Drak

Yeah, I probably shouldn't have 'gone there' since this is your first and maybe only refinish. There are many tricks and tips you can get under your belt with time and experience. But trickery, really, has no place for someone on their first finish, I should say that. A person must have the basics well and firmly in hand before they can 'go gangsta' style and shoot loose from the hip. You have to know the rules and limitations and experience the rules for yourself before you can break and bend the rules and get away cleanly with it. That would firmly fall in the category of 'not' planning for successful outcomes by making 'gangsta' finishing choices before you know what you can get away with. PS, I live in MD so your shoot conditions should be similar to mine, maybe a little worse since you're a little farther South. But, shooting season (weather) is here, it literally just started today, and should be OK until ...maybe...sometime in May. I check my local weather station online all the time before I pick up a gun, looking for humidity of 55% or less. 50%, really, is the limit, but I can push it a little by using a bit of retarder. Anything past 55% generally spells troubles, problems, and fixing things I'd rather not have to fix in the first place.

Yes, but there is a part of me that will never die that always wants to give a big fat middle finger to 'the right way', or the way everyone else does things. Just had to beat that finger into submission this time around. Well Thank You Mr. Scott. Today is a shooting day here, the weather is perrfect. I've already given them both a level sand and I dug into the dye a little more. For some reason they were beginning to look a little too homogenized for me, just a little. So I sanded back the distressed areas just a little bit more to my liking, just a slight adjustment to the recipe.

Well, I struck down the double down last night. You're Fired! I laid everything out in good light, took some pics and pondered the situation. The Leopard guards are out, I will find something better suited for them some day, and it was only $20.00, a very small loss. The blackguard on the Tele is just killing it in comparison. And as I had explained earlier, both bodies now look nearly identical, total brothers in arms now. Which, I find a little odd, since they were dyed two separate ways, I did not use the same colors, but damn if it doesn't look like I did. Here is the Timmons strat with maple and Ebony, still undecided on that one. Two free guitars from an old Oak tabletop, I'm still surprised how much I like them.

Scratching the wood is (generally) no big deal, that's going to happen if you're stripping a finish off of it. It's digging in and dinging it that sends you backwards. I figured you'd start asking about what finish to use soon enough...Plenty of time to contemplate that, and lots to do between now and then. What you want the final guitar to look like should be reasonably high on the priority list as you'll be buying dyes reasonably soon. This is all based on understanding priorities, what's coming soon, what's down the road... Do you want to do a wipe-on finish? Do you want to use aerosol cans? Lacquer? Poly? Pre-Cat? (becoming popular these days among the DIY crowd) Do you have spray equipment? (guessing not) Are you going to be spraying outside? If so, weather conditions are of paramount importance. I do shoot everything outside, and I generally am limited to two 'windows' of opportunity, seasonally speaking. Dead of summer months are WAY too humid here, shooting finishes is completely out of the question for me where I live in the summer months, so I'm always planning builds according to potential shooting opportunities (weather-wise). There are months upon months where I cannot touch a spray gun at all, but I'm used to it. I know my weather limitations like the back of my hand, and I stick to them like glue. Trying to overrule the weather is just asking to make mistakes and send yourself flying backwards. All this needs to be evaluated and answered...but not today. If you get your plan together, this will all be listed and sorted out in your order of operations. Because...there are things you need to start considering now, and things you have the Time to consider that are down the road. Finishes, for example, you now have weeks, if not maybe months, to search, ask, and investigate. Stripping, OTOH, is right around the corner, see what I mean? You can figure out how to use your time effectively on subjects that are coming down the road, but aren't here yet. What's the plan? What's the final guitar actually look like? Can you see it in your mind's eye? That needs your attention, that's a priority to spend some time on.

