The Big D (ES-1G)

[stevierayvannabe]

I also have a cherry flamenco that i can try to use as a transition, we'll see how it goes. I'll try. It'll make for an interesing experience anyway. We'll see how it goes. Pictures to come either way

[wokkaboy]

no worries SRV, cherry flamenco will be a good transition colour. I'd go thin on the dark onyx on the edges to start with, you can always thicken the dark edge later but hard to remove on a thin flame maple veneer if it's too thick

[stevierayvannabe]

Well after sanding the neck down to 400 grit as per the wudtone instructions and sanding the body down to 320, I decided to start staining the guitar. I started tonight with the neck, just to get a feel for applying the stain before starting with the body. I really like the way the stain goes on, I also like being able to apply it while sitting at my kitchen table instead of making a spray booth up and trying to find a good day to spray etc, plus living in a small condo the whole spray painting thing isn't really an option. I'm using the vintage amber neck tint, so two more coats then the top coat.

I also ordered the tools to do a fret levelling and dressing so that will be a fun first experience. I'm very excited about this project and the new skills that I get to learn.

Cheers,
Brian

[wazkelly]

Nice neck colour Stevie.

[stan]

Nice start, classic looking neck

[stevierayvannabe]

Hi all,
Sorry for the lack of updates but was on vacation diving, but back at it. I'm having some trouble with the dark onex stain, it just doesn't seem to take in some areas. I tried to sand it down and i Hanne tried a wire brush to pen up the grain but hasn't seemed to work. At this point I'm tempted to sand the black off and just take the cherry flamenco out to the edge.

[stevierayvannabe]

Oh a friend of mine sent me this comic. I almost fell off my chair, I'm glad the pitbull guitar kits are better than this

[Simon Barden]

Does rather look like a glue problem around the edges. I've just finished sorting someone else's neck issues on an ES-1 here in the UK and that's suffered from a similar problem when they've tried to stain it. If it is glue, then rubbing off the black may still give problems with getting a good finish with the red and you may need to try Goo Off.

Did you stain all the way out to the sides previously with the other stains and have no issues, just when you applied the black; or did you leave the edges clear and have only applied the black to them?

[stevierayvannabe]

The edge only had the black stain. I tried the deep colour coat and it just seems to be on that side that doesn't really take.

[Simon Barden]

I'd sand back the edges a bit and try using Goo Off. I've never used it but DB recommended it on another build and others seem to have had success with it.

Use it in moderation because you don't want to soak the wood and loosen the glue holding the veneer on. So several light passes. After each pass, dampen the wood with a bit of turps turps to see how well you're doing. If all the glue has gone, you should get all the wood dark with the turps and clearly showing the grain. Let the wood dry thoroughly each time after using the Goo off and the turps.