Tainted Love - LP Junior Double Cut

Adam_MD

Interesting I hadn't considered ronseal for the body and oil for the neck that might be just what I'm after.  Cheers Andy

SteveRobinson

Two forward strap buttons and neither in the right place!

Andyjr1515

SteveRobinson said:

Two forward strap buttons and neither in the right place!

Haha ... You spotted my devilish devices

Happily, this is only for my own use and, in various combinations with TWO BACK BUTTONS too (yes, quite) it gives me the options I need at the moment.  All to do with arthritis and other such irritating things....

I'm really starting to like this a lot...this 'one pickup, one tone, one volume' malarkey really does work!!!  Everything from jazz to acoustic to lead to bass crunch without going anywhere near the amp!  Fascinating.  

TTony

Andyjr1515 said:
this 'one pickup, one tone, one volume' malarkey really does work!!!  Everything from jazz to acoustic to lead to bass crunch without going anywhere near the amp!  Fascinating.  

If you have less to play with (and distract you), you spend more time working out how to play with what you've got and consequently discover more about what it can do.

IMHO.

joeyowen

Andyjr1515 said:

 

@Andyjr1515 ;

please please please please please please tell me what you used to get this finish.  I'd kill a puppy to own this guitar

Rabs

joeyowen said:

Andyjr1515 said:

@Andyjr1515 ;;;

please please please please please please tell me what you used to get this finish.  I'd kill a puppy to own this guitar

I did a finish just like that once when I refinished a Gibson DC just like above..  I believe in the end I got the best results with a ronseal red mahogany stain.... 

Great work by the way Andy...  And I have had very similar experiences recently getting pickups (even though not as bad as you)..

I ordered from DV247... Both pickups said they were in stock when I ordered them (a Gibson Burstbucker Pro and a P94) and I went to pick them up in store and was told they would take 4-5 days to get there.. So I thought ok I can wait a few days.. That time came and went and nothing.. The following week I tried calling the shop over a couple of days and no one answered (after like 30 rings) and no answerphone to leave a message... So a week and a half after my initial order I went back to the shop...

They said ohh there must have been a stock error and that the BB Pro had to be ordered from Gibson.. Then when I asked how long that would be they couldn't even give me an answer and said well you never know with Gibson..  BUT the P94 had arrived so I decided to at least get that..  They brought it down and I decided to open it while I was there.. As I opened the box the whole thing fell apart (had been smashed in transit somewhere) and the pickup itself was marked and scratched...  Arhhhhhhggg....   So the guy said hold on I will phone and see if we can do anything..  But no they wernt interested, I could either accept the pickup or order another one....  At which point I told them what they could do with their pikcups and walked out (and probably wont ever go back)..

I then that evening went on Amazon and ordered the pickups... Less than two days later they arrived in perfect condition... No hassle , no worries and free delivery...  Its a shame really.. I like going to shops but for some things they just arnt worth it.

Andyjr1515

joeyowen said:

Andyjr1515 said:

 

@Andyjr1515 ;

please please please please please please tell me what you used to get this finish.  I'd kill a puppy to own this guitar

There's a related thread but I've noticed all the pictures have disappeared from it.  I'll do a summary over the next day or so but it's basically red fountain pen ink (I think £3ish) and standard Ronseal Hardglaze polyurethane varnish (even cheaper in terms of how much used of a small tin), both wiped on using a Sainsburys £1 micro fibre cloth

Andyjr1515

Hi again, @joeyowen

Yes - the original thread seems to have lost all of the pictures.  I experimented a bit on this using the tru-oil slurry method, but in the end varnished it as I normally do.  

This recent veneer job on a Harley Benton bass was done with the same ink and the same varnish:


...and the back, staining the original Ash:


I generally use Diamine fountain pen or calligraphy ink as a stain (and yes, before everyone piles in, the colour fastness is unproven but I've never personally had any issues after a number of years use on guitars and basses kept in full daylight, unlike Gibson some respected suppliers ).  It's cheap, UK based, good web site, HUGE range of colours and good service.

I usually wipe the ink on, working it into the grain, with a clean lint-free cloth.  The above one and the Junior (a wonderful double cut build supplied by GSPBasses) used 'Wild Strawberry' fountain pen ink, but there are loads of other shades on their web site to get the shade you want.  A small 30ml bottle costing just a few £ will easily stain both sides of a guitar.  The underlying wood affects the final tone, hence the more muted tone on the Junior above which is, of course, darker Mahogany.

Then, I generally wipe-on the Ronseal Hardglaze varnish, usually thinned with white spirits (although a recent formulation change has made me slightly modify how I do it), wiped on using the cheapo micro fibre cloths available in most supermarkets and DIY chains.  Having said that, with the formulation change, the above bass was done with the same varnish, but applied un-thinned and with an artists fan-brush:

 

I have some threads dotted about so just give a shout if you want to try it yourself 

Hope this answers your original question

And no need to kill a puppy....for a mere King's ransom, this one could be yours....

Andyjr1515

Andyjr1515 said:

And no need to kill a puppy....for a mere King's ransom, this one could be yours....

...and if that doesn't tempt you, it's got swifts too

joeyowen

@Andyjr1515 ;

See, in the above image, it looks rather glossy, whereas it looks matt in others.