I don't think you'll get anywhere with a plastic scraper except turmoil and trouble. Heat guns are HOT, yo! I'd use metal (I do)...maybe round the corners off to prevent dig ins if you want a little added protection. The one I use is about 1.5" wide and it works perfect. Just be present and aware and keep the blade flat to the surface, don't try to bend or twist your way under the finish, you'll do fine. Just keep prodding it w/o trying to force it, when its heated up enough, it will let you know. Yellow tint ? Uhh, mine don't, can't speak for others...shooting lacquer for nearly 30 years now, no problems to report.

Speaking to your plans of heat-gunning the finish off...I'm a fan, done it many times, but there are warnings, and they are big warnings (to not make mistakes that drive you backward) The biggest warning is being overly aggressive and (if you're using a metal putty knife, which I do) digging into your wood with the corners. Do Not Let That Happen, not even once, since I brought it up and you know now. That is a huge step backwards and very very easy to do if you're not paying attention. The smallest 'dig' into that body wood will cause you time, effort, and frustration fixing what didn't have to happen. The second warning is overheating an area where it starts smoking or burning. A Huge 'Don't Let This Happen To You' warning. Whenever you see smoke, the finish is literally burning your Mahogany underneath of it. You'll have black burn marks in the Mahogany you'll have to sand out. So its like this: the heat needs to be 'in the window' of opportunity to lift the finish. Not too cold, not too hot, but 'in the window' of opportunity. And you have to work with it and not try to force it to happen. I generally Always keep the heat gun moving and work on areas about 8" around, no bigger, no smaller than that. Double-duty pic, you can see more copper shielding! I do it to all of my guitars, but I don't force it on anyone else. Your finish is probably poly, so it probably won't 'peel off' as nicely as these pics show, this is lacquer.

Shielding the cavities , if you want to do that (I always do but its optional) should be in your planner. Its one of the very very very last things I do before actually assembling the guitar. Or you could say its the very very very first part of the assembly process. I always use copper conductive tape, 2", from Amazon. Much better price than from any guitar specific resource place. Takes maybe 20 minutes.

Keep the ideas rolling and I'll keep giving you my feedback. I also like Royal Blue more than Turquoise, that's just what Google gave me to work with. Don't sweat alcohol vs. water yet, thanks for bringing up what is in your head, so I can give feedback. That battle is not on the horizon yet, its really not, and even when it is, its no big deal, it really isn't. I use both all the time and I could care less which one is in my hands most days. And I add water to alcohol dyes when the situation calls for it, which is sometimes...not often, but sometimes. NOW you're talking! Perfect! That is what I call planning for a successful outcome. And that's what we want.

Turquoise blue Mahogany: This is an excellent way of showing you the difference. The outer part of the body is Mahogany (what you have) The center piece is an inlay of Figured Maple. You cannot make one look like the other, yours is the outer, the Mahogany, that's what Mahogany looks like (in blue) If you want to do some sort of similar inlay, start drawing up the plans and making the .doc, make that brain work! You can do it, you can do anything, just depends on money, talent, tools, patience, followthrough, and a good plan.

This is what a burst looks like on Mahogany. Insert whatever color you want, blue, green, red, it will look much like this. Nothing more. This is what Mahogany looks like, that's about it. From what I can see, your Mahogany body looks quite nice, but no one really knows until its stripped. Now, if all that Maple-Gazing has you salivating (believe me, you won't be the first) Then maybe you want to re-calculate the whole thing and not move forward with this refinish. If your money is better spent actually buying a Figured Maple topped guitar, then that is the call. And you didn't waste a penny going down a road you really didn't want to travel in the end. This is what the .doc and planning stage is all about, perfectly normal.

I checked out the Northern Lights YT you linked and the Crimson Guitars. Not working so much for your guitar. You want to start looking up Mahogany finishes, or finishing, or pics of Mahogany guitars. That's what I would do, I would start searching using terms like 'custom mahogany guitar' or 'custom Mahogany finish' and see what pops up. Those will be your limitations. Like I said above, Doghair is a term typically used for Mahogany. Mahogany is what you have to work with, that is your first limitation. You are limited to what effects Mahogany can offer you, and mahogany is beautiful, but it's not flashy Maple. But keep bringing the posts, its all good, we're beginning to set some perimeters and boundaries of what you can and can't achieve on your specific guitar.

