No longer 1Q22 Challenge - but my first kit build now finished

Cig35 · January 2022

OK, not really entering the challenge but it's gives me a reason to document my first kit build and a place for me to ask lots of stupid questions.

So I ordered a Harley Benton "Jazzmaster" kit that arrived today.

Body looks OK. There are some black marks on it probably from when it's been clamped down for machining. So if I go for a natural finish I will have to sand it down, which I would have to do anyway since the wood sealer is unevenly applied and can be seen quite clearly. The body is surprisingly light.

The neck seems fine, and the frets are almost OK. A little bit uncomfortable on the edges but I can sort that out. It also fits quite tightly in the neck pocket so that is good.

The pickguard I got looks much better than the picture Thomann have on their website

Since it's my first build the plan is to assemble it as it is without any modifications and after that decide on if any modifications are needed. Right now the next steps will be to go through all the bits and pieces and check that they are OK and nothing is missing. I also need to decide on a headstock shape and what finish/colour to use.

andy_k · January 2022

I'm not normally a JM fan, but that looks like a nice kit.
I'd go for an off white / cream for the body, possibly lightly relic'd, and a standard large headstock.
good luck.

ThePrettyDamned · January 2022

Very cool, looking forward to seeing how it turns out!

Cig35 · January 2022

Thanks for the comments. I've been working around 15 hours all days since my opening post so there has not been much progress until this weekend when I had some time available to start with the kit, but not really much progress

Polished the frets and fixed the fret ends that were a bit too sharp to be really comfortable and also shaped the headstock. The shape is a very basic one but I hope it will look rather OK

Also picked up some paint I had ordered and of course I had to try it

Maybe I should have gone for a bit different shade of yellow, but I didn't want it to be too bright, so I'll have to wait and see what it looks like once the body is painted

Cig35 · March 2022

So, even if I haven't posted this project is still ongoing...

Lessons learnt so far: Don't trust that the kit has been pore-filled well or that the surface is OK for painting without thoroughly checking it.

White.balance is totally off in that picture, this is a more representative picture of the true colour. The brighter yellow parts is where the colour has been sanded which unfortunately changes the colour a lot

And after that there has been more filler applied, sanding, new coat of paint. Rinse and repeat...

And finally I've reached this stage where I am right now. Not really OK, but I have to live with it. Now I'm going to go out and apply the final 3 layers of paint, and after that I will have to let it cure and finally applying some layers of clear-coat.

Cig35 · March 2022

I managed to get the final paint layers on during the weekend so now that step is done.

I decided on the colour to get a contrast to the tortoise pickguard, but now I wonder if it will look as if I tried to match the cream P90 pickups and failed...

Cig35 · March 2022

The headstock starts to be a bit shiny after 4 layers of clearcoat

Only 12 days left of the challenge ...

Cig35 · June 2022

And here is the final result. I'm not satisfied with the paint finish, but I learnt a lot for my next project that will hopefully be better. Still needs some set-up tweaking but it's already now fully playable and sounds OK so I'm rather happy with the outcome.

Andyjr1515 · June 2022

Great job!

DartmoorHedgehog · June 2022

Paint looks pretty good in those pictures

Cig35 · June 2022

Thanks for the comments. The paint really looks fine from a distance but if you get closer and the light is coming sideways you will see the orange peel structure

andy_k · June 2022

I like it a lot, the body colour looks perfect with the guard, the main thing is - are you happy with it?
I'm guessing it will grow on you as it ages, and once the paint has cured fully, it will stand some buffing and polishing, and naturally age well.
I have a suggestion re- the headstock, which to my eyes anyway, looks a little primitive.
See if you can source a small piece of pickguard material to match, and design a plaque to just add something to the face of the headstock, it could be a very simple shape to fill in some of the space, but could be engraved to have a logo and would really finish off that end of the guitar.
I have done something similar with a large strat shaped headstock, by overlaying a tele design, and I'm not the first to think of it, it looks nice and nicely balances all the other stuff that goes on at the body end.
In time, all that paint will harden, and I'm sure the tone will improve as you get the setup tweaked, a guitar takes a few months to become itself, it is a great process.

Cig35 · June 2022

Yes, I’m happy with the guitar, and that's really the only thing that matters. I do agree that the headstock looks what I would call “naked”, so thanks for the tip on what I could do. I’ll see if a can find some matching material.

downbytheriver · June 2022

Great stuff, welcome to the world of obsession!

Rabs · June 2022

Yes.. Great stuff. Classy looking paint job

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No longer 1Q22 Challenge - but my first kit build now finished

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