Witchcraft. 

Andyjr1515

joeyowen said:

@Andyjr1515 ;

See, in the above image, it looks rather glossy, whereas it looks matt in others.

Witchcraft. 

I know witches should never reveal their secrets, but that's what the other thread was about.

Basically, I used this as a test bed to try out a hunch.  I've used the excellent @WezV approach of tru-oil slurry and buff a number of times for unstained wood - it produces wonderful silky smooth but organically-feeling results:


Generally, though, the advice is not to use this method if you are staining, because the slurrying does, of course, sand away the stain.

So I tried a couple of different methods with staining, sealing then lightly slurrying and finally buffing.  The results were encouraging:


The next issue was whether the stain would rub off onto your clothes in actual use?  So, even though I wanted the Junior to basically be a light-gloss finish, I left the neck stained and slurry and buffed but unvarnished (a slurry and buffed neck is the tops in terms of silky smooth feel):



Also encouraging - certainly for my playing.  No sign at all of the stain rubbing off onto my playing hand.

So I then tried the same method for a semi-pro contact's Gibson LPJ (with his full knowledge).  He does a HELL of a lot of gigging so it really would be a test.  

I refinished it from this:


...to this:


The neck is done the same way.  His feedback after loads of gigging with it is that there is no sign of the dye coming off on his hands.

So I will be using that method again in the future


So there you go:

• A full explanation of the fiendish ways and aims of the witchcraft
• An explanation why the Junior mysteriously went from satin to gloss (but still with a satin neck)
• A further reason why you want to buy my Junior for a vastly inflated price (look into my eyes....you want this guitar....you need this guitar...): it looks great; it sounds flipping awesome; it's got a silky smooth neck that won't give you red hands; it's got swifts and....it has a technical history - nay, let's not be modest, it has legend!

 

eSully

Fantastic thread, I've been reading through the stickies and your other threads regarding finishing and just wanted to say thanks @Andyjr1515 (and @WezV)  Some top tips I'll be putting in action over the next few weeks - Timing is perfect for me as I bought a les Paul junior dc kit build this week before I saw the thread. Thought it would be a great, straightforward starter kit to learn on. Diamine oxblood ink on the way. Got my titebind and hardglaze. My time is limited but hopefully get the guitar together over the next few weeks

Quick question, where did you get the headstock black veneer and did you use grainfiller for the LPJ build? 

Andyjr1515

eSully said:

Fantastic thread, I've been reading through the stickies and your other threads regarding finishing and just wanted to say thanks @Andyjr1515 (and @WezV)  Some top tips I'll be putting in action over the next few weeks - Timing is perfect for me as I bought a les Paul junior dc kit build this week before I saw the thread. Thought it would be a great, straightforward starter kit to learn on. Diamine oxblood ink on the way. Got my titebind and hardglaze. My time is limited but hopefully get the guitar together over the next few weeks

Quick question, where did you get the headstock black veneer and did you use grainfiller for the LPJ build? 

Hi @eSully ;

I usually use David Dyke for ebony headstock faceplates on my own builds - they really are not expensive and it's the real deal.

I didn't use grainfiller on the LPJ (and generally don't personally) - the slurry and buff process basically acts as a grainfiller...  

eSully

Andyjr1515 said:

eSully said:

Fantastic thread, I've been reading through the stickies and your other threads regarding finishing and just wanted to say thanks @Andyjr1515 (and @WezV)  Some top tips I'll be putting in action over the next few weeks - Timing is perfect for me as I bought a les Paul junior dc kit build this week before I saw the thread. Thought it would be a great, straightforward starter kit to learn on. Diamine oxblood ink on the way. Got my titebind and hardglaze. My time is limited but hopefully get the guitar together over the next few weeks

Quick question, where did you get the headstock black veneer and did you use grainfiller for the LPJ build? 

Hi @eSully ;

I usually use David Dyke for ebony headstock faceplates on my own builds - they really are not expensive and it's the real deal.

I didn't use grainfiller on the LPJ (and generally don't personally) - the slurry and buff process basically acts as a grainfiller...  

Thanks, I'm sure I read somewhere Gibson didn't grain fill LPJ's - I've got some rustins grain filler on the way and in two minds whether to use it.

fendergibson

I only came here for ' tainted love '

Marc Almond is a bloody great singer, blows you away when you hear him live ( no pun intended )

Less of this click bait please 

Andyjr1515

fendergibson said:

I only came here for ' tainted love '

Marc Almond is a bloody great singer, blows you away when you hear him live ( no pun intended )

Less of this click bait please 

Apols.... Trouble is, the alternative title 'Don't You Just Hate It When Misleading Suppliers Turn Something You Were Really Pleased With Into Something That Just Leaves A Bitter Taste In Your Mouth Double Cut Junior' wouldn't quite fit in the Subject space

JudasVigilante

Looks amazing Andy. Really nice finish. 

Andyjr1515

JudasVigilante said:

Looks amazing Andy. Really nice finish. 

Thanks  Good to hear from you.  I'll pm you in the morning ref the SG and HBs (and yes, I rate them very highly for bang for buck)