little.dipper

Hello. I'd like to add a few stripes across the corner of my new-build tele without botching it up. My plan has been to tape the whole guitar off with newspaper and just leave the striped area exposed. I guess I'm just looking for any suggestions on how long to let it dry before peeling back the tape - or any other suggestions if this is a bad idea all together. I'm guessing if it fully cures, I'll rip off more than I bargained for. Also, any suggestions on specific tapes would be much appreciated. The base color is a cream, and the stripe will be black. It'll be across the corner, very similar to the old mustang racing stripes. And I'm using acrylic lacquer automotive paints in rattle cans. Thanks for any help. Dave

I'm getting ready to start work on a telecaster body from a body blank. I don't have a telecaster available to reference, so I'm wondering if anyone can tell me how to drill the string/ferrule holes? I know I'll just drill a hole the same size as the ferrule in the back of the guitar, but how large a diameter is typically drilled the other way (for the strings to pass thru the top)? My guess would be just make it big enough for the strings and just make the ferrule hole deep enough for the ferrules, but any input from people here would be helpful. Thanks. Dave

Well here's what ReRanch 101 says: After allowing the instrument to dry at least three days (with nitrocellulose lacquer, the longer the better) final sanding and polishing can be done. I used acrylic lacquers from an auto store. So how long should I wait before final sanding? This is my first refinish so I really don't know. Thanks. Dave

Hello. I just finished my final clearcoat on my first refinish job. I'm going to wait a few days, then do the finish sanding and polishing. I wasn't able to find the polish that was mentioned in ReRanch's article (Finesse It II, I believe it's called), so I got an auto polish called Meguiar's Deep Crystal System Polish. Does anyone have any idea if something like this will work? A few of the polishes available said not to use over laquer, so I stayed away from them, but this seems to be a pretty straight forward polish. Also, this seems like a silly question, but when I'm doing my final block sanding, is it proper to sand in random circles as if I was buffing it, or should I sand in one direction? And finally, in a somewhat unrelated topic - I recently bought a new pickguard that has alot of the routing scratches showing from where the pickup holes were cut out (a very sketchy job). Is there any way to kind of smooth those out, possibly by fine sanding? I know it's plastic, but I didn't know if maybe there was a secret to it. Thanks for any help. Dave

The router bit idea doesn't sound bad to me at all. In fact, that was one of my initial ideas. I just didn't know if a bit would be long enought to cover the entire piece of wood.

Hello, I'm brand new here and I'm about to venture into my first build. I'm planning on a telecaster with a purchased neck (not quite ready for that yet). My question has to do with cutting out the body. I have a basic handheld jigsaw and some basic woodworking skills - would I be better off having someone cut the body for me on a bandsaw? I was looking thru the tutorial on building a body and noticed that the guy had the body cut at a local capentry shop for cheap. Is that something that's easy to have done? Just wondering if that's common (to have a place like that locally) and how much it may cost me. I'm sure I'll have lots more questions over the coming month or so, but I guess this is where I start. Thanks for any help. Dave