mungokitty

I am just amazed at that neck. Bloody awesome. Nice work!

Thanks for the replies. I am going to be testing out in the next week. Fingers crossed.

Thanks so much!

I called up the paint supplier and am having the colour mixed without the matting agent in it. That should save a bit of coin too.

I'm going to start a thread of my project in the other ones, so will show the practice runs as well. thanks again

Still wrong Wes

Flattening agent certainly leaves a finish with less gloss (semi-gloss), very little gloss (satin), or zero gloss (matt). Adding more definately starts limiting clarity (eg: it starts getting milky). BUT, you only need the final coat to be satin/matt, so its not an issue. If you did every coat with flattening agent (you wouldn't though), it would not have the clarity that the same clear does, without the flattening agent added.

BUT, despite the flattening agent being even through out the coat, it can definately be buffed to near 100% gloss. NOTE, Ive said gloss, not clarity. If you read the text you quoted, you'll see it says that also

EG: last pic "you can make satin and flat (matt) finishes appear SHINY (gloss) when viewed in reflective light"

Gloss is the level of shine. A black paint job is still gloss, even when you can't see through it (clarity). Adding flattening base over the black (mixed in clear) dulls the black to a very very very dark grey (basically black) with a non GLOSS reflection (eg: satin or flat/matt).

Look at any modern Fender neck. Starts off satin, ends up gloss from wear. The flattening agent is still there, it's just been buffed by usage (or a buffer!).

For all intents and purposes, disregard the clarity aspect. It really isnt an issue.

Flattening agent is somewhat universal (I havent found a product it DOESNT work with), eg: nitro, two pack, acrylic, enamel... all use the same stuff. Or at least, the stuff I use is universal...

It is very inconsistant though. Humidty, faster hardners or faster thinners/reducers, temperature, level of thinners/reducer, and coat thickness (somewhat) all effect the ratio you need to add. There is no hard and fast rule, you simply need to spray a sample on another piece of work 30-60 minutes prior to spraying your 'real' coats.

Errrg... um, I have just ordered a (nitro) dark grey colour from a paint supplier, with flattening agent in it, and (nitro) satin clear coat.

Am I reading right that I shouldn't put too many layers of the satin clear coat on?

Combined with the flat paint and the satin clear coat, will it look "cloudy"?

G'day everyone,

I apologise if this sounds like a really stupid question, but is it possible to acheive a matte finish on a metallic colour? If so, how would I go about it?

You see, I have my heart set on a paint colour for my epi Les Paul - it's called titanium grey, and was an automotive paint on the Mazda RX-8, MX-5 etc - posted a pic of the colour below.

The thing is, though, I also have my heart set on a matte finish... and titanium grey is a metallic colour.

Any advice would be appreciated. I have just set up a makeshift booth in the garage and am going to start a few practice runs this weekend, using old strat copies I scored at a garage sale.

As the project guitar - once I graduate from the practice strats - is an LP300 with loads of clear coat, I'm not planning to be take the body all the way back to bear wood - rather I plan to be sanding back, filling, priming and painting. I hope this is the right approach.

That looks great. Nice job. Good to see the process of the orange peel coming off and that end result looks awesome. Nice job for a first go!

I just Googled "Gotoh tune-o-matic bridge" and got around 50 responses. Stewart McDonald is a reliable source.

Ah sorry, I should have clarified, I found them as soon as I added Gotoh to the search term. I was originally searching for les paul bridge choice.

I have spent the last couple of days on StewMac. Great site!

Thanks again

That's great, thank you for that. Good advice, I appreciate it. I have decided to stick with the tuno-o-matic, and advice like that helps reinforce it.

I have been researching all weekend and hadn't found the Gotoh pieces. The company I was looking at was WarMan. They seem OK, but I am yet to find anyone who has used them before.

G'day, I apologise in advance for this (possibly dumb, but definitely novice) question. AND apologies for the spelling in the thread topic - cold fingers.

I am embarking on my first re-build - a cheapo Epi LP-300, currently running the tune-o-matic bridge.

I have a Gibson SG (61 re-issue) and a fender Tele (early '90s), so I want to go all out on the Les Paul - no one will shed a tear for a modified LP300. (side note: I just scored a set of EMG 60/81 pickups really cheap, and am hoping to create a really angry, Hetfield-esque sound)

Link to my intro thread, sows pic of the old girl

Could I please have some advice on my bridge choices?

I am currently weighing up:

• Stick with tune-o-matic - which brand (s) would be recommended?
  
• A badass bridge (I am so confused about what this is and what I need to do to run this set-up, but have read about the benefits of tone and sustain)
  
• Go all out and drop a Kahler tremolo in (I'm across tat there's some routing to be done, wich is OK because the body will be getting a full spray job too)
  
• Or a Stetsbar tremolo... ?
  

Thanks so much. Sorry if this sounds completely clueless, but as I say, it's my first attempt at a build.

Cheers,

Andrew

There are a lot of things you can do with cans,but for completely custom colors,combinations,etc you really need to mix it yourself.And that means a gun or the Preval units

There are places you can get things mixed for you and put into spray cans(I think Sherwinn Williams does this at some locations),but if you want complete control over your colors and levels of gloss you need to do your own mixing and have a good selection of pigments,dyes,etc..

Thank you for the info. It looks like I am going to be doing a lot of mixing practice.

Sorry to bug again, but would a satin clear coat still produce a matte finish on a metallic paint? I am looking at a gun metal, I know the exact colour I want, but it's an automotive paint - metallic.

I'd love to see the results, if possible.

I'm looking to try a gunmetal colour, with red highlights and the matte finish.

Is it possible to get this out of a can? Or is it a gun-only approach?

I'm in awe of this guitar! Amazing.

Sorry to bring up an old post.

Good luck, and welcome.

Thank you

G'day everyone,

I'm new, as you can tell by my topic title. An old work colleague comes on here all the time and has built a few guitars in the past, and he's sent me across here to learn and participate.

I am about to embark on my first ever build. It should be interesting indeed. Before I fill you in, my set up currently includes: Vox AC30, Gibson SG (61 reissue), Signature series Fender Telecaster (1995), and a bunch of pedals... and this old girl, who is going to be my first victim.

She's an old school Epiphone LP-300 - the cheapo Les Pauls that pre-dated the LP-100. She was my first guitar and has sat dormant for over 15 years.

So what's the plan? Complete ground up build, including:

• Active pickups (looking at a set of 60/81 EMG)
  
• Bigsby temolo
  
• New Wiring
  
• Re-finish
  
• New machine heads
  
• New bridge etc
  

Stay tuned. I would love some advice, and will hopefully become a regular on here and keep you all updated, often.

Cheers