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Blonde Glamour Shots...Something old, something new, something blonde, something blue!


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4 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Looks like another splendid result coming up, @mistermikev :)

 

thank you sir!

1 hour ago, ADFinlayson said:

That's a seriously nicely looking guitar now dude :) 

thanks AD. 

 

I don't know if you can tell from the pics... but the binding is very not conventional!  I put it on after dying the top and left it square.  It actually made it more visible so... pretty happy w it.  Unfortunately I think I'm going to redo the other one as I did it different (the original plan) and I do not like it.  oh well... no schedule!

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19 minutes ago, mistermikev said:

thank you sir!

thanks AD. 

 

I don't know if you can tell from the pics... but the binding is very not conventional!  I put it on after dying the top and left it square.  It actually made it more visible so... pretty happy w it.  Unfortunately I think I'm going to redo the other one as I did it different (the original plan) and I do not like it.  oh well... no schedule!

ah well, if there is a schedule, it feels too much like work.

Love the blue stain, this has got me even more eager to stain my semi hollow build :D

 

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2 minutes ago, ADFinlayson said:

ah well, if there is a schedule, it feels too much like work.

Love the blue stain, this has got me even more eager to stain my semi hollow build :D

 

I worked for this one.  I can't even tell you how many tests I did.  Could not find a stain that would get me saffire blue, and while it turned out a bit darken then I wanted I'm pretty happy.  Not sure if I'm going to bring it up to a gloss yet because wet sanding at the edge is impossible due to the binding.  Original intent was satin so... may leave it.

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2 hours ago, mistermikev said:

I worked for this one.  I can't even tell you how many tests I did.  Could not find a stain that would get me saffire blue, and while it turned out a bit darken then I wanted I'm pretty happy.  Not sure if I'm going to bring it up to a gloss yet because wet sanding at the edge is impossible due to the binding.  Original intent was satin so... may leave it.

I've found blues to be tough too. It seems like it's washed out, so another coat goes on and so on, until it's finally blue enough. Then you stand back and all the dark areas have grown and the overall look is darker than your mental picture of what it was going to look like.

I don't think anything would be wrong with having satin edges and a gloss top, sort of a satin to gloss burst.

Oh, and by the way, this looks seriously sharp Mike. And it's only going to get better as you go!

SR

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Blue's a funny colour for a lot of reasons. For one, wood is rarely white and more often than not has a yellow tone to it. Daylight and artificial light monkey with it a lot also. That's a fine blue you have there though. I imagine that the chatoyance of the wood has been pretty much flattened out by the amount of pigment in there....that's blue and black for you though!

I love the slightly left of centre design on this one....it suggests Gretsch, Hagstrom to my eye. Four singles is a bold statement.

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18 minutes ago, ScottR said:

I've found blues to be tough too. It seems like it's washed out, so another coat goes on and so on, until it's finally blue enough. Then you stand back and all the dark areas have grown and the overall look is darker than your mental picture of what it was going to look like.

I don't think anything would be wrong with having satin edges and a gloss top, sort of a satin to gloss burst.

Oh, and by the way, this looks seriously sharp Mike. And it's only going to get better as you go!

SR

you pretty much nailed my experience.  I had 4 different blues and mixed several different ways on test pieces.  Add to the confusion that it goes on and looks one way but then drys and looks another... then I added tru oil to the mix it changed it again!  I underestimated you blue... you are a worthy adversary!  weird things is... as I get closer to gloss it seems to be getting lighter and bluer???  I've got a little spot at the bottom that I had to fill as a piece of carpet tape ripped a small 1cm chunk out... when I've tried to wet sand it I've gotten to bare wood really fast so at this point I think I have no choice but to continue with gloss. 

thank you re "sharp" I really appreciate it!  My wife tells me she likes my delta cloud better so... hard to outshine beginners luck I guess!

 

11 minutes ago, Prostheta said:

Blue's a funny colour for a lot of reasons. For one, wood is rarely white and more often than not has a yellow tone to it. Daylight and artificial light monkey with it a lot also. That's a fine blue you have there though. I imagine that the chatoyance of the wood has been pretty much flattened out by the amount of pigment in there....that's blue and black for you though!

I love the slightly left of centre design on this one....it suggests Gretsch, Hagstrom to my eye. Four singles is a bold statement.

 

again nailed my experience.  when I started it was hard to get enough blue on to hide the yellows of the wood and not cover up the beauty of the wood.  Now, it's strange... if I look at it from a player's perspective the grain shines like a diamond... but straight on it looks dark and slightly dull.  also... it's not blue and black.  I started off with navy blue and sanded back... but I had to add so much blue that the navy blue is now black!  Honestly I get the feeling I would have done a lot better had I asked you two for advice going in but stupidly I thought "what's to ask... it's just blue"!

funny - lately I've been looking at the headstock and thinking firebird.  I guess I took influence from a lot of dif places!

 

thank you all for your responses: I very much appreciate!

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11 minutes ago, Prostheta said:

Once you get her cleared and waxed, she'll be super shiny.

hmm waxing you say... what do you use for wax?  I have typically used the turtle wax super fine buffing compound... then some micro scratch remover, but then just some guitar polish. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

count to 10, or 1000 or a million- whatever it takes- walk away and come back with a clear mind. Finishing is the most PIA part of building imho (and that includes sanding)- but- the results will be worth it. That blue in the pic above is deep and rich- if you can get back there- terrific. if you get 90% back there- just as good- but- alas- the builder knows the issues and never sees past them. keep the faith man- seriously- dont touch it for how ever long it takes to "get over it". you will be glad you did- TRUST ME. if you are still pissed about it- dont touch that guitar. 

i did a white les paul a decade or so ago and sanded back that mo fo at least 3 times. I mean 10-12 coats of mcfaddens that had hardened. F me man- that sucked. but I had to come to terms with the fact that I was spraying with a preval sprayer- putting clear over WHITE - spraying in a garage that had its doors up and down every day. I had to deal with the fact that the finish was going to have a couple specs no matter what I did. once I got there- mentally- I mean- really- mentally-well- you know. 

