fookgub

Razor blade sounds like a promising option for the edge buildup. I tried the paintbrush thing last night on the big run near the neck pocket and just made things worse. I think I'm going to sand out the affected area and use my small gun to touch it up (along with a couple patchy areas on the sides).

Yes, Wilkins Guitars. I haven't had any personal experience with them, but there are one of the biggest players in the guitar finishing game. They do OEM finishing for a number of companies in addition to their refinish operation, and their quality is well known. It would be worth it to call them just to see about their paint systems and whether or not they're compatible with your guitar. I put an ad out on Craigslist when I was looking to farm out the finishing on my seven string. Didn't get many responses, but one guy in particular seemed very knowledgeable. He was a custom bike guy (they tend to have very high standards) and had even done a guitar before, but I eventually decided to do it myself simply because of the cost. On my first refinish, I drove the guitar around to several local body shops until I found one that would do the clear coats for me. He only charged me $30, but he did it to typical car standards, not guitar standards (two coats, slight buildup on the edges... I ended up sanding through the clear in a couple spots). I also took that guitar to a couple luthiers, who wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. Mark Erlewine, a renowned luthier who just happens to have a shop down the street from me, quoted me the "get out" price of $800, while Chris Forshage flat out said he wouldn't do it. Another thing to be aware of is that poly is more difficult to level and buff than nitro. The payoff is that it's much more durable, but for a first timer, I would recommend finding someone that will do the buffing for you. Anyway, I guess my basic recommendation is to stick with guys that have high standards. Either custom paint or guitar specific. Talk to them about what you've got so far and see if they can answer your questions. DIY is probably the best option if you plan to do more of these. Finishing can be a real pain in the butt (that's why it costs so much), but you will save a lot of money in the long run if you learn how to do it. Otherwise, find a pro and get it done right the first time (and bring your wallet!).

I've been working on color coats for my Tonemaster build, and I've run into a snag. I'm using 1# cut shellac tinted with LMI dye concentrates. The first coat curtained around the neck pocket on the side of the guitar, leaving a dark ridge. I tried to sand the ridge out, but I just ended up making the surrounding area lighter. After another coat, the ridge is clearly visible, and there is a light patch around it from the sanding. I know I could strip and start over, but I'm hoping to find an easier solution. So far here is what I've come up with: 1. Carefully tape around the ridge with masking tape, then sand until it matches. 2. Use a fine tipped artist's brush with alcohol and/or more tinted shellac to try to blend the ridge in and darken up the affected area. I don't mind if the fix isn't perfect. If it is very faint or looks like a grain line, it won't bother me. Also, I still have two coats to go, which I'm hoping will help obscure imperfections in the first couple coats. Any ideas? I know the initial reaction will be "don't be lazy! Strip it and start over." But this project has been languishing for a while and I would really like to get it done before I run out of good painting weather. Plus the shellac really likes to run, and I can't guarantee that I will avoid future runs even if I do start over.

I completely agree with this. Your typical Maaco-type paint shop will only spray one or two coats, and they will not rub it out. When you try to wetsand and buff you're likely to go through the clear. If you find a guy that does custom paintwork on bikes and stuff, he's much more likely to do it right. Be aware that it will not be cheap. I talked to a motorcycle guy once and he quoted me around $300. For that amount of money you can get a gun, compressor, and respirator (important!!!!) and do it yourself, provided you have somewhere to spray. Your first job won't be perfect, but you will save a lot of money in the long run by doing your own finishes (if you plan to keep building, that is). Also, I would be extremely wary of baking and/or UV catalyzed finishes. Honestly, if you don't want to do it yourself, I would just send it to Wilkins.

I asked them a similar question once and got the "acts like a switch" response. It doesn't make sense to me. A pot is just a voltage divider, and it should work as intended as long as it's impedance is large compared to the source impedance. I have an EMG equipped guitar (with 25k pots). I thought about trying some 500k pots to see if the "acts like a switch" statement is true, but I've never actually gotten around to it. I'm not saying it's not true, but I can't seem to figure out why it might be.

Wow, I would have guessed double or triple that figure, especially with such a nice case! I always figured tube amps would be pricey projects with the cost of tubes and transformers. Care to share any details on the acrylic faceplate?

Yes, much better. I'll add that I greatly prefer to have my wah first in the signal chain. Try it out and see if you like it. These rules aren't written in stone, so do what sounds best for you. Many people seem to like having the wah before distortion, though.

Saw this one on Jemsite yesterday. Great build, but it gave me a serious case of tool envy! Do you own the waterjet the you cut out the templates with?

The singlecut look great! What are the scale lengths?

