2.5itim Posted May 29, 2017 Report Share Posted May 29, 2017 I'm not sure how I've missed this thread! Awesome work so far, I also grew up lusting over the mmm1 and was never able to get one lol. Im eager to see how this turns out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike.Mara Posted May 29, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2017 1 hour ago, 2.5itim said: I'm not sure how I've missed this thread! Awesome work so far, I also grew up lusting over the mmm1 and was never able to get one lol. Im eager to see how this turns out. It's a beautiful looking guitar! Love the mahogany and purpleheart through neck too. I still might make one eventually. They should still make them for guys like us, I'd buy one. It shouldn't be too long a wait now to see how it turns out... I'm eager to see how it goes too lol. I have repaired guitars (Minor repairs) but never built one so I hope it turns out OK. It's just final sanding and finishing now on the body. Mike. BTW... Your submission into GOTM is damned sexy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2.5itim Posted May 30, 2017 Report Share Posted May 30, 2017 Yeah, I've always been an ibanez sz player so anything that had that body style I've loved, if they made them again I'd buy one for sure. Lol. Thank you, I'm super pleased with how that guitar turned out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike.Mara Posted May 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2017 5 hours ago, 2.5itim said: Thank you, I'm super pleased with how that guitar turned out. You should be, It looks incredible! If mine looks half as good when I'm done I'll be happy with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted May 30, 2017 Report Share Posted May 30, 2017 That looks a nice compressor If you want a gloss finish and you've got the equipment...well, I know what I'd do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike.Mara Posted May 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2017 Just now, Andyjr1515 said: That looks a nice compressor If you want a gloss finish and you've got the equipment...well, I know what I'd do Thanks, It was a bargain price and my birthday so my other half and my mum treated me . What would you do? I'm not a finish guy by any means... I just started french polishing so may not be useful to me now... But on the next one it could be! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted May 30, 2017 Report Share Posted May 30, 2017 1 minute ago, Mike.Mara said: Thanks, It was a bargain price and my birthday so my other half and my mum treated me . What would you do? I'm not a finish guy by any means... I just started french polishing so may not be useful to me now... But on the next one it could be! If you've already started the french polishing then stick with it. And then if the next one is sprayed, you've gained two valuable skills, not one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike.Mara Posted May 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2017 Just now, Andyjr1515 said: If you've already started the french polishing then stick with it. And then if the next one is sprayed, you've gained two valuable skills, not one! If you were an hour earlier I would have still been sanding lol. Still interested to hear what you would have done though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike.Mara Posted May 31, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2017 @Prostheta I know you've french polished guitars before... How long would you leave it before hardware? Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted May 31, 2017 Report Share Posted May 31, 2017 Depends on the local conditions, how it was applied and how heavily it was built up in how little time, the age of the shellac, type, etc. Shellac dries by evaporation and the solvents migrate through fairly easily, but shellac hammered on will remain slightly plastic longer. Many thin rubbed coats are quickest to dry. Most of the final hardness is achieved over the first few days to about a week, however I'd err on the side of caution and give it as long as can be sanely managed. French polish is more or less good to handle within an hour, but it does benefit from being given chance to completely dry out. Good air flow in a warm dry room and I've be happy with a week. If conditions are less than adequate, it's a test of nerves and patience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted May 31, 2017 Report Share Posted May 31, 2017 FWIW, my test pieces were bodied up fairly quickly (just for gauging appearance) and they felt a little so-so after a week. I bet I could push my nail in. Yep. Just did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike.Mara Posted June 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2017 It was done in extremely thin coats over a few days with 30mins to an hour between "sessions" (One or two coats and depending on if the last coat still felt "tacky" or not). The neck has had 4 days and after 3 I couldn't get my nail in it. My first go at french polishing was on an Ibanez body and I can still get my nail in that... That was months ago lol, Looks like I'll be stripping that again. I got new fresh shellac for this project since my other ones are a little on the old side now. For the U.K. It's been really warm and I've had good air flow over the body and neck. (Hanging in a doorway with a good cross breeze.) I'll be following the french polishing with a few coats of renaissance wax to protect the shellac from my grubby hands and moisture. Looks like it's going to be a long week . My patience (or lack there of) has always been my downfall with finishing things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike.Mara Posted June 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2017 On the plus side I may have figured out a UV cure finish! After reading though MANY a MSDS on the guys that make them, I've realised most of them are actually polyester based. So these extremely expensive finishes would have the same downfall of Solarez with the witness lines if you sand through. So I've been toying with the idea of using polyester casting resin (Low viscosity) with the standard UV catalyst through a spray system which should give a more consistent film thickness that should allow level sanding without going through to the layer underneath. So if all tests go well, we could all have an almost instant cure finish you could spray through a Preval if you don't have a compressor that cures with the sun in a few minutes, that is rock hard (I have it on my desk and it's extremely difficult to scratch or dent) and is a fraction of the cost of most systems! Here's hoping it will work! Will be a few weeks before I can try it but I'll post results and a recipe here on the forums if it works. Mike. