3PU LP Custom Build

DannyP

I toyed with the idea of white, but I've gone with black

davros

Nice. What paint did you use?

DannyP

It's just a wee bit of lamp black oil paint dissolved into tru-oil, wiped on with a rag.

I had some black wood stain in the house so I used that first to give the colour a kickstart

roberty

The correct colour ;p

paulnb57

DannyP said:

It's just a wee bit of lamp black oil paint dissolved into tru-oil, wiped on with a rag.

I had some black wood stain in the house so I used that first to give the colour a kickstart

I had no idea you could add colour to TruOil, I need to investigate further…

davros

I assume it gives a similar result to wudtone, which appears to be colour added to osmo. An interesting idea though. I'd like to find an alternative to nitro.

@DannyP, is the finish opaque, or can you still see grain coming through?

The slight yellowing that tru oil gives will help to yellow the binding, assuming you're going to go over the whole thing in clear tru oil after the black coats.

SteveRobinson

davros said:

 I'd like to find an alternative to nitro.

WHAT!?

davros

 

Well, It would be nice to have a rub on option! I've used tru oil before, and quite like the finish but I don't want every guitar to be natural coloured.

Realistically though I do love the finish nitro gives, and for a g-style or f-style guitar I think it has to be nitro!

Alternative not replacement 

elstoof

French polish isn’t too difficult 

WezV

personally, i don't like tru-oil used as a lacquer replacement, but it can be done.   As an oil style finish its great, but limited in what you can do with colour as those styles of finishes are rubbed in and buffed mostly off

But you can colour any finish as long as you find the right pigments, and you can build tru-oil up like a lacquer... just expect a long wait for it to be fully hard, and 20-30 coats applied over weeks if you want a full gloss finish.   Osmo does work a bit better for this as it dries faster

DannyP

Yes, it'll take a few coats over time.

I did a 355 kit this way a few years ago, experimenting with linseed based oil paint mixed with linseed based tru-oil. It was very much trial and error, with the emphasis on error, but I learned a lot and I think the result will be a lot better this time around.

My main learning is to use far less oil paint than you think in the mix. About 5% max. Giving the colour a headstart with wood stain seems to lessen the burden on the paint to get the colour opaque.

I'm anticipating completely opaque colour coverage, but with still a slight suggestion of grain in the texture. At least, that's the look I'm aiming for.

DannyP

Bit boring at the moment. Just adding coats.

DannyP

Bit more progress. I'm going to wait a bit for the finish harden off, sand and buff and see where we are with it.

DannyP

Managed to get it kinda shiny. Shiny enough for relic anyway

DannyP

DannyP

Bit of a mock up with some parts

roberty

So cool

sawyer

Awesome job!

ICBM

A black Custom with three pickups and a Bigsby is the coolest of all Les Pauls.

Given how close that tension roller is to the bridge, I'm fairly sure you'll need one of these too...

https://bricksbiggsfix.com

roberty

I have no tuning problems with mine and I am aggressive with it

If I had tuning problems I'd be looking at domed thumbwheels first, if they were in stock anywhere https://www.crazyparts.de/bridges--tailpieces/thumbwheels/domed-thumbwheels-bigsby-maestro-gold.php