New guitar incoming for finishing and assembly

davros

It looks killer in photos too!

I'd scrape before sealer, otherwise you'll be scraping back the sealer and leave a bit of a ridge that would have to be covered with clear.

With plastic binding, scraping now should be pretty easy.

Andyjr1515

Wow!!!!

Superb.  Great colour and that figuring just explodes

I'm a bit unconventional when it comes to finishing so probably not the best one to advise on next steps, but 'sand back sealer'?   Hmmm - that will depend on what type of sealer and how much and what with.  The word of caution is that the stain coat will be very thin indeed and it will sand away very easily.

ThePrettyDamned

Thanks guys

Yes, in that case, I'll scrape binding before sealing.

@Andyjr1515 this sealer forms a pretty rough surface after spraying, and chestnut recommend a very light rub back with 400 grit paper or an abrasive pad they sell. In testing this gave a very smooth surface for finishing that didn't "burn through" - the key being to be incredibly light touch!

I might try the abrasive pad, but might stick to what I know. It's got a lubricant in it, so it does sand very quickly and easily, further reducing the risk. I'll look it up though, and see if I can paint on my first clear coat first. 

I did burn through a piece on clear coat though, because I sanded with too much pressure - that'll learn me for not using any water. 

ThePrettyDamned

@GSPBASSES deserves the credit by the way. I named this thread quite deliberately - I am not a builder. I have no skills, tools or timber - all credit goes to Graham for this insanely pretty guitar! 

TTony

I've kept an eye on this thread from a safe, but interested, distance.

With one exception (when I wanted some gold highlight under a red stained finish), I've never grain-filled any of my builds.  I've never had the urge, preferring as natural a finish as possible so that I can "feel" the wood and see the natural grain.  

Having tread this thread, I've now got another good reason not to grain fill (the time and effort and skill needed to do it properly!), but at the same time I'm wondering whether I should have a go, because the finshed effect is several level of shiny-wow ahead of my far simpler finishes!

Great work, TPD, and thanks for sharing the step-by-step experience.

WezV

I had to remind myself there was a maple fill by the neck pickup. I was concerned it would be highlighted by a direct stain, but it seems to have hidden itself pretty well

ThePrettyDamned

WezV said:

I had to remind myself there was a maple fill by the neck pickup. I was concerned it would be highlighted by a direct stain, but it seems to have hidden itself pretty well 

ah! I should have clarified, I had to be a bit clever with this. 

After all stain was applied, then removed, applied etc till I was happy I actually gave it one last touch up of pure blue with no thinners added. This spot was a fair bit lighter in colour - I needed to add two more touch up applications of blue stain and it did a good job (I used cotton buds to do this, one side dipped in stain and the other with a nearly-dry amount of thinners to lift any excess from the edge). 

So I'm really pleased to hear that feedback! It's visible, but I decided it would be something of a badge of honour. It's such a precise repair job that I wouldn't have the skills to do at all. Graham, again, takes all credit. 

TTony said:

I've kept an eye on this thread from a safe, but interested, distance.

With one exception (when I wanted some gold highlight under a red stained finish), I've never grain-filled any of my builds.  I've never had the urge, preferring as natural a finish as possible so that I can "feel" the wood and see the natural grain.  

Having tread this thread, I've now got another good reason not to grain fill (the time and effort and skill needed to do it properly!), but at the same time I'm wondering whether I should have a go, because the finshed effect is several level of shiny-wow ahead of my far simpler finishes!

Great work, TPD, and thanks for sharing the step-by-step experience.

Wow, thank you! Your builds always impress me, so again, this is high praise indeed! 

I don't know about skill. Patience though... Patience is needed, and not my strongest suit. I've learnt a lot, and this thread is mostly for me - I'd definitely encourage others to use polyurethane on grain filled guitars though. I don't like nitro finishes (they're fussy, they scratch easily and I find them a bit sticky at times, although that could easily just be my personal preferences liking a super slick neck). 

Even now, I can see there are some spots of grain that are not completely filled - although the sealer seems to have done a good job of dealing with this. Hell of a lot of work though. 