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted June 1, 2017 Report Share Posted June 1, 2017 you have my interest peaked on this subject. I have wanted to try solarez after watching a video on youtube- I have plans on doing a Pedulla bass sometime- Pedulla uses polyester but what a pain it looks like. The video I watched the guy (Highline guitars I think it was) brushed it on, very thick- but I was very captivated by the fact he could put one coat on and finish a guitar in one day. and it really did shine. I have used Preval sprayers but I must say- I don't know squat about polyester- but I think you would have to find a very thin polyester, or be able to thin it out for it to work. with some lacquers you have to thin almost 30% for it to flow correctly with the Preval, and thinning that much can introduce issues-you basically have to build up mist coats- anything thicker and its run city. I wish the Preval had multiple heads to allow bigger droplet size to flow thru. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike.Mara Posted June 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2017 1 minute ago, Mr Natural said: I have used Preval sprayers but I must say- I don't know squat about polyester- but I think you would have to find a very thin polyester, or be able to thin it out for it to work. with some lacquers you have to thin almost 30% for it to flow correctly with the Preval, and thinning that much can introduce issues-you basically have to build up mist coats- anything thicker and its run city. I wish the Preval had multiple heads to allow bigger droplet size to flow thru. This is the problem I have with Solarez, is that it's extremely thick. It's what I used on my desk, and although great for curing fast... It was just a pain to let it level. I've also seen his video and I like the idea of using it on a guitar but the fact you have to let it level so long isn't ideal as dust can get trapped in the finish. The casting resin polyester is MUCH thinner, how much so I cannot say yet but I have seen some that look like they might be spray-able. They can flow into incredibly fine detail so they might just be thin enough. I have no experience with the Preval units so I'm just guessing their suitability. Failing that you have those propellant cans used to airbrush without a compressor... So may be an option there with the choice of needle size ect. I know polyester can be sprayed successfully since it's what these UV guitar finishes mostly seem to be made of... But getting it to spray I imagine will take some experimentation. From the user guides of these finishes, they have unusually long waiting times before UV curing (On average 15mins) which would indicate an addition of a thinner and the waiting time being for that to evaporate before curing. I'm willing to go through that experimentation and the costs involved to get a finish where I can be impatient lol. And of course to share the results and recipes here so others can either make it better or just use it for their own projects. Hopefully won't have to deal with runs but if mist coats is what it takes then that's what it takes lol. At least if there are runs you can sand them out that day. And regarding costs... The resin averages out here at about £7 a litre and a packet to cure it by UV costing around £2, so it's also an extremely affordable finish as opposed to commercial ones at about £40 per litre and having to buy by the gallon. Plus there's no need for expensive and dangerous UV cure lamps on top as we could use the sun. This is why I'm interested to see if I can make this work. Even with the thinners it will still work out cheaper than buying it commercially. (That's if you can even find a place that sells it to non-commercial end users.) Acetone works as a thinner too, evaporates fast and is cheap. Mike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike.Mara Posted June 14, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2017 OK... Some progress on my build. She's off with the tech now getting frets levelled and the nut slots done properly. I didn't fancy doing this bit myself since the tools needed would cost as much as the tech... Not to mention he has experience in this and I don't. He said he was pleased with the fret work I had done and it's going to be pretty standard and straight forward. Go me huh? I of course had a play before taking it down to him. It's a strange thing, the 28" scale took absolutely no getting used to. It felt just as natural as my 25.5" and 24.75" scales. The only issues were a bit of buzz which I expected being un-levelled, and a bum note on the 11th fret, low E which was due to a slightly too firm tap with the hammer so it was sitting slightly lower than the 12th. All going well (fingers crossed) I'll have her back in about 9 days. Here's a pic... Not planned, but she fit perfectly into the hard case my 7 string Ibanez came in. Neck pickup is just a dummy... I have to either wind or buy one, that's an F-spaced bridge pickup. Also the push pull tone sits a bit too proud so I'm going to have to order one with a shorter thread. (Plus the only 47nF cap I had laying around was a 600V orange drop which is huge... Slightly larger than the push-pull itself.) So apart from small things like putting on the truss rod cover and control cavity plate, pickup and a little alteration to the wiring... She's done! Mike. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted June 14, 2017 Report Share Posted June 14, 2017 That came out looking sweet! Still love the paw print. SR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike.Mara Posted June 22, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2017 Got her back from the guitar tech... He did an awesome job! Plays a dream now. Going to be a fun weekend!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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