Moreau Posted December 17, 2004 Report Share Posted December 17, 2004 What kind of finishes look best on Cocobolo tops? I was thinking of using watco oils on my whole bass. but i was curious how the figure would look. I know alembics use a gloss, and its drop dead sexy, but is there a good way to keep the grain and colour like the alembics, by using an oil? Alembic Heres a sweet pic of a nice coco top. Anyone have any ideas? experiences? they wanna share? thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackyB Posted December 17, 2004 Report Share Posted December 17, 2004 What kind of finishes look best on Cocobolo tops? I was thinking of using watco oils on my whole bass. but i was curious how the figure would look. I know alembics use a gloss, and its drop dead sexy, but is there a good way to keep the grain and colour like the alembics, by using an oil? Alembic Heres a sweet pic of a nice coco top. Anyone have any ideas? experiences? they wanna share? thanks. Sorry I can't answer your question, but damn that is a nice guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren wilson Posted December 17, 2004 Report Share Posted December 17, 2004 You could probably build up a nice deep sheen with lots of layers of Tru-Oil. Just follow the instructions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moreau Posted December 17, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2004 (edited) Im not too picky about my guitars... I like alot, but i gotta say alembic makes some of the nicest, priciest guitars ive seen. Not to say they are the best, but they definitely get heavy consideration. But im finding alot of thin pieces on the net.... like not thin. but narrow. and theyre nice figure, might do a striped laminate top coco/maple/coco/maple... or something Ps... i might be using watco oils a la carl thompson.... simple n good looking Edited December 17, 2004 by Moreau Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted December 17, 2004 Report Share Posted December 17, 2004 wow I just changed my mind. I'm going to put a cocobolo top on my guitar. The heck with maple Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moreau Posted December 17, 2004 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2004 A convert... Use cocobolo and ye shall be saved.. via the use of breathing protection... heard its some bad stuff to inhale. will it be ok if i do it in a shop? you only need to wear protection while ur working right? afterwards theres no risk eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivin Posted December 17, 2004 Report Share Posted December 17, 2004 Drak did an awesome Flying V with a cocobolo top on, and from memory that was some sort of high gloss finish - it looked sexy - Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www Posted December 18, 2004 Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 A convert... Use cocobolo and ye shall be saved.. via the use of breathing protection... heard its some bad stuff to inhale. will it be ok if i do it in a shop? you only need to wear protection while ur working right? afterwards theres no risk eh? Wear breathing protection as long as their is dust in the shop! BTW< Cocobolo is fun to sand on. It sands easy and makes a nice gold dust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asm Posted December 18, 2004 Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 Drak did an awesome Flying V with a cocobolo top on, and from memory that was some sort of high gloss finish - it looked sexy - Dan im pretty sure he used just Veneer on the top and headstock. finding a thick enough piece will be difficult, and even more difficult to find one to to a drop top or carved top to. and if you do find one, gluing it will be a problem. ive seen a whole top pop off while using titebond during unclamping it. its one of the most oily woods you can choose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted December 18, 2004 Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 Thanks! That was catalyzed lacquer first, then regular nitro over top. Took me 5 -YEARS- to finish that guitar. And probably 7-8 strip-and-refinishes before I finally found a recipe that worked for me. I started that guitar before I really knew what I was doing, and I just wouldn't give up on it until I had figured out a way that worked for me. I was going to comment here, but my comment was going to be that I don't recommend Coco-Bolo for a first timer at ALL, there's way too much stuff to learn about it when you're still trying to learn how to build the guitar itself. It's like learning to drive for the first time in an overloaded 18-wheel semi- instead of a little Honda hatchback 5-banger. You're bound to have many more accidents in the big rig than in the Honda. But I didn't want to be the fly in the ointment so I was keeping my mouth shut. Catalyzed lacquer can kill you, I will say that. And other people do it other ways, I'll say that too. And lastly, I'll say, like I always do, that I think guys who buy expensive AAAAA type of wood for their first guitar are making a big mistake, but I'm sort of tired of going against the tide on that one, so do what you wanna do, I hope you pull it out. PS, none of my Coco-Bolo guitars are veneer, it's all the real deal, split and booked. I did do a Waterfall Bubinga V in veneer tho, maybe asm is thinking of that one. Here's a shot of both the Coco-Bolo and Bubinga V's together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asm Posted December 18, 2004 Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 wow. i