DGW

I decided NOT to go for the shiney look after all.

I didn't want it to take away from this beautiful piece of wood.

Thanks again for all the help.

I'm not sure I agree 100% with you comments. Heating the blade is a good idea. Superheating the blade is a bad idea. First, you don't want to burn the wood, second, you don't want to cook the glue.

And not heating the fingerboard is not a very good idea either. If you heat the blade only, you get the blade in, and 5 seconds later, it's already cold. The fingerboard will drop down, and re-glue itself while you're re-heating the blade. You also have to take the blade out very often, which is a long process, and there is more chance is damaging the fingerboard/neck.

Here is what I do to remove a board:

- I heat it for a good 10 min with an iron until it is very hot.

- To check if the glue is melted, I apply some pressure on the board. If glue comes out from the side, it's ready. If not, maybe it's not melted enough.

Remember; the softer the glue is, easier it will be.

- I then use a very thin blade and slowly push it under the fingerboard.

No need to use steam. There is no way the steam can get to the glue anyway. Heat is not that bad against wood, but steam is. If you want to re-use that board, make sure you clamp it between 2 straightedges while it's cooling off. That minimizes the chance of warping. Because it will warp. You apply an upward pressure on the board to take it off.

WoW ... Great stuff guys.

I sorta figured that steam wasn't a good idea and I honestly don't see the advantage.

As MescaBug pointed out ... it's not like the steam will penetrate the wood.

And if it does, I think you'll end up with a whole lot more problems.

Thanks for all the replies.

You guys have been a huge help.

I don't think that large amounts if any of steam are needed.

Actually I remember hearing that you can take an iron and put it on medium heat and place it on the fretboard with a tshirt between the iron and the frets.

Start at the heel end and warm the wood up.

Don't use the actual steam function of the iron though.

I believe you can use a puddy knife to wedge between the fretboard and the neck.

Take your time and go slow.

If you already have a section which has seperated, I would start there.

If anyone else knows a better way or more detail, please correct me.

Also see http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/removal.htm

Great tip.

Thanks for the help.

Are you wanting to use the same fretboard again or replace it?

If you want to use the same one again, I don't know of any other way than heat/steam.

But someone else may know of a better way.

Yeah .. I'd like to re-use the fretboard.

If steam/heat won't warp the wood, then how do you suggest I go about it?

Are there "special tools" for this?

I have a maple cap fretboard that has separated from the neck just from the tension caused by tuning the guitar.

I want to remove the entire fretboard and re-set it.

What's the best way to do this?

I'm afraid steam or solvents may warp the neck and make matters worse.

Any suggestions?

I'm confused ...

If you bought the neck from Warmoth, chances are it already has some sort of finish on it.

Warmoth will not warranty any of their necks without some sort of finish.

If it is in fact unfinshed, I wouldn't recommend using any sort of clearcoat, ESPECIALLY spraypaint from Home Depot.

I'd recommend either tung oil or tru-oil.

JMO

Well, I decided to go with Tru Oil ...

I've only applied a few coats so far, but it's looking really good.

I'm using naptha and 0000 steel wool between coats.

Once I get all the grain completely sealed, I'll start with the micro mesh.

My question is ...

Would it be a good idea to use the naptha with the micro mesh? Or dry sand?

As fine as micro mesh is, I'm thinking that sanding it dry will gunk up the paper really quick.

Also ... is there something I should use over the finish, such as a compound of some sort, to really bring out the shine?

Thanks!

Thank you, I have some questions for you if its not to much trouble:

Whats the average price of urethanes?

Do I have to reduce before I spray?

What are the benefits for using urethanes?

It's very pricey IMO ...

The urethanes I use are 2-part, meaning they require an activator (or reducer) which acts as a catylist.

Clearcoat and colors like black and white run about $45 a quart, plus around $20 for the activator.

Colors such as reds and yellows are a little more at around $65 a quart, plus activator.

I use an epoxy primer/sealer which also requires an activator.

I forget what that runs, but it's also pretty expensive.

I mostly use Dupont, which is known to be expensive.

I'm sure others here probably have better sources and can get other stuff alot cheaper.

I spent years doing rattlecan jobs and though I was initially able to achieve really nice looking finishes, the paint just wasn't durable enough to use on guitars and the finishes soon fell victim to spider cracks and just looked horrible. Also note that the acrylic lacquer I was using in a spraycan took at least 6-months to a year to fully cure. Not to mention the fact that I could really notice a difference in tone ... it sounded smothered and lifeless and had a great effect on resonance as well.

So, I would say the benifits of urethane are that it ...

1) It cures in a matter of hours vs. months.

2) It's incredibly durable and doesn't deteriorate like Krylon and other crap in a can.

3) It doesn't "yellow" or crack like nitro (though some find that appealing)

4) It leaves a nice hard finish which preserves tone and offers resonance.

5) Most importantly, it really offers professional results IMO.

Hope that helps.

Thanks!

You guys are awesome.

