Spalted Maple Les Paul Build Part 3: Sanding & Finishing

[@DazedxHipster]

Your voice is perfect for narrations, my friend! It’s looking awesome. I’m working on a DIY kit myself. I’m going to look into getting those sanding pads. I’ve been using the 3m sanding block but I feel like it unevenly level sands. Cheers!

[@RuggeriDIY]

There has to be some influence in Tremonti in that music!

[@MrKimop182]

Great work!

[@thenotorious9032]

Looks great man. I probably would have went with shellac but I really liked the build!

[@angrygingerguitars4462]

Thank you, sir! I considered shellac, but I don't have the space to properly let it cure. I went with something a bit more all purpose just because I was familiar with it and was limited by environment.

[@edrosenquist6541]

I'm doing a spalted maple top on an SG shape and was thinking about staining the top red. Have you tried staining spalted maple before?

[@angrygingerguitars4462]

I've stained salted maple before and it can look cool as long as you don't go too dark or heavy on the color, otherwise you'll lose a lot of the definition in the beautiful grain. I'd keep it to single wipe on of a lighter red and don't let it sit too long.

[@absolutless]

Thoughts on Tung oil?

[@angrygingerguitars4462]

I personally have never used it, but I did a lot of research on it before a past project. It's a great option...hard finish, durable, and it can look awesome. My understanding is that it's a little more finicky and that you have to give it a little more time to cure between coats, but the projects I've seen and handled that used it have been fantastic.

[@dancarlin5180]

No grain filler?

[@angrygingerguitars4462]

No, I didn't worry about it for 2 reasons. 1 - While Spalted Maple had a more open grain than standard maple, I've found the open spots to be a lot more uneven and varied making grain filling to be just annoying (to me at least). 2 - Since the top was just a veneer I didn't think the poly would give me too much trouble. That is unless you're talking about the mahogany, in which case that's purely an aesthetic choice of mine. I put just enough poly on to seal it and keep it smooth, but little enough to keep the natural textured feel to the wood. That was a longer answer than I intended to write... Thanks for the question and subscription, my friend!