Archtop & Solidbody. Languedoc inspired

WezV

started carving the guard. It's not quite flowing as smooth as I want yet, but it gives an idea where I am heading with this



The ridge is still as high as the pickups, so i will probably take a few mm off the top of it and recarve the curve from there.  worst case if i don't like it is i flatten off the whole section

WezV

Lots done on body and neck



Back of the body has had an afromosia plate made, then both body and plate have been subtlely radiused



Headstock has been cut to a shape that's mostly ibanez in size and shape, with a different end.

 Board has been radiused and nut slot cut





Body is just about ready for finishing.  Think I'm going to try some milk paint for it, but will see how the test go.

ThePrettyDamned

Really interested in the milk paint! I'm going to do some tests with water based sprays, and milk paint is my next choice if that doesn't work out for me.

Like the headstock, such a tricky thing to get right but that looks really smart. 

WezV

Well I have some dark turquoise coming.

When I first saw people using it, it was all for shabby chic easy relic style stuff.   But with people like millimetric and schorr guitars getting good solid colous on modern guitar styles I thought it could be worth a look for something like this.

WezV

the body is now complete and ready for finishing

Neck has been inlaid with some pearl dots.  Just need to glue a truss rod fillet in place before carving and fretting

PhilKing

Will you put a maple/sycamore fillet in it for contrast?

WezV

Yeah  I think it will be maple, or possible go the other way with ebony

WezV

So onto milk paint.  For this I am trying Old Fashioned milk paint in a rather fetching shade of teal.

https://oldfashionedmilkpaint.co.uk/collections/old-fashioned-milkpaint/products/providence

the instructions say to mix the powder 1:1 with water.   This is what I did for the first coat, and it was a little thick.  It also starts to gel up pretty quickly if you don't stir regularly.

This is one coat applied with a crappy brush.  Its applied to raw wood


not a bad start for one coat on raw wood

It sands well and burnishes to a nice eggshell at 240g.   feels pretty sturdy.  Clean up is really easy with water

I'm going to build a few thinner coats and see what we end up with.   I'm going to try a mini roller for application once i have a good solid base coat laid down.  I might try spraying, not sure yet.

I'm currently thinking an oil based top coat will be best, mainly because it seems counter intuitive to overspray a traditional water based finish with lacquer.    

WezV

2nd coat is still drying, but i think this is going to look pretty awesome if it works

ThePrettyDamned

Love that colour!

Definitely a contender for me as well, if my mtn sprays don't work out. I've read some people use this stuff to top coat it, but can't find any good threads on method:

https://www.littlefairs.shop/products/littlefairs-extra-strong-varnish?variant=39424105971814&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gclid=CjwKCAiAxJSPBhAoEiwAeO_fP3Ee7DuiHk1B9TpqbzK7voIO64JuMDwsFygmQMg_9g5fhN9dvS8ibBoCOfMQAvD_BwE

Available in matt or gloss.

I got a gloss "water based varnish" spray, which should be a clear acrylic, but I'm thinking I might go for a matt finish for a change. 

digitalkettle

WezV said:

2nd coat is still drying, but i think this is going to look pretty awesome if it works

You taking that on Bake Off: Extra Slice?

Ahem...watching the build with interest

WezV

If I was doing a cake I'd be casting the parts out of chocolate  

CFH

It's kind of like Malinoski meets Languedoc. Love the design and the colour. 

WezV

i've added a couple more coats with a small foam roller

WezV

and a couple of hours later that is dry and starting to look a lot more consistent  



I will level that off tomorrow and see where we are at.  I expect it will need two more coats before I start on top coat

ThePrettyDamned

Certainly has a nice colour tone to it. It's a nice matte, too. I can see why this sort of paint is popular, it looks "tactile". 

WezV

I'm not sure how matte it will be once done.   With a bit of practice I could probably roll on a nice final coat and leave it that way.

More likely it will need some levelling, which burnishes it up to an eggshell like sheen.  Adding oil will probably push it towards semi gloss, and obviously darken it too

WezV

I put a coat of osmo polyx on.   It added a nice sheen, but didn't even out the colour as much as I hoped for... guess I need more practice getting the milk paint on first 



Anyway  the coat of oil prevents adding more, so I'm currently experimenting with mixing milk paint powder with  boiled linseed oil.

That seems to be getting more consistent after 1 coat

Roland

Will the paint powder mix with Osmo?

WezV

I went with the boiled linseed as its a lot thinner and easier to mix than osmo, but it probably would mix.  It mixed really well with the thinner oil... just got to see how it dries

My hope is to finish off with a few coats of osmo once I have a good consistent colour.