Building a Bolt Guitar - now BUILT

TTony · May 2023

I spent a bit of time in the workshop today - maybe a couple of hours in total.

And I remember to video some of it (albeit with the camera not quite pointing in the correct direction)

TTony · May 2023

Sanding is fun, fun, fun

Actually, there wasn't a lot of sanding. Maybe 15mins in total.

TTony · May 2023

Starting to add the finish

TTony · May 2023

The neck, with a couple of coats of oil (sanding in between). Can you see the flame?

The body has had 3 coats of stain on it now, though the first coat was very thin and didn't add a lot of colour. 3 coats is what Bolt recommend for a "Beach washed" finish.

Image: https://tfb-user-images.eu-central-1.linodeobjects.com/73077a300cede8527858f3c64f7d86bc6ab6d354387692085e

"Beach washed", but still with a definite shine developing

TTony · May 2023

I've spent around 2-3 hours on this today.

The finish system is great in that it's easy to apply and dries really quickly - Bolt quote 20mins, but it was warm in the workshop today, and I think it was quicker than that.

Every finish system that I've tried has it's own characteristics, needing a slightly different technique to get a good outcome. I was a bit too tentative with the first couple of coats of this stain, wasn't hugely happy with how it was going, so re-watched the tutorial videos and realised that I wasn't adding enough colour in a coat. Adjusting the technique, and the colour is now building nicely.

The flame on the neck is really incredible. It looks good in the pics, but out in the sunlight it looks way better than good. The frets look well finished and polished too, so there's clearly been some time spent on prepping the neck in this kit. Very impressed with that.

Got some work stuff to get through this week, but I'll try to get the finishing done too, so that it's ready for assembly next weekend.

When I opened the box the first time, and looked at the components, I was impressed with the quality of this kit.

I'm still impressed.

TTony · May 2023

Thanks to @digitalscream for sorting the banner ad out this evening.

If you look at the top of the page, there's a 10% discount deal for tFB members who buy a Bolt kit using the secret code. Click the banner ad and read through the thread to get the code.

TTBZ · May 2023

These look great, especially that flame! Is the finish comparable to the crimson stains in terms of how easy it is to apply etc?

TTony · May 2023

@TTBZ - it's very easy to apply, probably easier than Crimson.

Yet to see the end-results though, but its looking good so far.

The video tutorials certainly suggest that it's possible to mix colours too, to achieve sunburst-style effects, as you can with Crimson.

Chris.B · May 2023

Thank you for the videos and photographs it's fascinating to follow your progress. I hope that it gives the people at Bolt a good boost to their business.

Jonathangus · May 2023

TTony said:

Thanks to @digitalscream for sorting the banner ad out this evening.

If you look at the top of the page, there's a 10% discount deal for tFB members who buy a Bolt kit using the secret code. Click the banner ad and read through the thread to get the code.

The banner ad links to this thread. Or is that part of the treasure hunt?

TTony · May 2023

Thanks @jonathangus - not quite as it should have worked (as you probably guessed) but I've now added the discount link to the first post of this thread.

BoltGuitarsUK · May 2023

DLM said:

ur doin it wrong

https://scontent-muc2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.18169-9/10930029_886038051416915_3644343379288294263_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=973b4a&_nc_ohc=7BoJw5QC3DQAX-KXYfN&_nc_ht=scontent-muc2-1.xx&oh=00_AfAQfriwQ5x7F0MeSK4IIG8unDSOQvrOE5-mhg8YTEg2gw&oe=64909605

This is 100% our next model

BoltGuitarsUK · May 2023

TTBZ said:

These look great, especially that flame! Is the finish comparable to the crimson stains in terms of how easy it is to apply etc?

TTony said:

@TTBZ - it's very easy to apply, probably easier than Crimson.

Yet to see the end-results though, but its looking good so far.

The video tutorials certainly suggest that it's possible to mix colours too, to achieve sunburst-style effects, as you can with Crimson.

We did a lot of work developing the finish to get the process nailed on, and be as simple as possible to apply. Lots of sanding bodies back to wood for a week or two!

There's an element of 'trust the process' with the finish that's in our guide- it doesn't look great right up until the last couple of coats, and it just all comes together.

We are also currently working on offering the dyes and finishes separately, so you can do bursts, or even clean lines. Really though, we'd like to see people get creative and do something unique and bold. That's the beauty of DIY, you can do what you want and you've only yourself to blame!

BoltGuitarsUK · May 2023

Jonathangus said:

TTony said:

Thanks to @digitalscream for sorting the banner ad out this evening.

If you look at the top of the page, there's a 10% discount deal for tFB members who buy a Bolt kit using the secret code. Click the banner ad and read through the thread to get the code.

The banner ad links to this thread. Or is that part of the treasure hunt?