OK, I did a quick check on your first YT you linked. I've done that finish, many times. If this is your first project, the last thing you want to do is get in way over your head. This finish can be done to Mahogany, but it won't look nearly as effective as below, because of the wood itself. Look up (YT) Doghair Finishes. That is what they usually call this finish when its applied to Mahogany. And I've never seen a blue one, ever (except mine, but mine isn't Mahogany and its a few levels above first-time finish). How will you know if it's what you want? You'll go find a few pieces (yes, I skipped up to a few pieces now) of Mahogany. You'll do test runs on some scrap to see if you can do it and if you even like it before you plow into your guitar and possibly create a catastrophe that will need to be fixed. See how all this works together? Example One:

I wouldn't buy a single thing until you've drawn up your plan. Plan? Oh, hell yes, a plan, and that's not all. Start a .doc and make a list of every single piece of whatever you think you need to buy and start costing it all out. And start an order of operations, get it down on paper. Baggying up all the parts and labelling the bags, stripping, dying, finishing, assemblying, how does it all fit together? What goes where and when and why. Get it down on paper, it will force your brain to start coming up with answers. And you need those answers, believe me you do. I can do it all in my head, but I've done it hundreds of times, you haven't. My projects (usually) lead to successful outcomes. And if they don't, I'm not a risk avoidant person, I will jump straight off the cliff and not give a damn on the way down. But most people aren't like that, they ARE risk avoidant, and when shit hits the fan, they freak out and the fun factor begins shrinking, and we don't want that, we want LOTS of fun factor. So, a plan is needed, and a order of operations layout/scheme to get started off on the right foot. Categorize it...wood, finishing supplies, hardware, screws, electronic parts, whatever it is. Add it up and look at it as a whole...let your brain synthesize your plan into a whole 'thing' so you can 'see' in your mind's eye the finished guitar. That is your project as it sits, then you can begin adjusting and shaving wherever you need to. Give it a few days, maybe a week, of asking questions and getting answers to formulate 'the plan'. The worst thing you can do is start buying stuff then change your plans, and find out it doesn't work with 'the adjusted plan'. That is your first roadsign warning, don't buy a thing until you can see the finished project in your head, or you'll waste money and get pissed. This way of proceeding goes for the scrap piece I recommended you hunt down as well. It is the exact same philosophy at work, and it is a way to successful outcomes. If you slap some blue dye down on your scrap piece of Mahogany and it looks like crap... You just saved yourself countless hours of pissed-offed-ness from doing that to the guitar. Where it would take you FAR more time and effort to fix your mistake. Successful outcomes and kick-ass guitars means minimizing mistakes and catastrophes. Every step forward you take, you want it to be a successful step forward and keep moving ahead. Once you start making mistakes and having to fix them, it begins to remove the fun factor from the successful outcome you want. Make a plan, cost it out, adjust what you need to, ask questions, and go find a scrap of Mahogany.

I can't believe I did this thing last night...I completely doubled down on garish and tacky. These will be true brother builds now and the quaint whiffs of normality jettisoned forever to the very depths of the oceans. Full speed ahead and damn the torpedoes!

My personal preference that I always have a bottle of nearby...old 301, He's With Me!

I will tell you what I think after reading tonewood threads for ~30 years. I learned to psychologically diagnose and evaluate posters based on their answers for their various personality schisms. Its a hella lot more fun than reading, or worse, responding to tonewood threads. Its like a Rorschach ink-blot test thing, or a personality evaluation thing. You can tell a lot about a person by how they answer 'the tonewood' question!

