t1r12003 Posted May 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2013 Love how it looks. that Floyd rose looks really slick. Thanks. Ibanez Edge trem. Put a big brass block on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t1r12003 Posted May 24, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2013 Top wet with naptha and black pickup rings. Tried to get the pic quickly before naptha dried and the neck pickup was crooked, but you get the idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lester Corncrake Posted May 25, 2013 Report Share Posted May 25, 2013 Absolutely rocks - without the pickup rings! Less so, with. If your routing is as clean as it looks in the pictures please leave them off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SerpentineGtars Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 That Buckeye Burl came up nice, how did you find working with it in general? We don't get that stuff here in the UK because Customs don't allow the export of its bark (or so I was told by a seller in the States), but I had a customer manage to get some past Customs when it was sent over for his custom build... I hated it! Had a big void to fill which went OK, the whole thing was then treated with superglue to fill the many smaller voids... but finishing was a nightmare! Three resprays in the end and it still didn't look 100%. What are you finishing the with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t1r12003 Posted May 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 That Buckeye Burl came up nice, how did you find working with it in general? We don't get that stuff here in the UK because Customs don't allow the export of its bark (or so I was told by a seller in the States), but I had a customer manage to get some past Customs when it was sent over for his custom build... I hated it! Had a big void to fill which went OK, the whole thing was then treated with superglue to fill the many smaller voids... but finishing was a nightmare! Three resprays in the end and it still didn't look 100%. What are you finishing the with? Agreed it's difficult stuff. I filled the large voids with black epoxy and all the small ones with super glue. I still have at least one or two more passes on the entire top with more super glue, leveling with a rubber squeegee, then sanding smooth. After I'm certain it's soaked up all it can, I'll move to sanding sealer, then a lacquer finish. I'll probably order the finishing kit from Stew Mac. Mahogany back and sides will get grain filled and sealed then sprayed with gloss black lacquer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 This is a Buckeye Burl I did a few years ago. Buckeye comes in various natural colors due to the drying/spalting process, this one was one of the 'blue/grey-ish' ones, where yours is a more natural Buckeye. I did dye this, but it really wasn't a heavy dye, I just slightly augmented/enhanced the natural color of it, then once I had it clearcoated and sanded flat, I shot a light edgeburst color coat on it, I'm not sure if this shot was taken before or after the shader coat, I think this was before the edge-burst, it was done really lightly tho. The dye really was just to lightly enhance the natural color of what was already there, I didn't try to totally do a 'left turn Clyde' and radically change it's natural color. Those big cat's eyes were hollow spots filled with pigmented 2-part epoxy. Following your process so far, the use of sanding sealer would be an unnecessary step. Yours looks really fine so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t1r12003 Posted May 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 Following your process so far, the use of sanding sealer would be an unnecessary step. Yours looks really fine so far! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 It's still sitting here almost done, like 20 other almost-finished projects, haha! Yes, the first coat of whatever type of finish you're using seals the pores of the wood up against any following coats and at that point, the wood is sealed. There is no special product that seals wood pores better than another, it's just the first coat of whatever it may happen to be. The primary purpose of sanding sealer (which I think is a little silly myself, but others quite like it), is to make sanding easier by adding soap to the lacquer, which, btw, makes the laquer softer overall if used to excessive amounts. That's it. I myself never found straight-up lacquer that hard to sand, so I never use it. Remember if you're going to wipe the whole surface with CA to fill up the soft spots AND you're going to dye it that you really need to sand it back really well so you don't get blobby spots where the dye couldn't get through the CA glue and get straight to the wood, which it needs to do. Sweet build, I love it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t1r12003 Posted May 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 It's still sitting here almost done, like 20 other almost-finished projects, haha! Yes, the first coat of whatever type of finish you're using seals the pores of the wood up against any following coats and at that point, the wood is sealed. There is no special product that seals wood pores better than another, it's just the first coat of whatever it may happen to be. The primary purpose of sanding sealer (which I think is a little silly myself, but others quite like it), is to make sanding easier by adding soap to the lacquer, which, btw, makes the laquer softer overall if used to excessive amounts. That's it. I myself never found straight-up lacquer that hard to sand, so I never use it. Remember if you're going to wipe the whole surface with CA to fill up the soft spots AND you're going to dye it that you really need to sand it back really well so you don't get blobby spots where the dye couldn't get through the CA glue and get straight to the wood, which it needs to do. Sweet build, I love it. Thanks for the tips. Before I started with CA glue, I made the decision it would be natural. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted May 26, 2013 Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 The alternative to dyeing is to shoot a tinted lacquer. That would avoid issues with dye not taking to areas sealed with CA anyway. Does your Maple need it though? I am not one for using dyes on figured woods as they tend to flatten the natural chatoyance/movement of the figure. Great for "popping" figure by darkening exposed end grain. You might still want to fill the pores of the Mahogany with CA however it can be quite unforgiving when sanding, second only to sanding epoxy. There are plenty of grain fillers out there that are easier and less poisonous to work with than large amounts of CA flashing off over a large surface burning your nasal and eye tissues with the fumes.... Apologies if I missed the point of what you are doing. Kind of sidetracked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t1r12003 Posted May 26, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 26, 2013 The alternative to dyeing is to shoot a tinted lacquer. That would avoid issues with dye not taking to areas sealed with CA anyway. Does your Maple need it though? I am not one for using dyes on figured woods as they tend to flatten the natural chatoyance/movement of the figure. Great for "popping" figure by darkening exposed end grain. You might still want to fill the pores of the Mahogany with CA however it can be quite unforgiving when sanding, second only to sanding epoxy. There are plenty of grain fillers out there that are easier and less poisonous to work with than large amounts of CA flashing off over a large surface burning your nasal and eye tissues with the fumes.... Apologies if I missed the point of what you are doing. Kind of sidetracked. No worries. CA (super glue) to seal the natural burl, no stain. Regular mahogany grain filler for sides and back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SerpentineGtars Posted May 27, 2013 Report Share Posted May 27, 2013 Looking forward to seeing the finished guitar now, keep posting yr updates Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t1r12003 Posted June 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2014 Well, it's been a long time, but I finally got back to this project. More pore filling of the buckeye burl top with super glue to make sure there are no holes or voids anywhere. Routed and drilled holes for the 3-way switch, trem posts, and volume knob. Next up is final sanding of the body, then grain filling the mahogany to prepare for spraying the back and sides black and clear coating the top. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted June 2, 2014 Report Share Posted June 2, 2014 Looking forward to you reaching the finishing post (no pun intended) on this one. You got the "tone" knob right! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t1r12003 Posted June 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2014 I know, I can't believe I started this back in Sept 2012. 2 years in the works. Life has a funny way of getting in the way of projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t1r12003 Posted June 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2014 Multiple rounds of grain filler and sanding back with 220, 400 and 600 grit paper. All grain filled. I went with a natural maple that I already had on my shelf, as the back and sides are getting sprayed with black lacquer anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t1r12003 Posted June 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2014 Got 4 coats of sanding sealer sprayed this afternoon. Grain is starting to pop out more on top. Also, starting carving the headstock cutout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t1r12003 Posted June 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2014 Finish sanded the cutout and also got rid of the little nics on the edge of the headstock. All taped up and ready for sealer and color. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t1r12003 Posted June 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2014 Sanded back the body with 400, wiped down and repeated. Back and sides look great, super smooth. The burl top showed quite a few pinholes that still haven't soaked up enough super glue. Went back over all those spot and flooded them again. I'll let the superglue cure and sand smooth again and see where I'm at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauliemc Posted July 4, 2014 Report Share Posted July 4, 2014 Sanded back the body with 400, wiped down and repeated. Back and sides look great, super smooth. The burl top showed quite a few pinholes that still haven't soaked up enough super glue. Went back over all those spot and flooded them again. I'll let the superglue cure and sand smooth again and see where I'm at. Filling with CA is handy, but if I am doing it I always make sure that I fill the area way the hell up. be it a pin hole, crack, spalt soft patch or whatever. I always do it 2 - 3 times to be sure. Yo want a slight build up of CA above the surface that you can microplane back with a scraper. That way you dont end up with issues with sinking finishes later (most of the time anyway, Spalt & burl can still come back & slap you sometimes) But still. Lookin real good so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t1r12003 Posted July 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2014 Progress pics. Body after one coat of black lacquer, then after 5 coats. Headstock shot shows a scratch, which looks way worse in this pic because it caught the light, however I will wet sand it back a bit and hit it again with another layer of color before clearing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t1r12003 Posted July 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2014 Top shot after a few coats of clear. Didn't catch a good shine, but it's starting to look better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t1r12003 Posted July 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 Couple more shots. On my 2nd can of clear now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted July 11, 2014 Report Share Posted July 11, 2014 Lay'er up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t1r12003 Posted July 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2014 All finished up spraying. In total, one can of sealer on the whole body, one can black lacquer on sides and back, one can clear on the top and a second can of clear for the whole body. I'll let it cure for 6 weeks then wet sand. Hardest part is the waiting game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.