Marcel's RCM-4F (PBG build #3)

[Marcel]

Dremel work done... the JB PU now fits snugly in the hole...

Staining time ...

[wazkelly]

Great feeling when all the prepping has been done and you can move on with adding some colour.

[Marcel]

There is that good feeling when you have a small win Waz. It gives one that positivity for the upcoming next step...

Before I start staining I might create just a little more room around the PU as it is still probably a little too snug. Helps if I have full daylight too, as a little desk lamp can all too often hide those important little details...

[wazkelly]

Yeah, those dark shadows might be hiding something that needs a look at in proper daylight.

[Marcel]

In the daylight I dived in with the Dremel again and cleared a little more room around the JB PU.

I then spent some time mixing up the colour out of the YouBeaut water based dyes that I have. One last going over with the 180 W&D in dry mode, a good blasting of compressed air,,, and committed the dye to the body...

Photo is moments after completion of dye application.... still very damp... the different shade across the body is actually an optical illusion as it is the transition from a CFL desk lamp that I use to natural daylight from outside....

[wazkelly]

How many stain coats do you have planned Marcel? Lost of grain popping happening already.

[Marcel]

Normally I only do one or two stain coats Waz.

Most of my colours are quite strong on light coloured woods like maple so I do tend to do fewer coats. My LP-1SSP was only one coat with a number of damp cloth wipe offs and once the shellac was applied it still came out IMHO quite dark. The ES-1TL had about 4 coats being one of Light Green and then 3 of Blue of which the 3rd and 4th coats had very little and then virtually nil overall effect.

This RCM-4F is only one application so far, and I'll probably leave it as is. The dye I used is water based and the whole application process took almost 30 minutes of very slow and light dabs of colour until I was satisfied with the wet look which for me often closely approximates the final result...

[Marcel]

Up with the Sparrows this morning, so made a big day of it...

It started okay. The body had dried nicely (first photo) so went with the first modification of re-animating the purple stain to give a less intense colour in the middle and a second layer of colour to the rim. You can do that with water based stains... a 2nd or 3rd layer to get more intensity or just use a damp rag to pull some colour off.... and it worked... looked real sweet... pale centre with a dark rim.... I should have taken a photo....

Applied the FW Jarrah stain to the Mahogany and the neck.... all good.

By lunch time it was all dry enough that I could give the binding a clean up scrape. 2 hours work ... all good.

2:30pm... I had seriously considered spraying the (Water based) MinWax wipe on Poly to the Maple top.... and I should have... The FW stain on the neck was my first warning that I stupidly ignored. My little wipe on rag had absorbed the FW stain and was all Brown, Things had mysteriously become urgent as the Poly was drying very quick. So quick that the head stock was better than touch dry as I was adding the final touches to the neck heel. I rushed and dumped that rag and dived headlong with a new rag into completing the Maple top... with the result as seen in the 2nd photo.... I discovered that water based wipe on Poly can also re-animate water based dyes.

This man is "NOT HAPPY JAN !!!", and my own stupidity is to blame.

With me mentally booting myself from here to the Black Stump and back, and cussing under my breath all those Canadian and American YouTube videos on how great and easy Minwax wipe on Poly is and all of them without the warning that with thin coats in the tropics (above 25C) it dries in near on 60 seconds, a third rag was use to finish off the Mahogany body in Poly...

[Simon Barden]

I really don't know what to say, except 'Owww!'

[wokkaboy]

bummer Marcel so the miniwax pulled some colour from the purple dye on the top and it's now sealed ?