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Stone Cold Satriani


Drak

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Hey Drak, I used CA on my bass, and this is the 1st time that I do that. And I must add that it is way easier to sand than any epoxy I have used!

Or any other type of grain filler, to include stew macs.

Cool. I like it too. Epoxy is good, but I always seem to get it all over everything, it 'travels' onto everything I touch, so I generally avoid it unless I'm doing something like the spalt fill in, which then, it's great stuff to use.

I LOVE THIS BUILD

keep up the great work

Thank You. :D

And BTW, it had to have a Jackson neck to be a shredder, now doesn't it? B)

OK, here we go, the moment you've all been waiting for, COLOR! (well, black anyway) :D:D

134.jpg

Another Black Shot

One More Black Shot

We is now up to date as far as pics go, the next pics you see will be what it looks like right now.

The base blue/black finish is done, many clear coats have been shot, and it's time now to level sand, do the bursts and blue up the back of the body and neck, so welcome to the present!

I have also blacked out all the cavities.

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Great work Drak, your stuff always inspires me. I am wondering, what is the general rule as far as AANJs go? How much wood can you take off (or how much wood do you need) and still have a strong join? How much wood do you usually have from the top of the neck to the back of the body? I haven't really found any info dealing with this.

Thanks,

CMA

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The base blue/black finish is done, many clear coats have been shot, and it's time now to level sand, do the bursts and blue up the back of the body and neck, so welcome to the present!

OH GOD I CANT WAIT!!! :D

!!METAL MATT!! :D

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Back to johnsilver's question about what's going on with the Limba, I'll explain it now:

The rear got CA glue as pore filler, then clear nitro shot over that until it's perfectly level, (which is where I'm at with it right now actually) then I'll shoot a beautiful blue toner coat over that, (I might actually do that today), then more clear coats.

It is going to have a dark blue then black edge burst to it too, which is all coming up in the next few days. :D

:D

That limba is hot.

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I wanted to discuss how I go about finishing, because basically, I have already started the finishing process even tho the bursts aren't even on it yet.

Stage 1:

After the CA glue (2 coats) was applied to the back (then sanded back a few hours later) and the dye applied to the front (and rear of the neck) of the body, I shot about 8 clearcoats, waited about 2-3 weeks, then leveled with 320 grit paper. The leveling wasn't 100%, but about 80%. There were a few obvious pores still present on the back, no big deal. Not trying to get it perfect at this point, but the finishing process has begun right there, at the first levelling stage.

Then I shot maybe another 6 coats of clear after the first levelling.

When shooting the first and second sets of clearcoats, my mix is roughly 60% nitro to 40% thinner. Thick lacquer, piling it on. I normally shoot at 30 psi with a very wet mix here at this stage.

Stage 2:

Then, after I've wetsanded it with 1800 then 2400 grits, I will shoot the burst coats.

The burst toner coats are VERY thin, like 20% nitro to 80% thinner.

Why?

Because the guitar is now basically 70% finished, the bursts don't need hardly any lacquer, just enough to make them stick. You don't want to form a 'ridge' of lacquer now, the guitar is very smooth and sleek, and I want to keep it that way, so -very- thin burst coats.

I usually shoot burst coats at 10-15 psi, and am really watching my finger on the trigger, not depressing all the way, keeping very tight control over what's going on and going very slowly and methodically.

YOU CAN ALWAYS ADD MORE, YOU CAN'T TAKE AWAY WHAT'S ALREADY THERE.

Sometimes I will stop and shoot a thin wet clearcoat to see if it's where I want it to be. If it's not there yet, I go back to the toner mix and shoot some more until I'm happy. This is where having 2 guns comes in handy.

Stage 3:

After the color coats are on, I'll shoot maybe another 6-8 coats of clear, but now I'm shooting something like 40% nitro, 60% thinner at about 20 psi. I don't want ANY spray wave, ridges, humps, or bumps now.

If they come, they will be small and minimal, no big deal.

Then it will sit for a few weeks, then I pick up the wetsanding at about 3200 and on to the rest of the wetsanding grits and finally on to the buffing compounds until done.

So you see, the finishing process is really part of, and intertwined with, the finish application process.

As I'm applying finish, I'm also levelling the finish, step by step, until when the guitar has had the last coat of lacquer shot on it, there's really not a whole lot of finishing left to do, and no chance of deep scratches from the 'raw' grits left in the finish. :D

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second the 'get the limba out' :D

I like my pickup selectors right under the pickups... easy to flick it with your pinky when you're still playing. I tend to recess mine (PRS stylee) and use small fat actuator switches. works well... big enough to me easy to get to.... not so big you hit it accidentally.

S

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See post no. 26 for the Limba shot. B)

Weather is supposed to be good tomorrow, burst coats should go on then, then I'll have some shots of some Blue Limba. :D

Just finished the wetsanding with 1800, getting ready to start the 2400 stage and wrap it up for the night.

I always watch old horror movies when I'm wetsanding, don't ask why, it's a tradition here at The Castle. :D

Tonight it's White Zombie, I LOVE Bela Lugosi ( B) )

...like that was real hard to figure out... :D

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:D that guitar just blew my mind B)

I would love to see some daytime shots of it but Im sure it will look just as sexy

!!METAL MATT!! :D

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