kench

Thanks for the advices.. I tried again last night but this time I thinned the lacquer more.. and with higher PSI... The results were much better than my first try. Yes I tried it water and thinner on scrap woods before but it's doesnt give any idea how the lacquer will work. It helps you to get used to hold and move the gun though. This much of orange peel isn't bad.. I was expecting a bit of it and I can easily sand it once its dry. My first try was bad though.. And I think the problem is the drying time of the lacquer. It dries too fast on the surface before set smoothly. I havent seen any lacquer retarder here.. but I will search. Then again.. its still much better than spending time and money on rattle cans and having lousy results.

After using 5-6 cans of aerosols and getting nowhere... I decided to buy a spray gun and shoot clear coats with the 120lt compressor at my brother's workshop. I tried many adjustments on the gun and tried at high and low air pressures (15 to 60 psi). But I keep getting orange peel. A woodworker friend told me it was because I didn't thinned the lacquer enough. The lacquer I'm using has honey-like thickness and I thinned it to milk-like thickness. Should I thin more? What is the normal "thickness" of lacquer to shoot with a spray gun? Or any other suggestions to prevent orange peel or any helpful tips on using guns would be very much appreciated. Well it is still much better than using rattle cans.. and I can get rid of the peel with sanding and buffing at the end but I think I should be getting smoother results with a spray gun. I'm using a gun very similar to the "Production Spray Gun" at StewMac and using nitro-cellulose clear (high gloss).. level sanding each day before shooting.. and spraying 5-6 inches away from the guitar.

Well. I'm in Turkey. I don't think there's any legal way they can send flammable products over-seas. For an individual customer at least

Unfortunately no. I've heard they are good. The only decent nitro aerosols were CLOUs (from Germany) here.. but I can't find them anymore either. The cheap aerosols are around $2.50 here... but they are really bad stuff. Sometimes they spray solid pieces. CLOUs were around $15 per can but they were very good. Thanks for advices.. I think I will try a spray gun. Not only for my guitar project. I think it will be usefull for lots of paint job.

Hello. I have been working on my guitar which I finished with shellac and clear nitro-lacquer few months ago. I used shellac to give warmth to the maple and then sprayed clear nitro to give gloss (wasn't brave enough for french polish). But because of the alchohol i used for dissolving shellac, the color looked a bit greenish amber.. It annoyed me, so last week I sprayed reddish brown on sides to make it a sunburst.. Well it looks great! Anyway.. I have to put clear coats again.. I used only aerosol cans by far. But I can't find a decent clear nitro aerosols anymore. I had used CLOU before which were great. The ones I just tried spray very very bad. Needs a lot of level sanding. And sometimes they spray semi-solid pieces of lacquer!! But I was wondering.. if I buy a *cheap* spray gun (around $25) would it be better then spraying clear coats with aerosols? Because I've never tried them before and the weather is too hot and extremely humid these days. Btw.. I have an access to a 120lt compressor. But no moisture traps or anything. Or should I go for acrylic based Duplicolor cans? They say I can use it on nitro coats.. but can't use nitro on acrylic.

Try CLOU from Germany too if you can find it.. I highy, highly recommend it. Much better than the other aerosol nitros I've tried. CLOU Nitro-lack cans

Yes.. Use a "router" to give the 45 degree angle on the pickguard edges. With the ball bearing bit you have. Drills are not fast enough to "cut" materials even with the sharpest bits. Router table is very useful for this. Or you can place your router upside down on your workbench and make a small routing jig. Here is what I've made for making routing templates. And you can use dremel bits for the blade slot but if you don't have a dremel, you can buy a collet adaptor for your router so it can accept small shaft dremel bits. But I haven't tried using those collet adapters. Route the slot on a jig like Devon said. If you don't have a router, just buy one.. or borrow one. It's the most useful power tool for guitar making or wood working. I still don't have a router though and I've build a Les Paul. But I had a grinder motor that had similar specs with a router motor (320 Watts, 27.000 rpm, 6mm collet size). I made a base and a jig for it to keep perpendicular to the base. You can see it in the photo.. but clamped upside down.

Yes!.. That's what I've thought.. I already asked few sellers about the source of that color and they told me the same thing. And they also told me I can get rid of that dye by dropping 1 or 2 drops of a certain solvent to 1 litre of that alcohol. (the solvent that is used to pre-wash real dirty laundry and to disfinfect dirty stuff.. and has an extremely disgusting smell... I don't know what it is in English). Then that purple dye would sink to the bottom. But I don't think it is safe for shellac so I'm not planning to try it. Anyway.. I tested some shellac with that alcohol and the results are ok. The purple color evaporates with the alcohol. Maybe it will affect the color of the shellac after some more coats. I will see how much.. maybe it will affect in a good way. Btw. I'm from Turkey

I bought some shellac flakes yesterday. Both light and dark colored. I know they should be dissolved in "denature alcohol", but the Denature Alcohol sold here has purple/blue color. It says "Agricultural based Denature Ethyl Alcohol" on the bottle and we call it "ispirto" (like.. spirit). And everyone told me here, that is the only thing I should use to dissolve shellac. And that the other alcohols do not dissolve but "rot" the shellac. Except the guy who sells the shellac. He told me that the light colored shellac flakes should be dissolved in normal alcohol which is colorless (Ethyl Alcohol) and I've seen in a stew-mac tutorial that Dan is using a colorless alcohol referred as "denature" alcohol. I'm a little confused now. Is the denature alcohol sold there has the same purple color too? Or you have colorless denature alcohol there? And does it effect the final color of the shellac? I think not.. because when it evaporates, it doesnt leave any color on the surface. The color evaporates too. Or should I use the Ethyl Alcohol istead of Denatured one.

