Applying The Stain

Build Your Own Guitar – Part 3

(A Guide For Beginners By A Beginner)

If you missed the earlier posts check out part 1.

For those of you that have been following along I finished up in part 2 by sanding down the filler I had applied to the guitar body.

Originally, I had wanted to do a solid black finish but changed my mind to island water blue.

To apply the stain I used a foam brush.  Really this isn’t rocket science.  Dip the brush in the stain and brush it on the body.

I started with the front of the guitar.  

I brushed on the stain in the direction the grain was running so up and down.

After covering the front of the guitar body with stain I took an old rag and wiped off the excess stain to expose the grain of the wood.

I repeated this process on the back of the guitar and again on the sides of the guitar.

So far the process has been pretty easy.  The stain actually dried pretty fast.

One thing to note is that I did not achieve full coverage with just one coat of stain.  After staring at the guitar for awhile I decided that I didn’t mind having some pretty faded out parts and I thought it gave the guitar more of a “well used” look.

Since I am a beginner I decided the “less is more” philosophy was the right path.  

I had visions of myself doing copious amounts of sanding if I added another coat and hated it so I “stopped short” as Frank Costanza would say!

Next up! Poly!

Check out all our 7 string guitar kits.

Continue to Part 4.