IPA or death Posted August 11, 2007 Report Share Posted August 11, 2007 Looking good Wilcox. Your guitars are really quality work. Congratulations. I like the sunburst on that double cut. Will you also sunburst the headstock? I'm assuming you will, just with a thinner dark ring on the outside, correct? You brought up something I've been meaning to ask. What is the proper degree of final sanding on binding? I guess the lacquer needs something to adhere to, so 400 grit then the finish buildup makes it smooth and no sanding marks remain? Once again, great builds! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awilcox Posted August 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2007 Looking good Wilcox. Your guitars are really quality work. Congratulations. I like the sunburst on that double cut. Will you also sunburst the headstock? I'm assuming you will, just with a thinner dark ring on the outside, correct? You brought up something I've been meaning to ask. What is the proper degree of final sanding on binding? I guess the lacquer needs something to adhere to, so 400 grit then the finish buildup makes it smooth and no sanding marks remain? Once again, great builds! Not sure what the "correct" grit is for final sanding of the binding is, but I found the 400 gave a very clean surface on the binding for finishing. For final sanding of the binding before starting the clearcoat I use a thin strip of 400 grit and sand only the binding, trying not to slide onto the wood as I sand because I find that any sawdust picked up on the sandpaper from the wood will lodge in the sanding scratches on the white binding and show through. Then i wipe it down good with a good clean dry rag. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegarehanman Posted August 12, 2007 Report Share Posted August 12, 2007 Next time you're doing your final sanding, pick up some degreaser from an auto paint supply store. It's a cleaner that leaves no residue and is not caustic at all. It will take cocobolo dust out of maple pores with ease, which is worlds worse than anything getting into sanding scratches in plastic binding. Looking good, btw. Very clean work. peace, russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Summer Posted August 13, 2007 Report Share Posted August 13, 2007 PARDON ME, I DIDNT REALIZE THAT I WAS DROOLING ALL OVER THE PLACE. wow those guitars are looking sweet, i cant wait for the pics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awilcox Posted August 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2007 I did the sunbursts on the guitars on the weekend. They both turned out great, but the paint gun dripped some big drips of brown on the single cut (not real visible on the picture - but it is in real)...so I am going to have to sand that one down and refinish. It was my first time using a spray gun - they sure make doing a sunburst easy. Anyway, I should get all of the clearcoat on in another week and then I am going to let them dry for at least a month - should have the finished product pictures up in about 6 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WezV Posted August 13, 2007 Report Share Posted August 13, 2007 nice work!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted August 13, 2007 Report Share Posted August 13, 2007 Those are 2 of the best sunbursts I've ever seen! They look perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awilcox Posted August 13, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2007 Thanks, I was very timid to try a 2 color sunburst myself and actually thought about paying someone else to do it. My first thought was to use preval's to do the burst (as I use aerosols for my clears - not spray equipment), then my uncle offered to lend me his spray gun. I played with the gun for a bit using spraying thinner, and then shot the bursts. I set the gun to shoot a very fine spray and just kept going around the edge. When I got the width I wanted - I added a few drops of black dye to the lacquer and went around a few more times. A spray gun and compressor are definately on my "what to buy next" list. No more aerosols for me. The double cut is yellow with red/black burst and the double cut is abmber with brown black burst - but they look almost the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrentis Posted August 14, 2007 Report Share Posted August 14, 2007 Yeah, holy crap those are perfect! I'm with Ben on this, they are probably the best I've ever seen, just flawless. Thats terrible to hear that you had a drop, I can imagine that is something you must learn the hard way, either way I can only imagine your skills will improve, so I must say that I am anxious to see the refinish, lol. I can't get over how well those turned out, headstocks and all are just flawless, looks so amazing with that binding too. J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted August 14, 2007 Report Share Posted August 14, 2007 First off: very, very, very nice job! same wood, different part of the tree I guess. Nope, different species of mahogany, your neck appears to be Sapele. Second: you really can't identify mahogany types based on photographs, definitely not photographs of almost finished guitars. I've got honduran that looks like khaya, khaya that looks like sapele, sapele that looks like everything else, and any other combination you wish to think up. There are general trends, yes, but it's just as likely to be a bit of wood from a different part of the tree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slabbefusk Posted August 14, 2007 Report Share Posted August 14, 2007 Those are some tasty bursts there man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awilcox Posted August 14, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2007 Thanks, it was extremely painful sanding the top on the double cut last night - but I am back to bare wood. It was quite easy to sand off with 150 grit, this must be because the lacquer was only on for a couple of days and not real hard yet. I thought about changing the finish on this guitar because it was so close to the other one in looks, but I already have the headstock done and the control cavity cover, so I think I will reapply the same finish - hopefully without the drips this time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awilcox Posted August 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2007 I finally got the single cut restained and shot the burst again. I went a little wider with the black this time - but you can still see the grain through it even though it looks like you can't in the picture (bad lighting). I also finished the control cavitiy covers to match the tops. I have about 5 more coats of clear to go and then the wait for the nitro to cure begins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyManAndy Posted August 21, 2007 Report Share Posted August 21, 2007 Great job! Those cavity covers are awesome! Just curious, what thickness is binding you used on the body? CMA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awilcox Posted August 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2007 Great job! Those cavity covers are awesome! Just curious, what thickness is binding you used on the body? CMA It is 0.25" x 0.09" - from Stewart Macdonald. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awilcox Posted August 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2007 12 cans of nitro later - here they hang for a month to dry, waiting...I will post more pictures when they are finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregP Posted August 24, 2007 Report Share Posted August 24, 2007 On the LP-ish one, the way the headstock mimicks the body without being too overt or "obnoxious" about it-- simply genius. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awilcox Posted August 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2007 On the LP-ish one, the way the headstock mimicks the body without being too overt or "obnoxious" about it-- simply genius. Thanks, I am glad somebody finally got that - I tried to design the headstock to have the same flow to it as the body on the single cut, and then I used it on the double cut too. I thought about using a double point headstock on the doublecut, but I thout that it looked too "metal" for the guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awilcox Posted November 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2007 Well I finally got these two guitars buffed out and assembled. I entered the Double Cut in the GOTM this month. Now I can start at buffing out the flyng V! Single Cut Front Double Cut Front Double Cut Headstock Double Cut Body Single Cut Body Single Cut Back Double Cut Back Double cut no flash Single cut no flash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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