Link to the original thread: https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/246791/any-guitar-kit-builders-out-there/p1

Or just use the discount code THEFREBOARD on checkout

BoltGuitarsUK · May 2023

TTony said:

The neck, with a couple of coats of oil (sanding in between). Can you see the flame?

The body has had 3 coats of stain on it now, though the first coat was very thin and didn't add a lot of colour. 3 coats is what Bolt recommend for a "Beach washed" finish.

"Beach washed", but still with a definite shine developing

Looking incredible already @TTony Great work!

TTony · May 2023

Here's a Top TTony Tip ...

When putting the final touches to the finish, with the body laid carefully on a protective cover on the bench (you don't want to scratch it!), use a protective cover that's a different colour to the finish that you're applying.

That way, if you drip a bit of finish onto the cover, you'll notice it *before* flipping the body over and putting the final touches to the other side.

Yup, I laid the body, front-down, on the drip and ended up with an ugly splodge on the front.

Still, that creates an opportunity to see how easy it is to rescue mistakes like that - we're all going to make them one way or another.

TTony · May 2023

Took the body out of the vice this morning and checked it over in the light - noticed a few uneven patches so decided to put a final coat on it.

Why uneven?

Usually, I'd apply a finish to the front, wait for it to dry, then flip over and do the back. This time, I thought I'd use the stick to hold it in the vice and do both sides at the same time. Given how quickly this finish dries, that probably wasn't really necessary, I should have stuck to how I'd normally have done it.

So, this morning, out of the vice support, lay it on the bench, and apply a final coat.

Image: https://tfb-user-images.eu-central-1.linodeobjects.com/ed1cf4929144502562f4357daf4b878e454c062226531e00f4

Bearing in mind that the pic above is *before* the gloss coats, and I'm pretty happy with how it's looking - the "beach wash" effect. A few more coats would - according to the video guide - create a more even solid colour finish. Having seen how this colour has developed through the last 3 coats, that seems reasonable to me, but I prefer this effect, so I'm sticking with this.

And then I flipped it over and found the splodge

A very light rub down with 320 grit got me to this;

Image: https://tfb-user-images.eu-central-1.linodeobjects.com/f2d9e35409caf5bf720668b7a43878dca5f3c67e5acaa3f6a8

Image: https://tfb-user-images.eu-central-1.linodeobjects.com/dc15083652facb1cb81dd618eda26912a46cd847a2d92a326f

I should be able to gently rebuild the finish, so let's see, first patch coat applied;

Image: https://tfb-user-images.eu-central-1.linodeobjects.com/8b121b1762d73f85e3bf305eda8682724712d76d23953342e7

More, later ...

BoltGuitarsUK · May 2023

TTony said:

Took the body out of the vice this morning and checked it over in the light - noticed a few uneven patches so decided to put a final coat on it.

Why uneven?

Usually, I'd apply a finish to the front, wait for it to dry, then flip over and do the back. This time, I thought I'd use the stick to hold it in the vice and do both sides at the same time. Given how quickly this finish dries, that probably wasn't really necessary, I should have stuck to how I'd normally have done it.

So, this morning, out of the vice support, lay it on the bench, and apply a final coat.

Bearing in mind that the pic above is *before* the gloss coats, and I'm pretty happy with how it's looking - the "beach wash" effect. A few more coats would - according to the video guide - create a more even solid colour finish. Having seen how this colour has developed through the last 3 coats, that seems reasonable to me, but I prefer this effect, so I'm sticking with this.

And then I flipped it over and found the splodge

A very light rub down with 320 grit got me to this;

I should be able to gently rebuild the finish, so let's see, first patch coat applied;

More, later ...

Ah, the splodge was on the foam sheet? Regardless, should be a relatively easy fix. I can't tell you how many bodies I had to sand back when we were developing the finish.

Looks absolutely great though, Tony, splodge or no. Keep it up!

TTony · May 2023

Getting there.

I was aiming to have the body prep work done this week, thinking that I'd then manage to get it all assembled over the Bank Holiday weekend.

Still on track for that.

The touch up is looking good

Image: https://tfb-user-images.eu-central-1.linodeobjects.com/a366997a2d9902b41be39d149698fdda6acd79bf0cec6f518c

Still just visible, but I put a final coat over it 10mins ago, so it's probably looking better now.

I'll leave it to cure fully overnight, then a light rub down and the gloss coats tomorrow and assembly over the weekend.

There's certainly less than 10hours gone into it so far, the finishing products have been painless to apply and work well.

freakboy1610 · May 2023

Looking good. How many coats is that? Do you think it could be built up into a more solid looking finish? Is there enough colour left over for many more coats if you were so inclined?

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Building a Bolt Guitar - now BUILT

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