Advice/Thoughts on REFINISHING/STAINING a HWY1 TELE Body Partscaster project....

[Johansolo]

im putting toghether a Tele Partcaster, MIM maple gloss maple neck and HWY 1 Honey Blonde body.

 

the original honey blonde finish looks like puke pink...

but the previous owner said he removed the nitro? top coat/pink tinge with acetone

i got it on the cheap so just took a punt and it arrived today...it looks great!

 

he also routed the neck route for a P90 which isnt a bother for me.

 

the ONLY thing is...the body doesnt really go with the semi glossy maple MIM neck i have...

w/flash

 

is it possible to sand back the body and use some sorta yellow/butterscotch blonde type furniture stain on it? any tips??

 

i also have an urge to carve out a rear strat style comfort curve in the body...i have access to a woodworkshop/tools and im handy with this kinda thing...talk me into/out of it...

[Johansolo]

reason being...i want to go for this look

[linusâ„¢]

sand it all down. do your carve. sand more. stain. tru-oil. steel wool. win.

[BoneNut]

 

the ONLY thing is...the body doesnt really go with the semi glossy maple MIM neck i have...

 

 

It'll look fantastic once you add the black PG.

[soundcreation]

Sand it down to the bare wood and oil finish it. It will look fantastic.

[Johansolo]

i guess i should buy a black pickguard first (i only have a white and a mint one so it doesnt look right to me) but i want to get the body colour right (not exactly matching hte maple neck)

 

im looking up tru-oil now, are there any specific of oil products are you guys recommending? or ones to stay away from?

[Tweedledee]

Tru-Oil is a fantastic product and easy to apply, but on raw wood you won't quite get the butterscotch blonde look. It will be more like a natural finish with a hint of amber. It will darken a bit over time, but if you're set on really getting a butterscotch finish you have to go with nitro or poly and prepare yourself for a lot more work.

 

You could get some Tru-Oil and tint it with a few drops of amber stain from Stew Mac. I've seen some good results with that process, though I've never done it myself.

 

Here's one I finished in Tru-Oil without any tinting, for reference. The body is slightly darker in person and it's sugar pine. The Highway 1 bodies are alder, right?

 

[cratz2]

Different woods will vary, but here is mahogany before and after Tru Oil. There are 5 coats of Tru Oil, but that's not much work at all.

 

I've thought about using the Tru Oil tint... hopefully lowbrow will stop by. I think he's either done it or seen the results of the tinted Tru Oil.

 

I can't convey how easy this is to apply. It's pretty easy if you want the final result to be glossy. It's stupid easy if you want the final result to be satin.

 

 

[Johansolo]

cheers guys...ill investigate tru-oil

im pretty sure this hwy1 body i have is alder...but they also did make a ash one for hte texas hwy1...