thought that cocobolo V was a veneer top. sorry. even nicer. do you have any bigger pics of it? all i saw was on the GOTM frontpage. also, can you tell me a little more about your finish, like what brand, ect. did you shoot it yourself? how long did the actual process take of doing the lacq then nitro take (not counting trial and error of finding what you wanted). im really trying to find a finish for mine. need some pics of yours to refrest my memory. thx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted December 18, 2004 Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 hey drak what does you coco guitar sound like? My mext guitar I wanna make the whole thing out of it. but i'm wondering about it's tonal properties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asm Posted December 18, 2004 Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 nice pics drak. couple more questions... what did you final sand with before you shot? was that body around about 300? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted December 18, 2004 Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 wow. i thought that cocobolo V was a veneer top. sorry. _____ No biggie. _____ even nicer. do you have any bigger pics of it? all i saw was on the GOTM frontpage. _____ Yeah, I have plenty of pics of it, but not hosted up on the net, just these I took with the Bubinga V beside it. _____ also, can you tell me a little more about your finish, like what brand, _____ Danspeed catalyzed lacquer, then my regular nitro. I don't even know what brand of nitro I use, been using it for so long, I just pick up 'nuther gallon when it's time. _____ did you shoot it yourself? _____ Yes. For five freakin' years. Over. And over. And over again. And again.... _____ how long did the actual process take of doing the lacq then nitro take (not counting trial and error of finding what you wanted). _____ I let my guitars dry for several months before rubbing out, so it was probably 4-5 months before I finished it up, but I don't honestly remember anymore. _____ im really trying to find a finish for mine. need some pics of yours to refrest my memory. thx. _____ I do have some nice close-ups of it, I'll see if I can uplink 'em this weekend, fullserve seems to be down tonight, I was already trying to upload something else a short while ago. No go. As long as you've finished a few guitars before, and you already have knowledge of finishes and finishing, I'll tell you anything you want to know, but if you've never done any finishing before, I think you're in for an uphill battle. I don't say the things I said for no reason. As I said, it took me 5 years to do mine, and I was asking advice thruout the whole episode over at the MIMF, and it STILL took me 5 years and many refinishes to get it the way I wanted it and the way it deserved to be. So don't expect it to be at all easy, no matter how much advice you get. That's why I said what I said. But I know, it IS beautiful wood, and I can't blame anyone for wanting to use it, but you better have a LOT of determination inside ya, or find a better and easier and faster way than I did. _______________ hey drak what does you coco guitar sound like? My mext guitar I wanna make the whole thing out of it. but i'm wondering about it's tonal properties. _______________ Believe me, you don't want me to give you an honest answer out here on the open forums on that one, it would sting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VanKirk Posted December 18, 2004 Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 Took me 5 -YEARS- to finish that guitar. And probably 7-8 strip-and-refinishes before I finally found a recipe that worked for me. I started that guitar before I really knew what I was doing, and I just wouldn't give up on it until I had figured out a way that worked for me. That's got to be the luckiest guitar on the planet. I'm sure it was probably the most nervous one too after witnessing it's share of potential guitars sail into the "wall-of-death" at high velocities becoming a twisted pile of splinters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spirit Posted December 18, 2004 Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 Took me 5 -YEARS- to finish that guitar. And probably 7-8 strip-and-refinishes before I finally found a recipe that worked for me. I started that guitar before I really knew what I was doing, and I just wouldn't give up on it until I had figured out a way that worked for me. That's got to be the luckiest guitar on the planet. I'm sure it was probably the most nervous one too after witnessing it's share of potential guitars sail into the "wall-of-death" at high velocities becoming a twisted pile of splinters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted December 18, 2004 Report Share Posted December 18, 2004 Be warned if you try to put cocobolo & maple right next to each other...the coco is really (REALLY) oily and when you sand, you'll dirty up the maple real quick. It can be avoided by putting some sanding sealer on just the maple first, and then sanding flat and watching to make sure you don't sand through the sealer (e.g. reapply as needed). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoofnagle Posted December 19, 2004 Report Share Posted December 19, 2004 Here is a link to a discussion on another site. About 2/3rds the way down the thread there is a description of weight and sound of a cocobolo guitar. http://p213.ezboard.com/fthornnewsanddiscu...opicID=88.topic Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.