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Searls Guitars Build Thread


demonx

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I was obviously a bit too careless with the gun on the last clear day as the Mock repaint ended out with a terrible run.

IMG_5230small_zps68772772.jpg

The quick fix, tape around it and I knocked it back with some 320 wrapped tight around a cork sanding block:

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From there I removed the tape and wet sanded with 2000 grit and some elbow grease = runs gone:

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the front after wet sand and polish:

IMG_5237small_zps3e799701.jpg

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That and I've been working a lot more at the factory and running around sourcing and planning a house resto, hense why I've been working more to help fund it, so I've been flat out and most guitar stuff has been out on the back burner. Just have to get these three customer guitars finished to free up a bit more time.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've taken a day off the house renovations to spend on the customer Warlock refurb I took on a while back.

Sanded back the last clear primer coat I sprayed weeks ago and then mixed up this custom candy mix using 2k candy dyes in the colors violet, red/yellow, add to that some basecoat blender and some reducer and you have a trans candy 2k base coat:

IMG_5277small_zpsa660658f.jpg

Then I managed to spill half of it on the mixing bench, leaving just enough to spray the guitar with none left over:

IMG_5279small_zps480bea45.jpg

Anyone that ever followed my threads knows that the camera doesnt like the lighting in my spray area, but heres some snap shots anyway.

This pic was after two coats of the candy I mixed - ended out spraying three total:

IMG_5280small_zpsdd246e9e.jpg

Then I came in with the touch up gun and shot a burst:

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This pic was after the first clear coat:

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This pic was after the second clear coat, I ended out spraying three:

IMG_5285small_zpsc8793a31.jpg

I'll end out leaving this for a week or so and then wet sanding and polishing. Hope to hell I dont sand through!

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It's an awesome red, but it doesn't look that great on this guitar for some reason.

I think it may be because its old maple from Japan, its a lot more yellow than other maples I've sprayed this candy over so it changes the end color.

This is the same color mix I used on my personal 7 string with black burst a couple years ago which looks insanely cool and have had plenty of requests for the same color since, however this is only the third guitar that's received it.

http://searlsguitars.com.au/Gallery/014/014gallery.html

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  • 1 month later...

All those blue accents ending up working out nicely. It is truly a testament to your skills to have built a guitar nice enough to reduce what would have only been distractions on a lesser piece to accents and design elements.

That may be the most difficult thing I have seen anyone pull off.

Hats off sir, that was masterfully done.

SR

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All those blue accents ending up working out nicely. It is truly a testament to your skills to have built a guitar nice enough to reduce what would have only been distractions on a lesser piece to accents and design elements.

That may be the most difficult thing I have seen anyone pull off.

Hats off sir, that was masterfully done.

SR

I have to agree. Thats one of the coolest color combinations /accents I've seen in a while. Nicely done.

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  • 1 month later...

This guitar has been sitting untouched since January as I had customer orders and other more priority jobs that I had to get done first (like some house renovations). Today I dusted it off, did a bit of fretwork and installed the side dots.

935861_489081267840379_1703831378_n.jpg

603026_489081277840378_580289892_n.jpg

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Oh man I can not wait to be free of customer work for a while... I have so many unfinished projects.

So I absolutely hate doing fret dots after the neck is set. For me it is a miss and I have to struggle with the whole guitar.

Do you normally install dot markers after a neck is set?

Nice work as always.

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Oh man I can not wait to be free of customer work for a while... I have so many unfinished projects.

So I absolutely hate doing fret dots after the neck is set. For me it is a miss and I have to struggle with the whole guitar.

+1 to that. I hate when I miss the dots & have to do them after i have the neck installed.

as to customer work. I only just got a heap of acoustics out the door for a client in the past week, & 2 customers come in today ordering an acoustic guitar each.

Diggin the funky fretboard on that thing there Mr Demonx, works realy well with those body timbers.

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Rad: its a neckthru, yes I always do the side dots at this stage.

I like to radius the board after its mounted and I like to install side dots after its radiused.

I've never actually made a set neck.

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The Wenge had a nice little surprise for me when I went out to the workshop this morning.

It's not bubbled on the mahogany or the Padauk, just the wenge.

I'll let it hang for a few days to get hard and sand it all back.

IMG_5796small_zpsaf50aeb8.jpg

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Quite the conundrum then. Last time I used Wenge with a finish was under solid paint and I filled that with good old Brummers grain filler. All I can think of that can be weird with Wenge is the occasional resin pocket and the monster pore structure.

<edit>

I was just going over this in my head. First I would rule out that there is nothing reacting with the paint. It is localised purely to the Wenge so whatever is different about the Wenge is the key. I doubt it is resin since that is generally a patchy flaw. All that remains is the pore structure. I would suspect that it is down to paint solvent gassing off into the wood where it is trapped and expanding, the pressure of this pushing against the curing paint from the underside, causing bubbles. It might be that Wenge needs lighter coats (or an adjusted paint mix) and/or longer gassing off times between coats?

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What adds to the mystery is I used this same plank of wenge with this same tub of epoxy in the Clancy star.

My guess is that its been freezing cold here and that the excessive large pores in the wenge have taken on more moisture than it may have six months ago the last time I used it. When it was in the woodfire heated environment with the epoxy, which also creates its own heat during the curing process, then somehow its created these bubbles which resemble the solvent pops caused by too much heat during spray painting. Well, that's one guess.

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