mikhailgtrski Posted February 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2006 (edited) Now the sides are masked off. I wiped down the maple with a damp rag to raise the grain, then sanded lightly with a 320 grit foam backed pad. Edited February 2, 2006 by mikhailgtrski Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted February 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2006 Now a pass of really dark tobacco brown (1 part Colortone to 4.5 parts H20). Can't see them in this pic, but there are a few spots around the edge where I either left some small shellac smudges or didn't get all the tape residue off. (I left the green 3M masking tape on too long - couldn't find my roll of blue that day...) But those spots should go away when I sand it back. More to come... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted February 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2006 Ahhh! A Black cat! You are sure to mess up now. Hehehe. Upon returning from posting these pics, I found that the black cat's gray brother had gotten up on the counter and walked through my work area... Little tobacco brown pawprints all over (guitar's ok - he didn't touch it). Fortunately, naphtha and a lot of elbow grease removes Colortone stain from white formica. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jens Posted February 3, 2006 Report Share Posted February 3, 2006 Haha! Told you so! Anyway, the guitar looks great. Hope you manage to fix those spots when you sand it back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calum_Barrow Posted February 3, 2006 Report Share Posted February 3, 2006 Lookin really nice. I LOVE the colour you've got than mahogany to now. Keep it up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unusual71 Posted February 3, 2006 Report Share Posted February 3, 2006 great finish, it looks really good. ive gotten away from using the 3M green, i hate the stuff with a passion. i now use some better stuff, its called, Easy Mask KleenMask, i haven't used it long, but it looks good so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted February 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2006 ive gotten away from using the 3M green The 3M green 1/8" pinstriping tape works really well for the binding edges. But for general masking the blue is easier to work with and you can leave it on longer without problems. There's a reason why the green is labeled "three day safe release." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted February 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2006 (edited) Took a few days to do some more dye testing before I went further... Back on task - did another pass of dark tobacco brown, then sanded back with 400 grit. 1st sand back Then a pass of lighter tobacco brown (1:32) light brown For some reason that pass turned out quite a bit darker than it did on my test piece, so I got out the 400 grit again and did a heavier sand back, making sure the high spots in the grain were nice and light: So, today I learned that flame maple on a carved top is a lot more work to sand back than my flat test slab of quilted maple. Mike Edited February 13, 2006 by mikhailgtrski Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted February 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2006 Now a pass of diluted tobacco brown (1:48) More pics to come... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted February 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2006 Now we're getting somewhere... a pass of red (Colortone Cherry Red @ 1:21) Adventures in tortoise shell to be continued... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclipse666 Posted February 14, 2006 Report Share Posted February 14, 2006 nice work... this is gonna be good....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted February 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2006 Next, I scrubbed out the red with alcohol, a couple of passes. After that a pass of yellow (Colortone Lemon Yellow @ 1:21): yellow pass Another view: yellow pass Once it dries I'll wipe it down with naphtha to check the color. If it's right I'll seal it with a washcoat of shellac. This tortoise shell seems to shift color a bit from yellowish to reddish, depending on the light. Pretty cool. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted February 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2006 Scraped the top edge of the faux binding tonight: top view Notice my "Dan Erlewine Special" binding scraper (razor blade with piece of credit card taped on for a stop gauge) to the left. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar2005 Posted February 18, 2006 Report Share Posted February 18, 2006 Very nice color on the body. It has a lot of depth. About the neck, did you do the inlays yourself? F.M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted February 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2006 About the neck, did you do the inlays yourself? Thanks, yes, that was my first attempt at inlay. Hours and hours and hours! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted March 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 Sealed and ready for clearcoating... matching headstock Now I just have to turn one of the attic rooms into a spray booth Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rokeros Posted March 13, 2006 Report Share Posted March 13, 2006 Like the headstock. Kinda ormsbyish lol... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott from _actual time_ Posted March 15, 2006 Report Share Posted March 15, 2006 wow--beautiful staining job there. thanks for posting your stain mix ratios as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderblitz Posted March 17, 2006 Report Share Posted March 17, 2006 Wow, nice work. And also, thanks for the idea of the bridge grouding hole. I was asking myself where I should put the hole to ground my TOM, now I know Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted April 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2006 Update... I decided to spray a couple more coats of shellac, then scuff sanded with 400 grit until it was level. Sprayed the first coat of nitro, let it flash for 5 - 10 minutes, put it under the fan for 15 minutes, then put it in the heat box for 15 - 20 minutes... oops - internal dialogue is saying "should have tested on scrap first" - 12" turned out to be a little too close for the heat lamp and I got some slight bubbling on the back. I adjusted the lamp to be 18" away and the top and the neck turned out much better - no bubbles. Of course, now I'm sanding the back (should be able to leave the sides alone) down to bare wood so I can reapply the stain. And, of course, I ran out of the tobacco brown. Oh well, a minor detour... at least I didn't mess up the top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted April 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2006 Back on track Sanded the back, re-stained it and wiped on a few coats of shellac. I found a few really small bubbles in the area around the volume knob - my theory is that the wood is thin there and the heat from over-cooking the back side caused the bubbling. I successfully drop-filled those with lacquer. Clearcoating to continue tomorrow... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted April 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2006 I managed to spray 3 coats yesterday... and no more bubbling issues. It's working really well now that I've got the procedure sorted out: - Let it sit for 5 minutes after spraying - Bake one side for 15 minutes with the infrared lamp 18" away - Take it out of the heat box and let it cool for 5 minutes (I realized I had forgotten this step the first time) - Bake the other side for 15 minutes. - Let it dry for 3 hours between coats I can probably push the baking cycle a few more minutes now that it's got some build. This Behlen's rattlecan nitro seems to be pretty good stuff - builds quickly, sprays nicely without spitting, and you'd really have to go crazy with it to get anything approaching a run or drip. I'm just spraying medium-wet coats. Hopefully two more coats tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jer7440 Posted April 25, 2006 Report Share Posted April 25, 2006 Do you have any pics of your heat box setup? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted April 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2006 Do you have any pics of your heat box setup? I'll try to post one later, but it's really simple: I took the large cardboard box that my drill press came in, taped the flaps open to give it more height (about 20"), and cut a hole in the bottom for the lamp to shine through. It's just a cheap reflector with a 250 watt red infrared lamp. I lay the body down on a folded up bedsheet, place the box over it, set the lamp over the hole and bake away. Algee gave me the idea for it. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikhailgtrski Posted April 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2006 (drum roll)... here's my Totally High-Tech Heat Box inside the box After 5 coats (4 on the back due to bubble episode ) I scuff sanded with 400 grit: front back headstock (not sanded) neck (not sanded) I got some really tiny bubbles in the last coat, near the upper waist. Not due to the heatbox this time - my guess is I got too close with the can and some propellant got trapped in the finish. I dabbed lacquer thinner on the bubble areas and brushed on some lacquer. I'll see how it sands out tomorrow. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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