You can get a very shiny finish with tru oil if you're willing to apply a number of coats, and use micro mesh sanding papers on it. This neck was finished with about 20 coats of tru oil (lightly buffed between every 2 coats with 0000 wire wool wet with naptha), and dry sanded up to 12000 grit with micro mesh papers.

HOLY CRAP!!! .... THAT'S INCREDIBLE!!!!

Okay ... I'm sold.

So where's the best place to find Tru oil?

BTW ... did you really mean 12000 grit? Or 1200 grit?

I strongly recommend you cut up an old cloth shirt and apply tru-oil with it, that's about the most consistent results you'll get by hand.

Is there any other way except "by hand" to get better results?

I have equipment, buffers, etc ...

Awesome bass btw.

Tru-oil will achieve a much glossier look than danish oil.

Hmmm ....

Will it remain oily?

And will it offer any sort of "protection".

How would you recommend I apply it?

Just rub it into the finish?

Can I do this over the danish oil?

Thanks Jon.

I'm looking for any information that may help me achieve a "wet look" oil finish.

I'm working with a padauk body ...

All I've done so far is prep it and give it a good coat of danish oil.

I read another in another thread to use 600 grit sanpaper to sand in the danish oil, so that's what I did.

I was going to just finish it up with beeswax, but I'm not sure that will give me the shiney look I'm going for.

Any and all suggestions welcome.

*edit*

This is the look I'm basically looking for (still wet with danish oil) ...

Thanks!

Ok, thanks for the help everyone. If I don't use the air-brush to paint it(because as I think someone said, its hard to get an even coat)what paint should I use. I tried Krylon spray paint, but the paint started cracking and looked horrible so thats out of the question.

I wasted ALOT of time and projects using Krylon ...

I finally purchased a compressor/spraygun rig and have been shooting urethanes with great results.

If you enjoy painting and think you may paint more than that one guitar, it may be worth looking into.

I have used both liquid epoxy and putty epoxy. Putty epoxy works better because you can mold it better. This is useful when filling dings in the corners or contours. The putty epoxy that I recommend is Quickwood. You can find it in Home Depot. It is easy to use, shrinks less and sands well.

Do you know if it can be stained?

A good tip whenever masking and cutting graphics directly on the guitar is to shoot a coat of clear to help protect from cutting through the finish with your razor.

Also ... "Sticky Mickeys" masking film works great for this type of stuff.

It's often used in the automotive industry.

Good luck.

Shoot your white (or black) basecoat.

Then mask the entire top and use a straight edge to draw out your checkerboard.

Then cut out every-other square with a razor and shoot your second color.

An airbrush won't typically atomize your clears well or provide enough coverage to do a good job of getting an even coat. You can do bases with an airbrush just not anything complex and its a total pain.

I agree ...

I would think it would be alot harder to acheive a good even coat with an airbrush too.

You'll get alot of different responses here as to what paint is "best".

I personally prefer urethane.

It doesn't crack, yellow and it leaves a really nice finish IMO.

I'd like to know how to put prints (pictures) on a guitar.

How do you put pictures on guitars with intricate pictures like Jimi hendrixs Psychedelic Flying V or Zakk Wyldes Les Pauls or the Jackson Dinkys with the skulls on them or any other type of guitars alike?

Are they just pieces of paper with the print with lots of layers of laquer over them.

Or painting using templates?

Chears if anyone can help with this.

=)

I believe the graphics you mentioned above are all done differently ...

The Zakk Wylde "Bullseye" graphic is done by masking.

The Hendrix "V" graphics look to be hand painted.

And the Jackson "Skulls" look like they were done by airbrush.

I have seen some decals made of these airbrush style graphics on eBay, but I'm not too sure of the quality or just how well they work.

I suggest you do your searches outside of this forum...

In my short period of time being a member here, I've noticed that some people are quick to offer advice without prior knowledge or experience in working with more than one type of finish.

Besides, the whole topic is easily open to interpretaion based on one's hearing ability.

How do you know the advice you're getting isnt from someone who is totally tone deaf?

I've done something wrong here? ... Really? ... Interesting.

And may I ask what your experience with Krylon is?

Yes, looking at those pictures you have obviously gotten something wrong, shame because it was a really nice finish. But no product, used the exact right way would be that sensitive to touch.

My advice here is to help others avoid wasting their time, money, and projects doing stupid things like painting guitars with spraypaint.

Had I only posted the first pic and stated that Krylon worked great, what would your response be?

That I had "obviously done something wrong"?????

My advice here is based on years experience with rattlecans, not "nothing".

The proof is in my photos.

AGAIN, in the first place I didn't question the durability of your paint but the fact that you said it totally ruins tone.

And I never said that Krylon "magically" ruins your tone ... I said it "totally ruins your tone".

So if you must quote me, please quote me accurately.

I only remember quoting the word 'ruins' and I'm pretty shure you used that.

Again ... YOU use spraypaint on YOUR guitar and if YOU'RE happy with the results, and love the tone of a smothered turd, than I guess that's all that matters.

