First Partscaster: Finishing Advice Needed

[Sam Chambers]

I'm about to start my first guitar build - a Strat style, with some twists. Chambered alder body, with a figured walnut top. I'm trying to decide on a finish.

I'm thinking of boiled linseed to start, because I like what it does to walnut. After grain filling, it'll get nitrocellulose lacquer.

I'm just wondering if this recipe will give the alder enough color, or if I need to dye it first. The look I'm after is something amber that will not contrast too much with the walnut. Does anyone have some ideas?

[Rick McQuay]

BLO looks fantastic on walnut but I'm less a fan on light colored woods because over time it can turn them a bright yellow. You might want to use an amber shellac or tint the NC lacquer for the ash.

[John Coloccia]

I would spray tinted lacquer...or shellac if that's what you prefer to tint with (I do shellac sometimes). I personally wouldn't bother masking the edge of the walnut...I'd just protect the top to make the next step easier. Spray the tinted lacquer and then just scrap the edges clean with a razor blade, just like binding. If you DO decide to mask, before you spray the color coat give a quick coat of clear lacquer to seal the edge of the tape. Then spray the color. That eliminates bleeding under the tape.

Test some nitro on the walnut. You may decide to skip the BLO altogether. Nitro really makes the wood come alive.