PRS-1Q by AxeMurderer

[AxeMurderer]

Hello, good thanks.

My PRS-1Q kit arrived today and I'm very excited to get started. Seems like mine is the first build diary for this kit.

The wood is beautiful and the neck pocket joint is nice and tight.

I guess the first step is a mock-build dry run. I'm thinking I should drill the holes for the tune-o-matic bridge and tailpiece before doing the finish. This is the bit I am most nervous about in terms of getting alignment with the neck and getting the bridge position right for intonation. Any tips are welcome.

As far as the finish goes, I plan to use the U-Beaut dyes with an oil finish. Heres the plan;

• Starting with the back and sides and leaving the quilted maple till last
• Sand through 220 and 400. Very light sanding on the veneer.
• Apply one coat of U-Beaut Sanding Sealer.
• Sand lightly with 400, 600 and 800.
• Apply base coat of dye - probably the black/green or cedar colour to highlight the grain
• Light 400, 600, 800 sand to remove most of the base colour highlighting the grain
• Coat of chosen dye colours to required depth of colour.

Then I'm not sure what next. Do I put oil on top of the dye or do I need some shellac to seal the dye in?

I bought a few slices of quilted maple veneer from the bay of evil to try this approach before attempting to murder my axe. I've put sanding sealer and three stripes of dye on one of them so far. Dye drying.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Photos to follow.

Cheers Dean

[Andy40]

I'd use 240 or maybe 320 on the veneer at most. Not sure if going to 400 may adversely affect the veneer taking the stain as well as on the Mahogany.

Which oil are you planning on using?

Overall looks like a good plan.

[AxeMurderer]

Thanks Andy. For oil I have the Tru Oil and U-Beaut Aussie Oil. Seems Tru Oil is the preferred around these parts.

[Tweaky]

Just a question about your kit.
Is the top flat, and the rear of the body contoured ? or does the top have the slight downward contour a the bottom ?

Only reason I ask is that I can't make this out in the Kit photos

[Simon Barden]

Once you've sanded the first coat of sanding sealer, see how flat the guitar is after that. You may want to do another sealing coat. Sanding sealer has a low viscosity, so does sink in a lot. Probably not a problem on the close-grained maple veneer, but the back and sides may need another coat. The flatter you can get the finish at this stage, the flatter and shinier the overall finish will be and the less coats of tru-oil you'll need to apply to fill in the grain.

[Fretworn]

Thanks Andy. For oil I have the Tru Oil and U-Beaut Aussie Oil. Seems Tru Oil is the preferred around these parts.

Gav Turner has used Aussie Oil and was very happy with the results.

[gavinturner]

Can recommend both oils. Tru-Oil has the amber tint, and Aussie is clear. Aussie does require a lot more elbow grease though.

cheers,
Gav.

[AxeMurderer]

Great, thanks. I want a clear top coat so the Aussie it is. Will I need something between the dye and oil? I read somewhere that oil on dye can be a problem with leaching or something.

[AxeMurderer]

Just a question about your kit.
Is the top flat, and the rear of the body contoured ? or does the top have the slight downward contour a the bottom ?

Only reason I ask is that I can't make this out in the Kit photos

Hi Tweaky. The bottom/back is flat and the top/front has a mound in the middle. Not sure what that is called.

[gavinturner]

Here is a blog post of my experiences/technique/results with Aussie oil if you are interested.

http://guitarkitbuilder.blogspot.com...20Aussie%20Oil

cheers,
Gav.