FINISHED - Oh, Well - why not

Andyjr1515

Thanks, folks  

I've done the first pass of the beveling - it adds a lot!  I'm happy with this now (in spite of the geese):

sinbaadi

You should be.  Goose-gate was blown out of all proportion  

The swifts look great.

Deadman

Really interesting and one great looking guitar there. Well done Andy!

Andyjr1515

Thanks, @Deadman ! Andy

Andyjr1515

So, slightly boring bits - finishing.  First I had to tidy up the cutouts.  I wasn't sure whether this would be ultimately a great mistake and a bin job so I didn't take much time getting the cutouts smooth and filled.  Now I'm pretty happy with them, it's time to get them right.

So, out comes the sandpaper (I used an upside down PC mouse as a sanding block) and, of course the ink:

The dark patch on the top horn is a filled in 'insect hole'  Hopefully it went out of this hole in its country of origin rather than in!

A few more coatings of the two inks got me here and ready for the proper varnishing:

The cutouts will darken again once the varnish is on them but be a lot smoother and professional-looking ... I hope...   

I then screwed a piece of timber to the neck pocket so I can use my high technology guitar varnishing stand:

Not sure what I will do when I need to use some of the copying paper, but in the meantime, this allows me to do top, back and sides all at the same time.

I will be wiping on the varnish (I'll explain as I'm going along)

The other thing I've never done before is put a truss-rod cover on a strat-type neck... hmmmmm.

   How about routing a tiny swift on some leftover, scratchplate, cut it to shape, heat it, bend it?

Goodness knows if this will work but, what the heck, may as well try it  )

I tried this evening to see if the stuff does bend:

It certainly does  

If it looks naff, I can always leave it off but...well, who knows....

WezV

I am having a truss rod cover on mine as the headplate hasn't gone too neat around the hole.  

I used a heat gun, lowest setting, not too long, not too close, not on celluloid....worked perfectly, although i wish i had thought to grab a rag to hold it in place while it cooled down.  It bent perfectly but stayed hot longer than i expected

Andyjr1515

Hi @WexV

That's good to hear - that it's not a daft idea rather than you burning your fingers 

I'll try it and see what it looks like - it might be one too many swifts...

Andy

Andyjr1515

Slight diversion - a number of the regulars will know that I wipe-on varnish rather than spray.  

Reasons are simple - I don't have the facilities for spraying (cans or otherwise) and I don't have the patience to wait for a dead calm, not too hot, not too many flies, not when the neighbour has a bonfire going, not too humid, not raining day to do it outside.  

I've promised for ages to explain what I do so, what better way than on a live project!

First the provisos:

• This finish will never match a well done spray and polish job.  It is ideal for what I usually do, which is varnishing guitars that have figuring from either real wood or veneer.
• Actually, if I had some decent buffing wheels, I could probably get close, but I haven't so I cant 
• I use good old Ronseal Hardglaze.  It is nowhere near as tough as a modern commercial poly finish.  Once it is properly set, it is, however, pretty tough  and, in my view, tough enough for most uses

If you haven't already, discover the FULL potential of microfibre cloths.  They are flipping fabulous.  Completely lint free and (can be) extremely cheap.

This is my kit:

That's it, except for one more microfibre.  The above ones are about £3 for 4.  Special ones for cleaning windows are a bit more expensive, but well worth it as they are the most effective 'tack rag' (ie to pick up dust and bits) that I have EVER used.  And they are washable, reusable, etc....

Here's the one I use (I think it was about £6):

I'll post the technique shortly

Andy

imalone

...but don't use sainsbury's own microfibre cloths if you plan to cut them as they disintegrate at the edges and will leave bits everywhere.

Andyjr1515

The basic technique is very straightforward:

Water the varnish down with 30%-ish white spirits (hence the jam jar); wipe the guitar down with the glass-cleaning cloth to get rid of any dust; dip the cheap fluffy microfibre in the varnish, squeeze out the excess; wipe on.

There are a few tips and tricks that I will try to cover as I go, but this is it after about 5 coats (and you can get around 2 coats a day...the white spirits makes it dry more quickly):

Note, by the way, that I have chosen not to fill the grain fissures - they are very even and give the whole body an organic look.

Just a post-script - although I say that the above technique is better for a figured finish, I think you will agree that black gloss is one of the most difficult finishes to get right.  Under duress (and with all the above provisos) I have varnished a friends bass body this way - this is BEFORE buffing and polishing...I think it's not too bad a result given the ease and simplicity:

In the meantime, the project continues....

Thanks for looking

Andy

Andyjr1515

imalone said:

...but don't use sainsbury's own microfibre cloths if you plan to cut them as they disintegrate at the edges and will leave bits everywhere.

Actually - don't cut ANY microfibre cloths because they all do the same!!!  Thanks for the reminder @imalone

Andyjr1515

Having just written a 65 page report, I have awarded myself a proper lunchbreak - long enough to try the truss-rod cover idea.

I freehand sketched another swift (much smaller this time) and a trussrod cover shape.  Routed the swift with the Dremel and cut out the shape with a coping saw.  Finally chamfered the edges with a penknife:

Held it in a pair of pliers and heated it with a heat-gun.  Learned from @WezV not to burn my fingers  )

I popped the hot cover onto the headstock and pressed down with a tissue:

To my utter amazement, it seems to have worked 

 

Whether it will look any good on the finished article is, of course, another matter.  That'll have to wait until it's had all of its coats of varnish  

ThePrettyDamned

Holy cow, so amazing!

Andyjr1515

ThePrettyDamned said:

Holy cow, so amazing!

So @ThePrettyDamned, ref the earlier posts, we've had swifts, geese on a guitar the colour of a mallard's head and now...cows????  It's turning out to be a right menagerie    )

Thanks for the feedback 

sinbaadi

It is absolutely cracking mate well done.

Andyjr1515

Thanks, @sinbaadi  

Andyjr1515

Part of the judgement with the wipe method is deciding when to stop (ooh er missus ! )

I think this is quite close to the point where it maybe starts getting worse rather than better...

Andyjr1515

It quite often turns out not to be, but I am hoping that I have done the final gloss coat on the body - ever the b****y optimist  

The funny round splodges on the photo of the back are reflections of cupboard knobs....

This week's job is the electrics while I'm waiting for the varnish to dry properly - or redoing the varnishing, of course 

)

sinbaadi

Put my effort to shame with that finish!

I ran out of patience with mine because I was too excited to build it.  You've done a great job with that.  Genuinely coveting it

Andyjr1515

sinbaadi said:

Put my effort to shame with that finish!

I ran out of patience with mine because I was too excited to build it.  You've done a great job with that.  Genuinely coveting it

If it makes you feel a bit better, @sinbaadi, it is a bit hit and miss and I have my fair share of times when it doesn't go quite right.

  I'm doing a gloss black at the moment and that is turning out to be a bit of a nightmare.  This one is the exception rather than the rule where it seems to be behaving itself!  Even then, I don't ever claim that it can match a well applied spray finish.

It also is my 'n' th attempt - your (first?) attempt looked pretty damn fine to me!

Andy