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6 hours ago, Mr Natural said:

count to 10, or 1000 or a million- whatever it takes- walk away and come back with a clear mind. Finishing is the most PIA part of building imho (and that includes sanding)- but- the results will be worth it. That blue in the pic above is deep and rich- if you can get back there- terrific. if you get 90% back there- just as good- but- alas- the builder knows the issues and never sees past them. keep the faith man- seriously- dont touch it for how ever long it takes to "get over it". you will be glad you did- TRUST ME. if you are still pissed about it- dont touch that guitar. 

i did a white les paul a decade or so ago and sanded back that mo fo at least 3 times. I mean 10-12 coats of mcfaddens that had hardened. F me man- that sucked. but I had to come to terms with the fact that I was spraying with a preval sprayer- putting clear over WHITE - spraying in a garage that had its doors up and down every day. I had to deal with the fact that the finish was going to have a couple specs no matter what I did. once I got there- mentally- I mean- really- mentally-well- you know. 

thank you sir.  yes, finishing is always a test for me.  I should have just gone poly as in the past that seems pretty fool proof to me but I really feel like I am getting better at tru oil... just need to hang in there.  at this point it's more stubborn desire to 'beat it'!

1 hour ago, ADFinlayson said:

They look flippin' awesome 👌

thank you sir.  the cream one - it really doesn't take photos well but afa how it looks - it turned out pretty much how I imagined... just little specs of this and that everywhere.  can only see them close up.  thinking I might strip it back and this time take my plastic tub and cover it immediately after spraying.  white/cream is always so difficult to do w/o imperfections!

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3 minutes ago, mistermikev said:

thank you sir.  the cream one - it really doesn't take photos well but afa how it looks - it turned out pretty much how I imagined... just little specs of this and that everywhere.  can only see them close up.  thinking I might strip it back and this time take my plastic tub and cover it immediately after spraying.  white/cream is always so difficult to do w/o imperfections!

Chuck a bit of glitter in your spray gun and call it metallic :D 

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6 minutes ago, ADFinlayson said:

Chuck a bit of glitter in your spray gun and call it metallic :D 

funny you mention that... there is one fleck of green flake that ended up in the finish.  it is from a guitar I did 3+ years ago!  I guess it must have been in the tub I was using but I blew it out before use... or at least I thought!

it's strange... I know nitro tends to melt layers together... I got an eyelash in the finish last night and tried to wetsand it out... but it seems like it is so deep in the finish.  I have no idea how it got that deep!  i swear it wasn't there yesterday morning...   only sprayed one layer and yet it seems like it is all the way down to the color coat. 

also, no spray gun here... just spray can!

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2 minutes ago, mistermikev said:

funny you mention that... there is one fleck of green flake that ended up in the finish.  it is from a guitar I did 3+ years ago!  I guess it must have been in the tub I was using but I blew it out before use... or at least I thought!

it's strange... I know nitro tends to melt layers together... I got an eyelash in the finish last night and tried to wetsand it out... but it seems like it is so deep in the finish.  I have no idea how it got that deep!  i swear it wasn't there yesterday morning...   only sprayed one layer and yet it seems like it is all the way down to the color coat. 

also, no spray gun here... just spray can!

fair enough, I have no gun either - With the current one and wiping on the finish, I have the guitar lay down flat on the bench and I'm convinced as soon as I close the door, the dust goblins float down and land on it.

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13 minutes ago, ADFinlayson said:

fair enough, I have no gun either - With the current one and wiping on the finish, I have the guitar lay down flat on the bench and I'm convinced as soon as I close the door, the dust goblins float down and land on it.

it's a small wonder why the blue hasn't had issues w dust... we have 3 cats and a dog and despite hepa filter in the ac everything has pet hair on it.  i guess cause it's blue I just can't see it but I'm sure it's there!  "this finish was made with 30% genuine cat hair"!

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17 minutes ago, ADFinlayson said:

There will be someone out there that will pay good money for that.

some of them want to.... yeah, I'm sure there is.   I guess my next step is to get aggressive on the sand back of the blonde.  if I burn through or otherwise screw it up I can always strip it.  gonna wash out my tub, maybe even whipe it down with alcohol, then line it with a new garbage bag.  we'll see if we can avoid the 'floaties".

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A luthier I once knew had his workshop in the cellar of a music store. Concrete walls from the fifties "in original condition" meaning all the accumulated dust in every pore imaginable! Plus the plumbing and other tubes and pipes hanging from the ceiling...

He had wet bed sheet hanging around the painting area to catch any airborne dust.

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8 minutes ago, Bizman62 said:

A luthier I once knew had his workshop in the cellar of a music store. Concrete walls from the fifties "in original condition" meaning all the accumulated dust in every pore imaginable! Plus the plumbing and other tubes and pipes hanging from the ceiling...

He had wet bed sheet hanging around the painting area to catch any airborne dust.

interesting idea.  perhaps it's time to do some laundry!  (my wife might think I'm cheating if she sees me doing laundry tho!)

I think I just need to get a space suit and work in a vacuum!

on an unrelated note... what's the best way to strip nitro?  lacquer thinner or zip strip?

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