Can we spray Nitro lacquer over the Shellac? I bought some shellac flakes yesterday to use it as sealer and color under the clear gloss of Nitro.

I don't know if the F-Space pickups have 2 inches gap between the low and high E strings. But F-space means "Fender Space"..., as the Fender bridges and Floyd Roses have wider string spread. Their pole spread is equal to Strat single-coil pickups. The term "F-Space" is used by DiMarzio to describe their humbuckers for Fenders and for similar guitars equipped with tremolo bridges. Seymour Duncan uses the term "Trembuckers" for the same size humbuckers. (Tremolo humbucker). Duncan gives a very detailed specifications and measurements for their each pickups. Check out the Trembuckers or Single-coil sizes in www.seymourduncan.com and make those measurements be your guide to find a pickup that would fit your Strat. Btw, if I know correctly, Floyd Roses have 2 inches string spread so that P90 would fit a strat string spacing.

Awwww a sexy girl lying on the bed!!!.. Great work indeed.. I'm just about to finish a similar project.. I'm planning to post some pics as soon as I get them developed.

Yes Setch.. you are so right.. I checked some prices on those websites and it is still clever to order from US. I was expecting it but I haven't realized the price difference would be that huuuge! For the tonewoods, it is still a good idea to get them from local stores.. As wood is cheaper than US or Europe here... Plus you can actually see and pick them. But you have to search a little more for a good seasoned timber. So is Titebond, its much cheaper in the timber stores. Rockinger.com has reasonable prices for German made hardware though, like Schaller... And saw nice prices in truss-rods, etc... But the rest is still expensive. I wish there was a supplier for luthier tools and guitar hardware in Europe with US prices.... well at least close to US prices.

Thanks for the replies.. Unfortunately.. yes.. the prices are mostly higher than US. But I will check them out more..

Like I've said in the other topic (brushing sanding sealer).. I'm planning to use CLOU too. I've find CLOU products in BAUHAUS here in Istanbul. Since both CLOU and BAUHAUS are German brands, you shouldn't have much problems finding them in Germany. Unfortunately I couldn't find Clou's aerosol sanding sealer (Schenellschliffgrund). I see them in their website but Bauhaus don't sell it.. or dont have it for now. Btw.. If you don't have spraying equipment either... I'd recommend CLOU's Nitro-lack aerosol cans. I've heard many great things about them and my test results with High-Gloss was really nice!!. Nitro-Lack series include: Sanding Sealer (Send me too if you can find it there..haha) Clear High Gloss Lacquer Clear Satin Lacquer Clear Matte Lacquer Zapon-Lack.. (Lacquer for metal furniture, I think)

Turkey is a member of Customs Union since 1995.. so there is no custom taxes from EU countries.. and even from the other countries that have agreement with EU... and USA is one of them. (In fact, this Custom Union thing is something I'm totally against to) And the shipping costs of the products I've purchased from UK were around 50% cheaper and 4 times faster than USA. But if the suppliers add the shipping cost on their sale prices, for the products that shipped from US or overseas.. you are right.. that would not do a good reduce.

I'm living in Istanbul and I would like to know if there are any luthier supply shops like Stew-Mac, LMII and Warmoth working in Europe.. I couldn't find any... If there are.. it will reduce the shipping costs dramatically..

I'm planning to finish my guitar with CLOU nitro-cellulose aerosol lacquers. I've heard many good things about them and when I test spray in on scrap maple, I achieved a very good result with only 2 coats of clear. Glossy and flat. But on mahogany I think I will need a sanding sealer also. But unfortunately I can't find the sealer in a rattle can. and I don't have a spraying equipment. CLOU makes the aerosol sealer but it is not available here in Turkey. There are sealers in cans though.. Is it ok to "brush" sanding sealer or apply with a cloth? It doesn't sound so bad to me, but maybe more level sanding will require. What I'd like to know are: 1) If is it ok, how? Thinned or not? If thinned, how much? 2) What else can be done if "spraying" the sanding sealer is not on option? 3) Or should I just build the sealer coat by spraying more aerosol lacquer

The one I've been using is smaller size than carpet tapes and cheaper.. Even the cheapest tapes work very well. I've been using them for years for my presentations, stationary, etc. not only for building guitars. Low quality tapes may leave resin on the surface if you leave it sticked for a long time.. like more than few weeks.. and especially if heat is applied (esp. on sanding blocks) but it is easily removed by wiping with thinner. So I don't think it is necessary to go for 3M or other quality brands on double-sided tapes unless if you are using them on fragile surfaces, like paper or ply-woods. Low quality tapes have very strong resin and it may damage/tear off the surface when removing the tape.

