Drak Posted May 23, 2015 Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 Some very interesting insights... I remember when I hit my burn-out wall years ago my circumstances were amazingly similar. I remember I had clocked in something over 110+ builds that I could verify one way or another. I had been at it at an obsessively furious pace for about +/- 12 years. I started around 1997-ish and hit my burn-out somewhere around 2008-ish. It was pretty weird when it hit, I wasn't exactly sure what to do about it for awhile. So I just said OK one day and put everything away. I didn't do anything dramatic like throw everything away or sell off anything, I just put it away. There are ebbs and flows to life and it is wise to listen to the inner voice. Not everything that comes at you is meant to be permanently with you. And if it leaves it feels a little weird for awhile, there is open space there that used to be occupied. Life is like a tide, it comes in, and it goes out, there's no need to go chasing it when it's going out. The building did come back after a few years, but at a much more relaxed and reasonable pace. Since I only ever did it for my own gratification and never sold anything, money never was a hook. I think some people that get into it as a hobby wind up getting snagged by the lure of money. I always kept my joy of building untainted by money so I never had that hook to deal with. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted May 23, 2015 Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 Where did you get the Olive anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted May 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2015 Some very interesting insights... I remember when I hit my burn-out wall years ago my circumstances were amazingly similar. I remember I had clocked in something over 110+ builds that I could verify one way or another. I had been at it at an obsessively furious pace for about +/- 12 years. I started around 1997-ish and hit my burn-out somewhere around 2008-ish. It was pretty weird when it hit, I wasn't exactly sure what to do about it for awhile. So I just said OK one day and put everything away. I didn't do anything dramatic like throw everything away or sell off anything, I just put it away. There are ebbs and flows to life and it is wise to listen to the inner voice. Not everything that comes at you is meant to be permanently with you. And if it leaves it feels a little weird for awhile, there is open space there that used to be occupied. Life is like a tide, it comes in, and it goes out, there's no need to go chasing it when it's going out. The building did come back after a few years, but at a much more relaxed and reasonable pace. Since I only ever did it for my own gratification and never sold anything, money never was a hook. I think some people that get into it as a hobby wind up getting snagged by the lure of money. I always kept my joy of building untainted by money so I never had that hook to deal with. Yeah, it is really hard when i try to stop building for a while. I feel like i am not doing anything productive. And i have so much invested in it, its like i am just wasting everything i spent money on. Where did you get the Olive anyway? I bought it from a veneer supply store online. It was huge. IT was around 40" long by 20" wide. I got 3 sheets of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted May 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2015 Here is a prime example of why you cant trust pictures on the internet. In this picture it looks amazing, flawless perfect gloss finish. When in reality, it has an infinite amount of heavy scratches from 2000 grit sandpaper that woudlnt buff out. as well as about 15 mini dimples. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted May 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2015 There are always different things that cause problems. I finally find a solution to my finish shrinking, then i start having other problems. I dont get why, but ever gutiar i have wet sanded recently ends up getting deep scratches somehow. Even while cleaning the paper every 10 seconds, it still ends up scratching the clear coat in some places. It leaves really deep scratches that look like 220 grit marks, but only in some places. And in some places the 2000 grit marks look a lot coarser. No matter what kind of a sanding block i use, or even if it is by hand, it still does this. I dont know what the deal is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted June 1, 2015 Report Share Posted June 1, 2015 Here is a prime example of why you cant trust pictures on the internet. In this picture it looks amazing, flawless perfect gloss finish. When in reality, it has an infinite amount of heavy scratches from 2000 grit sandpaper that woudlnt buff out. as well as about 15 mini dimples. That picture is indeed why you shouldn't trust what you see on the internet. It is also a good example of why you shouldn't sweat it so much. That looks amazing! Mine always end up with a few scratches I can't get out and some odd dimples too. And I have guitars that looked (mostly) perfect a couple of years ago that have some shrinkage into the grain. When I hunt for them or catch them in just the right low angle light I can see them. I used to think about taking all the hardware off and leveling them back down and re-polishing them. Yet every time I walk into the room they look amazing. When I am playing them and look at them they look amazing. Yeah, I can find what I percieve flaws, but when I add it all up the bottom line is they look amazing. And that makes me happy, so I don't worry about it and I'm not going to take them apart and rework the finish for something that won't look a dang bit better without a search under a low angle light. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted June 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 I would be ok with it if they were scratches and flaws you had to really look for to find. But the ones on this dont need to be looked for. It looks like a 10 year old used guitar. Scratches everywhere and fine swirl marks already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted June 2, 2015 Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 I don't know what finish you've been using or what your buffout recipe is, but I'll toss these out as common mistakes I made along the way: Could be you're starting your levelling process with too coarse a grit to begin with. Could be you're rushing through the grit stages too fast and not completely removing the previous scratches as you move up. Could be your finish hasn't cured hard enough before starting the finishing process. If you're using a crosslinking finish of any sort, they all call for pro buff equipment. You can't buff out a crosslinker by hand to acceptable gloss standards, it's a whole different ballgame. Crosslinkers are 'tough' and film finishes are 'brittle'. I did all those things and had to modify my