i-j-c Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Ok, here's my finished Strat. It was a project I had in the garage for some time....so I finished it off last month. Spec. Body: Single piece Basswood body (with some mineral stripes) and a knot...!! Stained red with Nitro finish (6 coats) MOP pickgaurd (bought) Chrome and MOP topped nobs (bought) Chrome pickup covers (bought) Chrome selector nob (bought) Standard Copy strat bridge ( no idea who made it) Pups: SD SSL-1 Neck: 25.5" scale Medium Frets Rosewood board Mop Dots Plain maple neck (flat back) headstock truss rod adjustment with drilled ebony dowel. Brass handmade nut (rather) cheap tuners...but they keep the thing in tune very well. Roller string retainers (bought) It plays nice (imho)...anyway, the first of many I hope...ahve several other projects underway right now...soI'll post progress pics... Close up of the pot nobs...( I like these) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammy Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Pics dont work for me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i-j-c Posted February 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 I had the url wrong...they should work now....sorry about that.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammy Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Oh, they do now...how queer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnewman Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 That's some kind of shiny... I like it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fraser Welsh Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Very classy, I like it a lot... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mullmuzzler Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Very beautiful... It really looks great with the chrome p-up covers and knobs + the p-up selector is great (the tip)! Where did you buy that? mullmuzzler | OSSMT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i-j-c Posted February 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Thanks... Took me ages to find...I was nearly in the process of painting some pup covers with Alsa Corp Ghost Chrome Paint....then I found them. I bought the slector nob, the pot nobs and the pup covers from them...they also do them in gold. They are damn good quality to boot...the chrome does not come off... The source is in the UK..here is the website.... http://www.axesrus.com/axecart.htm If you want some bits...either order them from them..in which case you will pay shipping...or, if it's small items you are after...give me a nod and I'll send them to you free from the UK.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i-j-c Posted February 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Oh...and if it's any interest to anyone...I use car polishes and buffing compounds with a Porter Cable Random Orbital Buffer.....if it's good enough for my cars (and I do an awful lot of detailing work)...then it's good enough for me guitars.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 Just beautiful. Congratulations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlGeeEater Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 (edited) Holy crap dude! That thing is shaaaa-weeet! Damn! Good job bro. Im loving ALL the chrome on that thing Edited March 1, 2005 by AlGeeEater Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jehle Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 I love chrome. And you could write a polishing tutorial for us given those impressive results. I would love to see how you got that factory finish. Outstanding work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlGeeEater Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 (edited) I second the Jehle, how did you get all the chrome peices so shiny and the body? Edited March 1, 2005 by AlGeeEater Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 Nice match of red & chrome, one of my fave combos. And I love the knobs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i-j-c Posted March 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 Thanks very much...very kind of ya guys. Well, I'm a detailing nut...as can be seen on my own forum...so I apply the same polishing processes to a clearcoat or a paint without clearcoat as I do to a car. That said, I ALWAYS use a clearcoat on painted surfaces...especially RED...I give lessons and classes on detailing...and polishing. Anyway, here's a quick tutorial...(should I post a full one with pics somewhere else on this forum ??) For any finish - be it old or new...and especially old and especially a gigged guitar the finish gets thus (simply becasue I like to see things shiny) 1. CLAY...clay the surface with a lubricant - I use Megiuars Qick Detailer. If you do not know what clay is...it's basically the consistency of plasticene...a very fine compound. IT IS NOT A POLISHING compound and should never be used as such. Spay and area with a lubricant..and wipe the clay on in straight lines...do not rub. Now look at the clay you have just wiped...you will see it is fulll of crap..little black marks...this isairbourne and other contaminents...that you cannot see but are in the surface...the clay is used to 'pull' them out. FInish the surface. 2. You now need to clense and remove any swirl marks...you can see these usually by moving your guitar...against a light bulb you'll notice swirls in the surface. You need to get rid of these. I use several products depending how bad...but the one I mainly stick with is a product called P21s. It's a combo product that is a cleanser and swirl remover. You apply this by hand - I use a foam applicator pad. using STRAIGHT line motion..not circular. I lie this product as it leaves no residue or powder. This stuff also preps the surface by adding nutrients. 3. Deep Crystal Polish. Exactly what it says...and another Megs product. I apply this with the Porter Cable Random Orbital Buffer (or PC for short)...using faom pads. 4. I usually use Megs Gold class Wax next...again, I appply this by the PC using another foam pad. I then remove this with a sheepskin wool pad. 5. Finally, I then apply a hand glaze - either Einzett or Vanilla Mouse. This is a watery consistency and I apply this by hand using a foam applicator pad. I leave this to dry for about 3 hours. The buff off using a Microfibre towel. Yes, it may seem OTT...but I like to see a mirror finish..and this gets you a mirror finish..if any of you ever see my cars and other things, you'll know what I mean....I make my black car look like chrome...a real mirror like finish. I'll post a real tutorial listing all the products and methods in another post. I'll also mention other surfaces where I apply a hand finish. I'll also collate some pics of all my work (Guitars...and other stuff so you can see)... Cheers. Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i-j-c Posted March 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 I just re-read my post above...and my typing is atrocious..sorry about that!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlGeeEater Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 AWESOME! Thanks man. Im definatly saving that on my computer. I will apply this to my kramer which im doing black. I know black is real hard to get to look nice. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i-j-c Posted March 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 I love black..as can be seen from my cars....and it is A: probably the best colour...and B..probably the hardest to get a good finish on.. If you follow what I do, you will get a clean, non-swirly, mirror finish on that black Kramer... The good thing is..if you finish it that way to start with...keeping it looking sweet is not difficult. You only need apply a glaze or Wax once in a while. A good product to use after you have done all of the above...or similar is another product by Megs...which you guys in the US can get dirt cheap...It's called Meg NXT....should only cost you a couple of bucks...but it's a damn fine product...and makes the finish slinky smooth...and it lasts well....but remember...it is a FINISHING product...it will NOT remove swirls...you have to so that the elbow grease way.... Good luck man.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i-j-c Posted March 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 For AlgeeEater.. Here's what I mean about a mirror/chrome finish on black paint....tes I know it's a car...but it's the same process I was telling you about...I just don't have any black guitars yet to show you...but one is on it's way... These are two of my cars.. In the second pic below...the tiny white dots you see is a pearl finsih just below the clearcoat... Sorry for posting pics like this...but it was to help explain my earlier posts about no swirls and mirror finishing...Mods, please feel free to remove them if they are out of order / context for the form.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlGeeEater Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 Holy cow man! That is one shiny car! I hope to have my Kramer looking that nice. That stuff does a great job. Do you buff cars for a living or is it just something you learned? It looks like you have loads of expierience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i-j-c Posted March 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 Thanks...I don't do that for a living...I'm a Software Developer and IT Manager. I've been detailing cars and bikes for as long as I've been building guitars....about 20 odd years....something I've learned over the years....and something which i give classes in (detailing not guitar building)... Some others asked earlier about a tutorial...so tomorrow night I'll do a tutorial, with pics....on a 25 yr old classical that is in a real sorry state...it's the first guitar I ever built...( built with help of course from my late father...) I'll show all the techniques i've mentioned here and as much written detail as possible... If someone can get any benefit from it...great, I hope it helps... I just love all things shiny..! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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