CaptMysterio

i use a soft chalk or a wax pencil (then thoroughly cleaned with wax & grease remover).

what was the time span between the first coats of clear, and the last coat of clear that wrinkled? generally, you'd either want to recoat the same day, or wait 48+ hours for the next coat. during that time solvents are still working their way out of the paint, and are likely to wrinkle and craze if you spray over it.

simple schematics are cake once you learn what things stand for. just pick up a book on small electronics. with practice you get better at reading them. in any case, it'd be worth learning, cause you'll always be able to use it if you keep playing with this stuff.

the author is "Robert Benedetto" (someone missed an 'e' i think). the book can be had off of amazon here. it's $10+ cheaper than at stewmac.

the side of the can should tell you what type of finish it is, whether it be enamel, laquer, acrylic, polyurethane, or what-have-you. you really should find out exactly what you're spraying. this will keep help you avert disaster if you do recoat. why can't you just buff it out now? four coats should be plenty of coverage if it's even. i've done a guitar and a bass with rattlecans, and everything has turned out swell so far. it just depends on the quality of paint you get. about the best i've found in a rattlecan is duplicolor. if you spray laquer now, it will probably wrinkle the current finish. laquer solvents will eat through just about any finish. you might find yourself doing the whole thing over again if you mix types of paint like that. i'm not too well versed in nitrocellulose, but i know this is the case with automotive finishes. it'll be hard to find tinted clears in a rattlecan. if there are any good ones, i have yet to find them.

i have no idea how the custom shops do it. but i'd venture to guess that they just do some selective sanding with some super-fine grit sandpaper (800+) maybe? or maybe exessive use of buffing compound and a cutting pad? just some ideas.

i too am a fan of the alligator clips. mounted to a stand or not, they help a good deal.

preach on brotha! if i could find a woman to write music with...i'd never leave the house.

sounds swell to me. gives me time to practice! ...and get some cash!

i really didn't give cobain much of a look until i saw nirvana do unplugged. if you ever get a chance to see the performance of "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" near the end of unplugged, do. it wasn't spectacular musicianship, but there was a feeling to that song that surprised me. it was hard to see past all the pop-kiddies yelling, "nirvana is the best," without totally writing him/them off. another guitarist that i miss on the poll is eric clapton. that guy has been around forever, and has made some rad music. i dig the cream and yardbird days, but i just like the way the guy plays.

for the fb removal, how hot was the iron? or does it even matter?

yowsa!

snork: " damn.... well where does that dude live?" - he's outside our apartment building. we're roommates. GEdwardJones: " You're probably going to hate hearing this if you haven't hear it before. but that headstock is strikingly similar to the one used by Tyler Guitars" - and to think, i was going to put that little point near the nut in my design on paper, but didn't think it looked quite right. it's kind of a bummer, but the important thing to me was to excercise creativity and practice planning. thanks for the link! thanks all for the great feedback! gives me hope that i might not be too bad at this stuff afterall. time to start thinkin' on another project i think! thanks again for all the support ya'll.

man. i wish i'd have found this forum a month or so ago. nuts!! can't wait to see the finished products!

can't wait to see it!

i'm just wondering how you could avoid the truss rod when lighting the dots. i'm not sure how big the leds are that are being used, but i'd guess that they are taller than the thickness of the fb. would you be routing into the neck or the back of the fb? or a little of both? i'd love to dig in and take a crack at this. maybe i'll pick up another saga kit so if i botch it, i won't feel so bad. i'd guess you could get an hour or two at full brightness with 1 9v w/10 leds, maybe?

using glue simply helps minimize the possibility for error. its stuck in one place so that it can't move or shift. as for the glue, you just need enough to tack it on, not keep it there forever. the bond of a small dab could be broken fairly easily. for simple inlays, you could get by without it. i'd just rather not take the chance of having to scribe a line twice, and route the wrong line.

this might be what daveq was talking about earlier?: http://www.sfjssantafe.com/

if you want to blow some money, you could throw on some candies (tinted clears). should end up looking like the same effect.

paint with no gloss. a kind of satin quality to it. i think that's what you're asking.

i bought a vega 2000 (thayer & chandler), and am pleased with it. i got it for $60 as a kit (with extra bottles, 3 different tips, hose, etc) from coast airbrush. it's a siphon feed, dual action. prices are generally fair, and had a good purchasing experience from them. one of the benefits of the vega series is this: i believe that coast airbrush teflon coats the needle and bushings you get from them for increased resistance to solvents, but i could be mistaken. and finally, kind of a cool picture of how it works.

props for ingenuity. more props for seeing the project to the end. i know when i was that age, i lost interest rather quickly and would end up coming back later or just tossin' it. it's a bit crude, but the humble beginnings of a futuer luthier in the makings there. just out of curiousity, how's it sound?

if you have the equipment, i'd go with a ppg/hok system, and add a flattening agent to the topcoat clear. the clear adds a bit of durability, but there are equipment and health issues involved with catalyzed clear. custom flame painting has a forum that has a lot of painting information and experience roaming around. hope you find what you're lookin' for.

norton abrasives still makes 800 in waterproof sheets for automotive refinish applications. i'm not sure if it'll fit for your application, but it's out there.

thanks for the kind words! who would i write to request something like that? hrm, i can't say that i know an eric hammer. i'm actually in goleta, about 2 hours above la. the guy in the pictures at the end is the crazy guy i built the guitar for.