How would you finish Roasted Swamp Ash?

[Lewguitar]

Got this for my birthday from Laura Lee. This will be the first guitar I named after a wife or girlfriend.

So I'll be showing off both Laura Lees soon as I get this guitar together.

I'm kind of thinking clear lacquer and a black bakelite pickguard.

Or maybe make it look a little like a old Tele with a white transparent Mary Kaye Strat finish.

Should i use a grain filler?

Or fill the grain with sealer before the final clear coats? That might use A LOT of lacquer,

What products do you like?

I've used ReRanch lacquers in spray cans and liked them.

There's also StewMac and Behlen.

Any suggestions will be read and appreciated.

https://imgur.com/MwIjfMQ

 

[Fro]

Clear with a black guard would look good.
Other options:
honeyburst
trans white
trans sonic blue

 

[Lewguitar]

Clear with a black guard would look good.

That's are what I'm leaning to. The wood is so beautiful and striking that natural might be best. And easiest.

Natural ash with just a clear gloss finish.

I've done lots of clear finishes on guitars and furniture but I've never used grain filler to achieve a flat, non-porous finish.

I've filled the pores with lacquer sealer but that used a lot of finish and required a lot of sanding. And then the sealer shrunk into the grain after a while anyway.

Need some advice about filling the grain.

Guess I'll watch some YouTube videos.

 

[bodia]

Clear with a black guard would look good.
Other options:
honeyburst
trans white
trans sonic blue

I like clear as well

 

[Ovibos]

I really like what PRS did with the blasted ash SEs, and LTD does: colored grain filler with a black stain.

 

[Lewguitar]

I really like what PRS did with the blasted ash SEs, and LTD does: colored grain filler with a black stain.

Me too!

A little more than I feel like taking on but I love the look.

 

[DreamTheaterRules]

LOVE the wood! (TWSS)

Clear would be nice, but I love color. I’d go transparent red or blue with white pearloid pick guard.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Congratulations on both.

I’d go natural.

 

[RickP]

Give it the white dog hair treatment of the NF53, with a black 3 ply guard.

 

[nac]

I like a slight burst on that one. Definitely something transparent that lets the grain through. I'm not a huge fan of all natural but that is very nice example.

 

[Lewguitar]

Give it the white dog hair treatment of the NF53, with a black 3 ply guard.

I'd like to go with black Bakelite to complete the '51 tele sort of look. But I can't find one for under $100.

Bakelite is expensive!

I'd also like a bridge/vibrato like Jeff Beck used. Two point like on my SE Silver Skys. I think they stay in tune better.

 

[CandidPicker]

Several cloves of garlic, some rosemary, butter, and white wine.

 

[FragileThunder]

Clear with black pearloid pickguard. My $0.02

 

[aamefford]

“

How would you finish Roasted Swamp Ash?”​

With a nice Zinfandel Buerre Rouge, topped with a Stilton Blue compound butter of course!

 

[frankencat]

I am fixing to do mine with a a subtle black-brown-yellow faded burst. If I were to keep it natural I think I would go with some dark brown filler first.

 

[Maxime Bousquet]

Congratulations ! She will be very beautiful in any case! It reminds me of my fender limited edition 56, I will simply let this beauty breathe!

 

[ViperDoc]

Some dark pore filler and a clear stain with smokeburst under clear would be fantastic. Accentuate that grain, bro.

Like this:

 

[Rod/]

I’d use no grain filler (for added tone and resonance) and use Tru-Oil… great for necks as well… easy to apply. Lots of great threads on The Gear Page on this. I’ve been using Tru-Oil On all my Warmoth necks and some natural bodies for years. In time they become a very nice light honey color

 

[aamefford]

Swamp ash is a really captivating wood. A wonderful departure from the “beautiful flame maple” that we see so frequently here. My imagination is running away, but flame and quilte etc tops strike me as the beautiful, sophisticated young dames of the old English aristocracy. Swamp ash strikes me as the fire haired young beauty of the Scottish Highlands who might drop you with an arrow before you saw her, just to see if you were worthy.

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Congratulations ! She will be very beautiful in any case! It reminds me of my fender limited edition 56, I will simply let this beauty breathe!

Yep like this and the Valley Arts Strats of the late 70’s.