I don't use rattlecans, I shoot nitro, but that doesn't really matter. My point is, and has always been, that you post unsubstantiated hypothesises (is that the plural form ) and claim them to be true.

IF you're gonna post your unvalidated theories MAKE SHURE the newbies that come to this forum ARE AWARE of the fact that they are nothing but unvalidated theories, otherwise confusion arises.

So? your theory is that, because it's softer, it gives any given guitar finished with it 'the tone of a smothered turd'. So you mean a finish that is maybe half a mm thick at best could have such a devistating impact on the tone (now this is also a pretty loose term) of a solid body about 100 times thicker. Seems to me like something even bigger touching it ,say like your belly or your arm, would have such a big impact that the instrument would be worthless, also considering how much softer the skin is. So according to your logic (hard=good) we should be playing our guitars in suits of armor?

The simple fact that you have absolutely no experience with rattlecans speaks volumes aidlook.

And as expected, you totally missed my whole point about the soft finish.

Who said anything about "thickness"?

IMO, those who offer advice without prior experience are those who mislead people.

Paint a guitar with Krylon, wait a year, then feel free to continue this debate.

First of all thanks for all the responses about clear coating.

I just am not sure how long to wait between paint and clear. Is the " see if you can scratch it with your fingernail a good and accurate judgement" ?

I have only gone by what i read in the forums about nitro over acrylic...of it not being totally compatable...heck, i don't know, never used the stuff before.

As far as Krylon...sure, lawn furniture first..guitars dead last probally. i just want to easily buy more if i run out. But duplicolor is also acrylic so what is really the difference " krylon, duplicolor, rustoleum lacquer...unless it says nitro somewhere on the can i wouldn't be so sure.

VHT..used in the hotrod car world is true nitro-cellulose...probally the same as re-ranch.

This is for my 13 year old who totally digs EVH, so no matter what...i don't want it to look like crap. its got to look cool and have a super glossy shine to it...again thanks for the replies...its how i am learning all this stuff.

Krylon is an acrylic lacquer and will take up to a year to fully cure.

Even then, it's not going to offer a hard finish ...

The finish will show impressions of anything that comes into contact with including the fur from your guitar case, carpet, even your clothing. You will also notice that any hardware that comes into contact with the body (such as pickgaurds) will begin to sink into the finsh. I kid you not.

Anything in a can has a prolonged shelf life.

In order to accomplish this, there has to be some sort of additive in those cans to prevent the paint from hardening.

IMO, it's this same additive that causes the finish on your guitar to remain soft.

As for tone ...

Despite my lack of "proof", it should make perfect sense to all of you here that a soft finish like this would have a greater effect on your tone then say a harder finish that may help to provide for good resonance.

Most people get sucked into using spraycans because it's very inexpensive and very easy to find at any department store.

Just remember ... "If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is" and "You get what you pay for".

I'm curious to know what products you used and in what order. And I hear a lot of bad things about Krylon. Are their acrylic paints enamel, or lacquer, or do they have both?

CMA

Thanks for listening CMA ....

You're correct ... MANY people have had problems with this stuff.

Even the author of the book "How to Paint Your Own Guitar" admits that Krylon is not the way to go.

He now states that "Duplicolor" works, but I have a sneaky suspision that Duplicolor does the same thing when trying to achieve a factory finish. Remember ... he's in it to sell books.

The only finish you should attempt to try with this stuff is the EVH relic finishes.

After all ... that's suppose to look like crap.

Well the issue wasn't really about how the finish turned out (you have obviously done something wrong here), but the fact that you claimed that paint sprayed from rattlecans somehow magically 'ruins' your tone. Giving other people advice based on, well nothing, doesn't really help people out at all and confuses people.

I've done something wrong here? ... Really? ... Interesting.

And may I ask what your experience with Krylon is?

My advice here is to help others avoid wasting their time, money, and projects doing stupid things like painting guitars with spraypaint.

Had I only posted the first pic and stated that Krylon worked great, what would your response be?

That I had "obviously done something wrong"?????

My advice here is based on years experience with rattlecans, not "nothing".

The proof is in my photos.

And I never said that Krylon "magically" ruins your tone ... I said it "totally ruins your tone".

So if you must quote me, please quote me accurately.

Again ... YOU use spraypaint on YOUR guitar and if YOU'RE happy with the results, and love the tone of a smothered turd, than I guess that's all that matters.

Don't waste your time with spraycans, especially Krylon.

It's WAAAAY too soft to use on guitars and totally ruins your tone.

Care to post some kind of proof of how it 'ruins' the tone.

Care to post some kind of proof that it doesn't?

Spraypaint is for lawn furniture, not guitars.

now that doesn't really qualify your statement...

No problem ...

BEFORE

AFTER

As for it effecting your tone, no ... I don't have proof of that.

In order to do that, I would have had to record clips before and after, which I had no reason for doing at the time.

Feel free to use Krylon and judge for yourself.