Blue-dyed Mahogany can be really attractive if it's done right. To 'do it right', you first bleach the wood and get it as pale as possible using 2-part Kleen-Strip wood bleach. Then your blue will appear a nice blue and not some weird blech-blue due to the natural brown of the Mahogany affecting the blue (and it will). Bring your YT link here and post it about whatever you saw that you liked. I can most likely break it down for you and ascertain whether its a reasonably viable option for your guitar. The first thing I would recommend you do is go find a scrap piece of genuine Mahogany somewhere to do dry runs on. Doesn't have to be very big, just the same type of wood you want to work on, which is Mahogany here. About vendors techniques and colors, where do you live? Can you buy materials/products online?

Is THAT what that smell is? I'm going to have to stop by WalMart and ask the countergirl for a brief sniff of Poison to verify!

You are all light-years ahead of me flying multi-laminated jets ...while I happily pedal my Telecaster Flintmobiles. I can say no more, ...except nice to see you again, come see me in Bedrock some day!

To do the Steerhead, I am usually putting a (1/4"?) top over a chambered core wood, the steerhead gets cutout and shaped before I glue the top on. No way to achieve that here without ruining the nice distressed Oak appearance, which was the whole point with these. But they're both within regular weight limits now, the pickguard/rear route plan worked. Even at 1.5", they were both sinfully heavy pieces to begin with. If they were too heavy after routing, I wouldn't have proceeded, I would have trashed them or sawed them or something similarly horrific. I mean, it was just an old tabletop taking up space in the back of the woodbin, no loss to me if it didn't work out. The rules around here are very simple: If it ain't workin', it ain't workin', and it does not proceed forward from there if it hits that wall. And some indeed...do. Komodo can tell you all about it I'm sure .

So after playing this thing in yesterday, a few fine tuning features became obvious to me. There is simply no need for a middle pickup, although with the series cap in place ON the middle pickup, the middle pickup sounds 'closer' to the bridge pickup than the neck. It sounds more similar to the 'broken AM Radio' sound of the bridge pickup, which is the main feature of the guitar after all. So the 'other' pickup needs to somehow align itself with that feature. I want the sound of the middle pickup, but in the neck, and remove the middle pickup alltogether. I need a pickguard and pickup to do this w/o spending much money. Just on dogged stubborn bastard principle, I have a drawer full of pickups and will be damned if I'm going to buy another just for this. I must have something that will do what I need. Answer: I have several old Kay 'speedbump' pickups I've never used. They're known for archtop 'cowboy jazz' and slide, as they only ohm out in the low 5's, so they have a limited value and demand. Well, Tele necks ohm out around the same thing, so there's my answer. I'm going to buy a plain black Esquire pickguard and cut out a hole for a speedbump pickup. And spray the cover satin black most likely, as they have chromed covers. And install a series cap on it most likely, I'll play with values until I find something that works. Roy would appreciate this, I'm sure And I think it'll look kinda interesting and throw people off (I love doing that). I have never seen an old Kay speedbump in a blackened cover, that's for sure. You can easily hear how very low-wind and clear they are, a good matchup for my Roy build I think.

If there are no details on the packaging, how did you know it (potentially) dissolves in water, alcohol, or lacquer? Where (or how) did you come by that information? And I'm assuming it is not possible for you to post any pics of the container then... Do you have any other paint-related thinners or cleaners around your house? Turpentine, mineral spirits, anything like that? Can you call (or go visit if they're close by) any local/nearby boat/ship repair guys who refinish/repair sailing vessels? The dissolving chemical, whatever it is, once you know, everything will drop into place and make sense. It's just kind of like a puzzle at the moment, with a piece missing, nothing more than that.

Ha! OK, I had to think of the possibilities for a moment there...Poison...could be Botox (what I think it is), ...McDonalds, ...Bret Michaels, I'm sure I'm missing the point, but that whole line was hilarious. When I read it, it made me think of the perfumed flowery smell that goes along with older women sometimes, ...which is not pleasant. Do Tell Biz...what's the poison? For some reason, it made me think of Linda from The Wedding Singer, who those women used to be?