I don't know what steel wool really is. I'm from Turkey and I don't know what it is in Turkish. But there are some "wool like" sanders here, mostly with green color... but they don't look like steel.. I think it will scratch a little, or the sanded surface will appear obviously near the glossy areas. Well.. anything will scratch it a bit and that is the idea.. if you want to make it slippery unlike a high-gloss finish. But like Dugz Ink said, you need to apply buffing compounds with rag after you sand it. That will smooth the finish very well. I'm planning to use "silicon-free" TurtleWax which has yellow bottles for my guitar. I think that would work on your project very well too.

Usually, MIA Fenders have "satin" finish on the back of the neck, and they feel pretty fast. At least my '96 American Strat feels very fast with the satin finish. I think yours have high gloss if your hand is sticking on to it. And another thing is that all Fenders has hard maple necks which are not very durable if they are only tung oiled. Especially for the humidity and seasonal changes. If I'm correct, a hard finish is highly required on maple necks. I'd only do a little sanding with very very fine papers or a steel wool to glossy surface. Then it will be like a satin finish. I havent tried that myself before but I have a guitar with satin finished neck and a one with high gloss. Glossy one is very sticky but the satin is very smooth. Very different to each other.

The average speeds of an adjustable DRILL = 700 to 2.000 rmp. 1.000 rpm is ideal for most drilling work on "woods" with normal size of drill bits. The average speeds of an adjustable ROUTER = 10.000 to 30.000 rpm. Ideal speed for most bits is around 20.000 rpm. (faster for smaller bits, slower on larger bits) 20.000 - 1.000 = 19.000 so there are approximately 19.000 reasons for not to use drills as a router, or routers as drills. But if you are lucky as me, you can get away from buying a router. I've built a Les Paul without having a router. I found an old grinder at my brothers warehouse that is 320 watts and 27.000 rpm and has a collet size of 6 mm. Made a base out of MDF for it and an attachment to keep the grinder perpendicular to the base. And did all the routing with that. Here is a photo of it. In the photo it was clamped upside-down to make the routing templates. But on my next guitar project I will definitely buy a proper router.. Because I can't use large cutter bits like 12 mm. 27.000 rpm is too fast for cutter bits larger than 6 mm. Heat is the worst enemy for router bits, drill bits and saws. They become blunt even on a single use no matter what quality they are.

Yes I've seen it last night while checking their website.. But it doesn't matter unless I can find it in local stores.. The ones I've seen here had solid colored lids except the clear laquers. So I didn't think there were any transparent ones. I will look up. Btw.. The Duplicolors are mainly Acrylic or Synthetic.. I was planning to go for Nitro-cellulose.. and I already have 3 cans of clear Nitro. I may skip Nitro though, if I can't find a suitable transparent coat.

Yes I'm overseas.. I'm from Turkey. CLOU and Duplicolor are well known brands here... but Duplicolors are a bit different.. they come from the Netherlands or Germany, not the US made ones. They have different series and presented in different cans with different logo. Here is their website I just found. I will check if I can find the Metalcast series. Unfortunately I've never seen the "Easy Work" can before. But a month ago I saw orange, blue and black aerosol "stains" in a shop. They were not lacquer and I'm not sure they are suitable with nitrocellulose top coat.. But it was not expensive. I think I will test the orange one to see if I get something similar to the finish I want.

I'm slowly reaching the finishing process of my first built guitar. I didn't want to invest money on a spraying equipment at first, but I guess maybe I should have. As aerosol cans aren't too cheap, you can't have all the finishing options that sprayguns provide and I will probably continue building guitars.. you know what I mean.. Anyway.. for this time I will stick to aerosols as I already have 3 cans of CLOU brand Nitrocellulose Lacquers. 2 cans of high-gloss and 1 can of satine which is going to be used on back of the neck. It is a Les Paul style guitar with really nice flame maple top. And what I want is a true transculent color (like golden) on top with no burst. But I can't find tinted (transculent) color aerosols here in Turkey. All are solid colors like the Duplicolor acrylic lacquers. My concerns are that I don't want to lose the hologramic effect on the flame figure by staining it with dyes. Staining it raises the flame figure and make it more obvious which is nice... but the hologramic effect goes away (It looks the same from all angles). I'd prefer to have a solid color or to shoot with only clear coats rather than losing the hologramic effect of flame. If I use "shellac" as a stain/sealer/color coat... and then shoot the clear gloss, will I get the same effect as if I used a transculent color coat? But more importantly, in nitrocellulose based finishing; what are the disadvantages of aerosols compared to professional spraying equipment and are there any special tips and tricks while using them?