process along the way to accomodate. These are the things I did to accomodate my mistakes: I started my levelling process while still shooting coats which filled in the deep scratches. By the time I was done shooting, I could start levelling with micromesh 1800 or even 2400. I made a rule of one grit a day and no more. That made me concentrate on using that grit thoroughly for that day until previous scratches were truly gone. It's hard to slow yourself down sometimes. At first, I would try to go through the whole process in one night and would wind up with deep scratches when done. I learned how to either avoid alltogether or use very very little retarder in my lacquer to keep my finish hard. The overuse of retarder will leave the finish permanently soft and open to future scratching. I moved away from using crosslinking finishes since at the time I decided to not fork out the money for a pedestal buffer. A pedestal buffer can and will remove any deep scratches you may have left behind, so not having one if finishing by hand means you really have to be uber-careful to get rid of them along the way. My one-grit-a-day rule was aimed at doing exactly that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted June 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 What is crosslinking finish, drak? I have never heard of that term before. The thing is,i know it isnt scratches from previous grits, because i always start with 2000 grit. It is almost like a little grain of sand or something gets under the sandpaper while i am wet sanding, no matter how clean i keep the paper. And if i do it by hand, with the same grit, there are still areas that the 2000 paper seemed to scratch more harshly than others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drak Posted June 2, 2015 Report Share Posted June 2, 2015 Crosslinkers are any finish that use any kind of 'activator' or use a 2-part system. Real polyurethane, polyester, waterbased (I think), catalyzed lacquer, precatalyzed lacquer, etc. They probably have a slew of them out now that I don't even know anything about. Maybe it's time you bought a pedestal buffer? Your quality of work certainly puts you in that arena. A buffer will heat up and remelt the surface to remove any scratches. That would be a good umbrella 'catch all' answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted June 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2015 I am sure the buffer is a part of the problem. I still gotta figure out the excessive scratching though. I keep running into different problems, so its hard to really get it down when i am not dealing with consistent issues. Here is a spalted maple strat i have been working on. I have always wanted to try a tinted finish like this. Looking good so far, except for the dang fish eyes again. Even though i cleaned it many times before spraying. Fisheyes are the hardest to fix because you cant sand them out without the whole finsh coming off. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted June 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2015 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted June 5, 2015 Report Share Posted June 5, 2015 We have always thought you had the greenest grass around. That thing outgreens your grass! What is that fretboard? bubinga? flatsawn wenge? SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted June 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2015 Haha, the camera setting sure makes the guitar pop and dulls the grass. The fretboard is indeed flatsawn wenge. I have used it on my last 3 guitars. I can finally find it locally, so it is probably my standard fretboard wood from now on. i can get a board that is enough for about 6 fretboards for 30 bucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiKro Posted June 6, 2015 Report Share Posted June 6, 2015 Looking good Luis!!! feeling good Billy Ray!!! Good to see you are back at it again Luis. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted June 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 10, 2015 Thanks mike. I ran itno a different issue with this one. Now the finish has started to crack in about 6 places on the top. Have to sand it all off and use an oil finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted June 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2015 So, I fully give up my efforts on gloss/ colored finishes. I thought i unlocked the secret with the solares as a sealer, but even with that, which is supposed to dry 100% cured in sunlight ad never move again, it still shrinks into grain. Seems completely impossible but it is still happening. No point in trying anymore. That was the last hope there was, and it isnt working. you would think after 10 years of absolute non stop building i would have eventually gotten it right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightroExpress Posted June 11, 2015 Report Share Posted June 11, 2015 It sounds like an issue with grain filling, but I can't imagine that you didn't use a grain filler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted June 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2015 It sounds like an issue with grain filling, but I can't imagine that you didn't use a grain filler. I stopped using a grain filler because it always shrinks. that is why i went to a polyester resin that is supposed to never shrink or move whatsoever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted June 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2015 Here are some pics of the second olive ash exp. Not messing around with any other finish, just going straight danish oil. Should be a great guitar. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck_Chill-Out Posted June 15, 2015 Report Share Posted June 15, 2015 The figure of the top reminds me of a spider body and my daughter thinks the neck is pretty. That's a good thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted June 15, 2015 Report Share Posted June 15, 2015 Man, you always find the coolest veneers. Looks like you've got a nice stock of wenge too. SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted June 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 17, 2015 Thanks Scott. These olive ash veneer sheets were huge, something like 45" long by 20" wide each. I got 3 for bookmatching. I still have 1 whole one left. Here it is with some oil. This kind of wood really took the oil better than i thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killemall8 Posted June 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2015 Complete. This is more like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottR Posted June 19, 2015 Report Share Posted June 19, 2015 Very nice. I just noticed the voids in the veneer Did you fill with whatever that black fill is, or did it come filled? Or are those knots that turned that dark with oil? SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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