Prostheta Posted July 22, 2017 Report Share Posted July 22, 2017 I really dig the contrast between the traditional and the modern in one instrument. Bummer about the sandthroughs but it looks sweet as hell anyway man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pan_kara Posted October 24, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 Still not finished, I decided to top it with a thin layer of nitro, I'm redoing the pickguard (made a new template already).. I did finish the swirl video at least: 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 Love the underwater camera Nicely done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pan_kara Posted October 24, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 thanks Norris. well I figured I'd make some use of the gopro .. I'd have gotten a much better shot if the container was 30 or 50cm deeper though. oops just saw that my thread is not all photobucket-upgrade-nonsense instead of photos. aw crap. will have to do a cleanup... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Natural Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 Dude-cool ass video- nice job. +1 on the underwater shots. couple things- 1)- I am jealous of your hair. Cause I have little left 2)- digging your Imperial March metal style video- did you build that fretted/fretless guitar by chance. VERY COOL. 3)- the quality of video you have produced on those music videos is worth a shout out. Very good quality video - very nice job man- seriously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pan_kara Posted October 24, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 Thanks, man. My hair is also on the way out. I can tell you that I actually had to redo some shots because it was showing too much Thanks for checking out my other stuff! That guitar is one of the first things I did, I wasn't ready to take up "full" building back then (and I was afraid it would take me forever to finish it) so I bought a guitar, swapped the fingerboard and did a few small mods plus the puzzle finish. There is even a thread about that here, right after I joined I appreciate the kind words about my video work - I take my time and I try to do my best .. it's a long-running hobby of mine, much longer than guitar building (but shorter than guitar playing). Actually a little bit more than a hobby from time to time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 Absolutely stellar work, Piotr. I'm going to have to promote this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pan_kara Posted October 25, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2017 hah I see you made it into an article! thanks, Carl! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted October 26, 2017 Report Share Posted October 26, 2017 No worries Piotr; great seeing people getting hands on and explaining their processes honestly. I loved the GoPro in the water! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pan_kara Posted October 31, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2017 So in case anybody's wondering about Magic Marble compatibility with nitro - they're not compatible. As is nitro sprayed directly over MM results in the MM lifting up in crackles (or however that's called). I'm currently spraying nitro on top of what I have on the guitar (as mentioned earlier) and I did touch up the color in a few spots where I had sand-throughs that I couldn't pass on and in these spots I'm now getting some of this. As they're small I'm going brute-force on them, just leveling with sandpaper and coating over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted October 31, 2017 Report Share Posted October 31, 2017 Do you still think that Magic Marble paint is a good idea for swirling an instrument? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pan_kara Posted October 31, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2017 totally. Not that I can compare with anything else since I never tried the other (borax+enamels) method but I got to the point where I'm pretty confident I can get a good result with Magic Marbles. If I were to do another instrument right now I'd use them again. The problems I'm having are at later stages, when clearcoating - these are due mainly to my lack of skill in that department, combined with lack of proper equipment, space etc. I'm not sure how I'd approach clearcoating if doing this again now... maybe a single can of 2k clear to lock in the color then brush on nitro? Or maybe shellac then brush on nitro? I did that in the past, just brushed so much laquer that sanding the finish flat was not an issue. Not sure how well nitro adheres to 2k poly though .. So yea, I'm not to keen on doing this again for this reason specifically - clearcoating is a huge PITA for me at the moment. Swirlng itself is super-fun on the other hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted October 31, 2017 Report Share Posted October 31, 2017 If you go 2K, then stick with it. You seem dead set on using nitro though! How come? In my opinion, rattlecan 2K is an ideal clear for anybody with limited resources. It doesn't mean we can skip the fact it's lethal to all those nervous-y brain system-y things we have, however with a bit of sense its a quick and easy clear. What kind of paint is MM then? Some sort of oil? I noticed that it seemed to blob up a bit on the water surface....is that technique, paint age or a typical thing MM paints do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pan_kara Posted November 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2017 I also thought rattlecan 2K would be the perfect solution, but I can't seem to get good results with it. I have finished one body this way (Etna - the wenge-padouk baritone) but there I didn't event pore-fill and I wasn't trying to get a perfect surface. I don't remember it I even buffed it or just left it as it was. Other than that, I keep having problems. On this guitar I used 3x 200ml cans (Etna tool less than 2, but that's body only), I was going to use 2 but I decided to put a bit extra - and I got this weird thing that was super-thin and turned matte after buffing. Maybe it's just the brand, of I made some error spraying, I don't know. For me the benefit of nitro is the evaporative nature of the finish - if anything goes wrong, I can just spray a panic coat on my balcony, or spot-fill. I think the lack of proper spray space is the limiting factor for me at the moment. I have to spray outside, at work, then I don't have a good place to leave the guitar to dry etc etc all right enough complaining. temperatures are up to ~15 degrees in the day so tomorrow I'll try to put another can of nitro on the body and this should be it. The MM - I haven't checked what they are exactly. The solvent suggested for cleanup is turpentine. They do have a lot of solids in them and leave a lot of texture behind. On the water it happens if I leave them on for too long, or if they're old Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 1, 2017 Report Share Posted November 1, 2017 That's the same reason I enjoy using shellac. Unless you really screw it up, you can backtrack and find your way forward again. Nitro is forgiving in that is can be burnt back in easily. The 2K I would use now is canned at PPG Maalit, a specialist car paint supplier. They carry all of the Mirka gear I love, plus they'll mix up any rattlecans off paint chips or even aged paint from code. I have one for our car which I have a great idea for....off the shelf 2K, not so sure. The ones I've used thus far have been reliable and simple, if somewhat deadly to brain cells. Were yours the sort where you eject the catalyst hardener into the rest of the product prior to use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pan_kara Posted November 2, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2017 Yea, they had this thing at the bottom of the can where you pull and twist to mix the hardener in. I think it was "duplicolor" so the brand that has all the auto spray paint in hardware stores all over the place. That's where I got it in fact. Maybe if I could source a better quality 2k that would work better. Not sure whether the problem is me or the paint at this point though BTW second set of coats of nitro going on right now, plus I routed a new pickguard and messed up in a completely stupid way, I'll post that with a pic later on. Trying to get it fixed now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted November 2, 2017 Report Share Posted November 2, 2017 Great video and great, great result! Brilliant! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pan_kara Posted November 3, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2017 Thanks Andy. I'm trying to do the guitar justice and finish it up properly, but my limitless supply of stupidity keeps getting in the way. I was routing the pickguard, the original one had all sorts of problems - the pickup routers were a tiny bit too small and anyway not shaped exactly, the pickup mounting holes were off a little, the cutout for the bridge was too big, the mounting holes were not equal distance from the edges etc etc. So I took extra care in making a new template. It's pretty much spot on, but I did manage to misplace the middle pickup route by a mm. I marked that on the mdf and figured I'd just route that last and shift the template for that. Well guess what. I did remember, but when shifting the template back and forth I kept using the same 2-sided tape, after all it was still sticky, what could go wrong? Well, this: Of course it wasnt attached firmly enough and I ate into the pickguard while doing the bridge pickup opening. I figured this should be possible to fix with a scrap piece, the piece is in fact in the picture. So now I'm trying to glue it in place. I thought I'd melt it in with acetone like binding, but this appears to be a different kind of plastic, acetone does affect it slightly but not nearly enough to glue the pieces together. I tried superglue, nope doesn't hold. I tried weld-on binding glue, seemed to hold but fell off the next day when I was trying to trim the new piece with a chisel. Looks like I'll have to mix up a drop of epoxy for the job ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 4, 2017 Report Share Posted November 4, 2017 Yikes. I think you might feel better starting this guard from scratch. I don't know if that can be made invisible. It doesn't cost that much to try of course. Is that carpet tape? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pan_kara Posted November 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2017 nope, not carpet tape, I bought a roll of that 3M stuff that you were reviewing. It's fantastic in general - it just pulls up so much fibers from the mdf that it jams itself. But that's clearly user error. I don't have any more blank pickguard material, the sheet I used ended up enough for two (the original one and this "fixed" one). I still think it can be done as long as I manage to glue the damn thing in place, epoxy is curing right now. It's black side up so I think it should be possible to spot sand and polish everything .. on the white side the repair is much more apparent. Another option is plexi, I bought a 3mm piece on the weekend, I want to have a transparent version too to try, not sure at the moment which one I'll end up liking better. Maybe I'll manage to not mess up that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 7, 2017 Report Share Posted November 7, 2017 Yeah, it performs wonderfully until you try and reposition it more than once or twice. If it comes up cleanly, it's generally pretty good. Still, the amount of tape you get per roll, you might as well be sure and replace it! How did the repair go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pan_kara Posted November 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2017 sure, I have a lifetime supply probably, it was really just laziness ... The repair is promising so far, after one failed attempt with epoxy I have a piece glued in and trimmed flush. What remains is polishing up the black surface, if I'm successful with that then the pickguard will be ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 7, 2017 Report Share Posted November 7, 2017 Here's to hoping, Piotr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pan_kara Posted November 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2017 I think that's close enough to invisible. If you look at the reflection you can see that the surface is not completely flat - I didn't want to sand too heavy since this weird material appears to be completely un-gluable. Today the epoxied bit fell out when I started on with with micromesh pads, I managed to glue it back in using superglue with some "activator pen" that I found laying around. Probably will fall out during a gig though it did survive a careful sanding and buffing session. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prostheta Posted November 7, 2017 Report Share Posted November 7, 2017 A lot of plastics are quite good at resisting epoxy and superglue. I like using HDPE for moulding epoxy, for example! Take a scrap of the pickguard and burn it in a flame. If there is a green colour change, it's PVC (or something else containing chlorine). If not, I would bet that it's ABS. Weld-On glue should manage both of those. Superglue and epoxy will be purely a mechanical bond, which in addition to material bonding issues is difficult with such a small mating surface area. It does look excellent in that photo though! Perhaps adhesive copper tape backing the pickguard will give you a little more reassurance? You could also weld the seam at the back using a soldering iron with thermoplastics like ABS. A few dots/strokes perpendicular to it should help with bonding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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