Nice catch - that makes far more sense than any other explaination. Actually, it looks like I spoke too soon: http://www.spectrumglass.com/Library/Score...oFishStory.html

You can't cut glass like that. It's just slight of hand. What's the water really for, you ask? To conceal the pre-cut pieces and allow him to manipulate them without anyone noticing.

My understanding is that the airless guns don't atomize the paint as finely, so you could have problems with uneven application and bad orange peel. Stick to a regular air-powered gun.

Always nice to have your advice, Drak. I'm going to let my shellac sit for a while and see what happens. I sprayed a sealer coat yesterday with SealCoat, but I don't think I want to use it for color coats. The 2# cut seems too thin, and I don't think the amber color of the shellac is going to help me get the red I'm after. Is there any clear shellac, or is it all amber?

A little progress: The work has been going excruciatingly slowly, but I finally finished sanding the guitar and got a sealer coat of shellac on it. I picked up some Sherwin-Williams conversion varnish today, and I'm very excited to try it out. It should build faster, cure faster, dry harder, and wear better then the nitro I've been using. Gotta love modern chemistry! I'm waiting on my dye to come from LMI, then I'll get started with the color coats in about two weeks.

Thanks for the advice. I assumed this stuff would be de-waxed, but I guess it's not. After letting it sit overnight, it hasn't settled at all, either. I'm going to go buy a can of SealCoat instead. On a side note, is it advisable to use the Seal Coat for my color coats? I'm planning a translucent red for one guitar and a sunburst on the other one, and I will be clearing it with Sherwin-Williams conversion varnish. The reason I don't want to do my color coats with the SW stuff is that westhemann said he had problems with the varnish taking too long to cure when he added dye. Also, I've never done a sunburst before, and I want to use something that is reversible and easy to work with for the color coats.

I bought some Bulls Eye clear shellac last week, and I've been planning to use it for sealer and translucent color coats on a couple guitars I'm working on. I was a little surprised when I opened the can and the shellac was an opaque amber color. Is this normal? Shellac on the left, alcohol on the right. This is how it looked straight out of the can:

Thought I'd bump my old topic to show off my new sound clip. The guitarist from my old band came over the other day with some song ideas and he ended up recording this. I was surprised at how good the piezos sounded. Recording setup was guitar (piezos only) --> Tillman preamp --> computer (via line in) --> NI Guitar Rig 2 with Jazz Chorus model. http://www.ece.utexas.edu/~wrobert/test.mp3

The one at my local GC is very light weight. I agree with Xanthus that the Ibanez S-series guitars aren't as light as they look, but the Yamahas are suprisingly light. Interestingly, the one I've played didn't have the LSR-style tuners. I wonder if they dropped those to cut costs.

The Guitar Center near me has one of these guitars, and I've played it a couple times. It's actually a very nice instrument for the money... one of the few off-the-shelf guitars I would consider buying these days.

Thanks for the advice, everyone! I'm going to be mostly dealing with tinted lacquer, so I'm going to buy the 5-pack of premixed dyes as soon as I figure out whether or not I want to toss anything else in with the order.

That is a great price! LMI claims any color can be mixed from the 5 basic colors they give you in the kit. Is this true?

I'm working on a couple of projects right now with tinted finishes. I need three or four different colors of dye, and all I've been able to find at Stewmac and Woodcraft is two-ounce bottles for around $17 each. This is way more dye than I need, and I don't really want to spend $70 on a bunch of dye when it will take me years to use it up at my current building pace. I was really hoping to find an assortment of colors in 1/2-once bottles for a more economical price. Does anyone know where I could buy something like that?

Check this out. It looks like a thin hardwood top and back are laminated to the core under pressure. The core is curved over the width of the guitar, which defines the curves of the guitar. After the top and back are laminated, the guitar shape is cut out. That's just going from the flash video on Yamaha's website. It could be BS, though... most marketing is. Still, it seems like a plausible way to build these guitars. The core wood is something very light and resonably stiff. Balsa, maybe? The hardest part for a DIYer would be working with the body once the curves on the top and back are established early in the building process. Many steps rely on having flat tops and backs (such as routing for pickups, cutting the shape from the blank, etc.). I think a skilled builder could find a way around these problems, though. Laminating the top and back wouldn't be too hard using a vacuum bag, but it would taking a little thinking to figure out how to establish the curves in the core wood.

Cool! I have to admit I wasn't really sold on the thin body idea when you first brought it up, but I'm really starting to like it now.

Sure, as long as you have the tools/patience/ability to make a steel pickguard. It'll be great for shielding against EMI.