nakedzen Posted January 20, 2022 Report Share Posted January 20, 2022 Starting on a couple of these. Bolt on, 25.5" scale, quilt and flamed maple drop tops. Idea for quilt top: Color test, pretty close to what I want: Back for tele: Back for superstrat, tempted to leave it natural because of the spalted figure: Top rough cut: Top glued: Top for strat: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nakedzen Posted January 20, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2022 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nakedzen Posted January 22, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2022 Color idea for strat, very rough 3D. I wonder if the back needs to be painted to get that color, probably hard with dye? Doesn't have to be solid color, I like that the grain shows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted January 22, 2022 Report Share Posted January 22, 2022 1 hour ago, nakedzen said: I wonder if the back needs to be painted to get that color, probably hard with dye? Fake binding? And you're worried about the dye on the back bleeding? That has been done before and there's tricks to do it relatively easily. One trick is to apply some clearcoat over the binding area. It's much easier to tape for lacquer than for dye. Even nail varnish will do, although using the same product for clearcoat would eliminate compatibility issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nakedzen Posted January 22, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2022 No I have a trick for that already. Just wondering about the tone of that blue/grey color if it's possible to achieve with dyes, since it's sort of muted blue/grey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nakedzen Posted January 24, 2022 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2022 Little progress on the tele. Starting to get the top colored where I want it. Sanded back the first try: Getting somewhere: This top seems to really soak in the dye. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nakedzen Posted February 11, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2022 So far so good... Put some britetone as scratchguard on the top, and am glad I did! Cavities and holes mostly done. Ordered some fancy flamed maple for the neck. Next I'll stain the back black. Which color pickup rings? Or no rings? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted February 11, 2022 Report Share Posted February 11, 2022 1 hour ago, nakedzen said: Which color pickup rings? Or no rings? I'd vote for black or none. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted February 11, 2022 Report Share Posted February 11, 2022 40 minutes ago, Bizman62 said: I'd vote for black or none. Me too Love the colour - coming up a treat 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alucard0811 Posted February 12, 2022 Report Share Posted February 12, 2022 I would also go with black or none! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nakedzen Posted February 12, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2022 None it is! If I go for black emg's that is. All nickel hardware could be cool too, hmmm. Black looks great. Still some glue spots and scratches to clean up but mostly done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nakedzen Posted February 12, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2022 Plain black ash grain can look quite nice imo. Testing out how the neck will look like with dark brown dye. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nakedzen Posted February 13, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2022 Originally was going to do the natural binding with the router table, but I thought, heck why not just try with sandpaper first. Seems to work OK, 120 grit roughed mostly all of the stains that I managed to make. Next 240-360. Quick question, do you guys leave natural binding natural (without color)? Or would you dye it say, yellow then sandback to get the grain to pop more? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted February 13, 2022 Report Share Posted February 13, 2022 8 minutes ago, nakedzen said: do you guys leave natural binding natural (without color)? Or would you dye it say, yellow then sandback to get the grain to pop more? Never done it, but as there's the word "natural" in the name... Then again, I've never heard the expression "natural binding" before! "Faux binding" on the other hand is something I've seen done many times. And as it's "faux" you can make it any colour you want! Just as there's all kind of binding materials available in all imaginable colours you can dye a faux binding to enhance the properties if you think it would look better that way. There's no right or wrong. Just make it look good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nakedzen Posted February 13, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2022 Well, fake/faux/natural, they're all the same thing. Just looking to make the grain pop a bit more, now it's really plain. Never done this before so I was wondering if you usually do that or not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nakedzen Posted February 13, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2022 This is the style of finish I'm looking for: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted February 13, 2022 Report Share Posted February 13, 2022 For what it's worth I've never seen or heard about a dyed natural binding but that doesn't mean they don't exist. I guess the biggest issue with dyeing the faux binding is keeping the colours separated. With the dark brown back you could have dyed the entire sides and sand them back without fear of a strange hue on the brown. Preventing the yellow dye to blend with the stained sides and top may be tricky but if you apply some sort of clear outside the binding that should be doable. A highly figured faux binding sure looks nice! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nakedzen Posted February 14, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2022 Yeah the back has oil on it, and the top britetone. The stain has gone pretty deep into the grain on the top. I'll have to go for the 25 degree angle bit on the router table to clean it up, sanding just isn't enough it seems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nakedzen Posted February 21, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2022 Done with the faux binding. Got some figure to pop with the oil too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nakedzen Posted February 21, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2022 Britetone going on. My second time using it, I like it. Very easy to get a high gloss finish. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nakedzen Posted February 22, 2022 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2022 Britetone done, now we wait. I'll get the neck wood next week so I have to entertain myself with the rhoads build. More sanding and painting it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nakedzen Posted March 2, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2022 Clearcoat buff and polish done. Assilex 800 and 1200 grit papers (these are well worth the price for dry sanding lacquer!), then Zona micron 1500-22000 grits, then Meguiars ultimate and finally scratch-x. Or maybe not? It has some pinprick sized pits in it, most likely from air bubbles that appeared when sanding. I wanted to ask if you guys have any tips of how to fix those before starting to level sand again? Drop of CA in the pit, then level? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nakedzen Posted March 2, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2022 (edited) I'm too impatient so I just went for it. I tried on a spot that will be covered by the pickup ring, worked pretty well. Not sure if it needs the CA to be honest, just more sanding. Pretty hard to photo the pits, they're like pin pricks in the lacquer. Edited March 2, 2022 by nakedzen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizman62 Posted March 2, 2022 Report Share Posted March 2, 2022 1 hour ago, nakedzen said: Not sure if it needs the CA to be honest, just more sanding. I've usually sanded them but it depends on how thick the clearcoat is. We've been taught to go rather thick so there's quite a lot to sand off. Starting with rough enough a paper until the pits are so shallow they don't gather any sanding dust, just shallow shiny pits. Then changing the direction by 45 degrees and make the grooves of the previous sanding vanish, rinse and repeat. On my last build I started with 220 to get rid of the runs and other roughness, continuing with 400 and up. At 15oo it's level with a sheen, still a bit dull. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nakedzen Posted March 2, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2022 Those Assilex papers cut nicely even with 800 grit, I've been able to get the pits out pretty easily without going for a lower grit. Yeah I'll sand them out, there's plenty thick lacquer, nine thick coats of Britetone. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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