DJP Build No2. LP-1S

[DJP]

Time to try another build.
This time the LP-1S. Wood looks very good - faint rose-pink tint.
I'm thinking of perhaps going au naturel with the Dingo Tone clear finish.

[wokkaboy]

nice looking kit DJP, was this a chrissy prezzy ? can't go wrong with natural or a mild tint on a spalted top !

[DJP]

Yep ... Christmas pressie - been waiting to open it for weeks ! Any views on grain filling the top ? I was thinking of trying some ebony timbermate to see if the grain would pop some more - but to be honest, the wood already seems pretty bloody smooth and seems quite dense, I'm not sure it will do much (and I guess the veneer is pretty thin !). I might just timbermate the body.

[FrankenWashie]

Mate the consensus for flamed or spalts is to tread easy in all aspects. I've a flamed top LP going at the moment and I've skim coated that in ebony timbermate. It has popped the flame but basically pooped the whiter parts of the maple.
Not sure what it would do on the spalt, but I'd recommend you steer clear of filling it.

Mine was always going to be a cliche stripped down LP done in solid black so my muddy looking flamed top is no tearjerker. The kit was a custom order that was supposed to have been solid mahogany, no veneer, but factory made a boo boo. I'll post some pics later in the build thread so you can see what I mean.

[Zandit75]

Nice looking kit DJP! From personal experience, you can't go past a natural stain on the Spalted tops, but then some of the coloured ones I've seen here look magical too.
I did not grain fill, or even use timbermate on mine, and if you wanted to get an idea of how it would look with a Dingo Tone clear coat on it, I used a damp cloth over the face, and it sealed the deal for me. Don't over do it, and perhaps someone could suggest a better product to use instead of water since it did raise the grain slightly when I did it.
Remember that these tops are extremely thin(around 0.5mm thick) so take it very easy on the sanding.
Good luck with it, and keep posting up your pics as you progress!

[FrankenWashie]

Nice looking kit DJP! From personal experience, you can't go past a natural stain on the Spalted tops, but then some of the coloured ones I've seen here look magical too.
I did not grain fill, or even use timbermate on mine, and if you wanted to get an idea of how it would look with a Dingo Tone clear coat on it, I used a damp cloth over the face, and it sealed the deal for me. Don't over do it, and perhaps someone could suggest a better product to use instead of water since it did raise the grain slightly when I did it.
Remember that these tops are extremely thin(around 0.5mm thick) so take it very easy on the sanding.
Good luck with it, and keep posting up your pics as you progress!

The go to fir grain reveal is Gum turpentine, so sayeth DingoBass. I've found that it is far less nasty on the nose than the regular stuff.

[DJP]

Thanks folks. I think I will keep it simple - avoid filling and go for a nice light/clear finish (though I must say I was wowed by a recent post of a spalted top given a treatment with vinegar and steel wool - but given my inexperience ...maybe better to keep that one for another time !). The gum turpentine sounds a good idea to get a feel for what the finish will look like. Thanks

[DJP]

Whoops ..... after all that good advice I dug out the ebony timbermate.

[DJP]

AND I AM ABSOLUTELY OVER THE MOON WITH THE RESULT !!!

Here is a reveal with gum turpentine.
Exactly what I was looking for. Happy.

[Simon Barden]

Very nice indeed.