealer over the top to stop the colour running. All the finishes I used including sealer are cellulose based, even the grainfiller has lacquer in it.

[@immanuelkantholz9033]

Looks, like your fallen enemies were strawberries.

[@SupaFUZZZZZZ]

Very nice work Sir!

[@tonyd6852]

These have been a huge help prior to doing a stain job on a tele body that I have. One question that I have. Do you not sand the sanding sealer after it has had time to dry and before the clear coat?

[@ADFinlayson]

No, I only use sanding sealer to prevent the stain from running. I’m not using it as a base coat

[@vincentjones3080]

Absolutely love this guiitar, it is the exactly colour I'm hoping to achieve on my own build! Which dye are you using?

[@ADFinlayson]

Angelus leather dye

[@ΜαριοςΡηγουτσος]

Greetings ! That is a great video ,it greatly helped me understand the finishing routine. I would like to ask you if you have used automotive polyurethane and wether it mixes well with stains or not , to achieve a transparent look . Thanks in advance !

[@ADFinlayson]

Thanks for watching, I have never sprayed poly so I couldn't give you an informed answer, sorry.

[@ΜαριοςΡηγουτσος]

@@ADFinlayson Its ok ! Thank you very much !