For the neck, I'm just going to go to 2000 grit wet sand after a few coats of poly and it is so tactile and slick - it may even be too slippery for some, it really is like a sheet of ice. For the rest I'll use the polishing compounds to get that super fine gloss. 

paulnb57

Wow! Stunning top!

WezV

Well the sign of success isn't making it invisible.  its making it so you wouldn't see it if you didn't already though it was there... so you've done really well

Edit... and it's more impressive knowing you didn't just get lucky with the wood colours  

ThePrettyDamned

WezV said:

Well the sign of success isn't making it invisible.  its making it so you wouldn't see it if you didn't already though it was there... so you've done really well

Edit... and it's more impressive knowing you didn't just get lucky with the wood colours  

Aww thanks! It could have been a worse match, don't get me wrong, but it did benefit greatly from a little extra concentrated dye, just to bring it back a bit. Now it's dry it is very well camouflaged so I'm thrilled!

Will start the arduous job of scraping back tonight! 

Andyjr1515

ThePrettyDamned said:

@Andyjr1515 this sealer forms a pretty rough surface after spraying, and chestnut recommend a very light rub back with 400 grit paper or an abrasive pad they sell. In testing this gave a very smooth surface for finishing that didn't "burn through" - the key being to be incredibly light touch!

Sounds good

ThePrettyDamned

Andyjr1515 said:

ThePrettyDamned said:

@Andyjr1515 this sealer forms a pretty rough surface after spraying, and chestnut recommend a very light rub back with 400 grit paper or an abrasive pad they sell. In testing this gave a very smooth surface for finishing that didn't "burn through" - the key being to be incredibly light touch!

Sounds good

Out of interest, I tried using the red abrasive pad they sell which is equivalent to 600 grit and it was a pretty ideal solution for high-risk spots, such as the edges, the neck and possibly the top.

The top I might use the orange, which is more like 800 just to be sure, but that might be a bit too fine for the finish to adhere to. We'll see. I'll probably just use red, as that seems ideal. 

ThePrettyDamned

Scraped back the binding this evening. That was terrifying.

It's not perfect - this is definitely something that experience helps with! However, it's serviceable and actually better than some custom shop Gibson 335s I saw some years back... So that's something. 

I will probably give it another going over before I clear coat it, just to tidy any last sections as best I can.  

Corvus

Very nice! I was going to say what Wez said, top job on making that not noticeable. Good colour, that'll sing with clearcoat on it.

ThePrettyDamned

Sealed the top with sanding sealer. Unfortunately, it has lifted a bit of stain back onto my beautifully scraped binding! So yeah, I'll be re-scraping that! Top is coming to life though, it's amazing the depth of colour you get when the finish goes on. Should be denibbing the sealer and getting first top coat on at the weekend. It'll probably be a separate coat for the top vs back and sides as I don't have a way to hang it safely. 

 

longjaw

That quilting is immense!

andy_k

Might want to plug up those holes, easier to mask it than remove it later.

ThePrettyDamned

andy_k said:

Might want to plug up those holes, easier to mask it than remove it later.

Hmm, good point, I hadn't considered that finish might go dripping. 

I'll see if I can find a suitable thing to block - although I wouldn't want to set them in and damage the finish when removing. Any ideas on how best to do this? 

andy_k

I'd just try and neatly plug the bridge posts with rolled up tape, and put a strip around the inside of the control holes.
Definitely try and leave a neat finish around the bushes (if they are in there), and if they aren't in there, get them fitted before you put a lot of finish on, usually they are set just a hair below the top and taped over, some Gibsons even still have the tape intact after delivery ( I had one like that ).
The control holes can be cleaned up after with a reamer, but be careful when tightening stuff up on top of fresh finish, could chip maybe?

ThePrettyDamned

First clear coat on the top. It'll take a while to dry in this temperature - hopefully it'll be okay. I got terribly unlucky with dust, but it should sand out just fine with the nyweb pad, as practised. Also put a coat on the headstock. 

Looks incredible, I hope I can keep this up. I am not worried about dust at this stage.