PTU 7's. Posted November 8, 2007 Report Share Posted November 8, 2007 Oh man, i didn't follow the procces. It looks amazing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oblaty Posted November 8, 2007 Report Share Posted November 8, 2007 Have you also finished the fingerboard with tru oil? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted November 8, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2007 I put just one coat of tru oil on the fingerboard, and it darkened the rosewood up considerably. There was some bleed through under the tape when I had the fretboard taped over, so you can see some tru oil residue on the fretboard that I still need to use some steel wool to get off. But I did not finish it with multiple coats like the rest of the neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyManAndy Posted November 18, 2007 Report Share Posted November 18, 2007 Nice job! The tru-oil glosses up nicely! How does it feel? CMA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted November 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2007 Nice job! The tru-oil glosses up nicely! How does it feel? CMA Thanks. It would have had a slicker feeling if I'd left it matte finished, but it feels nice to me regardless. But more like a lacquer now that it's glossed up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted November 26, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 Started grainfilling the guitar body tonight. There are a lot of different methods for this, and after much reading I finally just picked one and said the heck with it, i'm going to give it try. The front of the body currently has 2 coats of Z-poxy on it. I'll let it cure overnight and tomorrow night i'll do the back, then finally the sides. It seems to be filling the pores quite well with 2 coats. There is a little build up on top of the wood now. I used a credit card to push it into the grain, across and at an angle to the grain. The appearance of the wood is amazing now, I can get a real idea of how awesome the body is going to look once there is finally a finish on it. The picture certainly does not do it justice. My father-in-law has an HVLP setup, and i've finally decided for sure that i'll spray nitro lacquer with that. I've still got a lot of research to do regarding the process, since i've never used anything but rattle cans for painting. Anybody got any recommendations for tutorials/sites/books on HVLP finishing, particularly with regards to guitars? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 Sorry Matt, I do not. I just practiced until I kind of figured it out, I'm learning like you are. Great looking guitar though! This whole build has inspired me to set off a piece of Walnut aside for myself, I can't wait until I get started on that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted December 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2007 (edited) I've been working on sanding the body back down with 320, leaving the pores filled with the z-poxy. Overall it worked very well. There are a few areas where the pores are exposed somewhat, but I expect the lacquer will fill that just fine, given enough coats. The body looks quite good, although it is a bit splotchy in the picture thanks to the epoxy. There are a few small areas that I need to go back and sand again to get rid of a couple of shiny spots, but once that is taken care of it will be ready to begin laying down some lacquer. As you can see in the picture I went ahead and mocked it up and made sure that everything fits properly. So far so good. Although I already broke the high e-string (Apparently the e-z lock tuners aren't e-z enough for me ). The neck is going to take a little work to get everything to set up and intonate properly, but the action height looks good and there is some adjustability there, which was the biggest thing I was concerned about at this point. I must admit, it's quite a feeling of triumph when you put the strings on for the first time. Edited December 16, 2007 by mattharris75 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk chris Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 looks good can't wait to see it all done and ready to play Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted January 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 Thanks Chris. I have been making progress. I've been spending a lot of time researching the finishing process and fret work, just to make sure that I get a great finished product, so the progress hasn't been as quick as one might like. But I've learned a ton! And that will pay off on future builds. I decided to spray KTM9, because i'm going to have to spray inside my father-in-laws basement due to the weather. It's several thousand square feet, but there is no special equipment for evacuating the dangerous solvents, so KTM9 appears to be the best water-based option. Because of that, I needed to make sure that I had an even coat of epoxy over the guitar body to help pop the grain and provide the amber coloring that the waterbased lacquer won't provide. So, I cut the epoxy finishing resin 50/50 with denatured alcohol and put a coat on the guitar and then burnished it with 0000 wire wool and naphtha and then repeated the process for a second coat. It looks great and other than being taped up is ready to paint. I ordered the KTM9 today. Perhaps i'll be able to spray it the weekend after next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 That doesn't even look like the same body, very nice work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted August 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2008 Finally, progress. My second guitar is already finished, and my first has been languishing in near-completeness for many months now. The finish on this one is done. Epoxy grainfill, and coat of poly, and then built up with nitro to finish it out. Looks like it's been dipped in glass! I'm hoping to get it wired next week and finish up a few details at the same time, as well as get it set-up. Hopefully it will be totally finished in a matter of weeks...It's about time! Click for full sized pics: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted August 9, 2008 Report Share Posted August 9, 2008 taken a while but looks fraking awesome!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElysianGuitars Posted August 9, 2008 Report Share Posted August 9, 2008 how do you like the KTM9? i've sprayed about 6 coats of it so far, and i'm liking it now that i've got it figured out. guitar looks great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted August 9, 2008 Report Share Posted August 9, 2008 looks good. your lucky you diddnt have problems shooting laquer on top of poly though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travismoore Posted August 9, 2008 Report Share Posted August 9, 2008 Its been awhile but it looks awesome, Well worth the wait =D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattharris75 Posted August 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2008 Thanks guys. Elysian, I actually ended up whimping out and sending this off to a pro to spray it, so it's not KTM. I will eventually try the KTM, I just felt like I needed to practice before I went for it on a live guitar, and I didn't have time to do that and wanted to go ahead and get this one done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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