First builds: JK-1, MM-1Q

[Spychocyco]

So, quick question folks. My JK-1 has been hanging for just over a month since I sprayed the clear coat, and parts of the back still feel a little "gummy" is the best way that I can describe it. It's smooth, but it feels kind of soft, not really sticky, but just soft. The front seems to be fine -- dry and solid. I've been checking it a couple times a week for the last two weeks or so, and nothing seems to be changing. The paint cured for several weeks before I sprayed the clear coat, mainly because I thought it was trashed and I was deciding what to do with it. The clear coat is the same brand and type as the paint. The front, which seems to be fine, wasn't done any differently from the back. Any ideas?

[Joe3334]

Does the area that feels 'gummy' smell of solvents? If so than it hasn't cured yet.

[phrozin]

I just went through the thread but i haven't got my head around what your actually doing, what type paint are you using proper automotive grade or the shit from bunnings?

[Spychocyco]

So is the neck thin there?

Also are the humbacker supplied 2-3 wires or 5 wires one? (I might plan to install a splitting scheme there)

Sorry I missed this post earlier. The MM-1 neck is certainly not as chunky as a Gibson, but definitely not thin in an Ibanez shredder sort of way, either. If you like a Strat neck, I don't think it would be a massive change for you. The actual Music Man Axis neck (most comfortable in the world for my hands) is narrower than a Strat neck and a little more rounded on the back. The MM-1 is not the same profile as its Music Man counterpart, though. It's more akin to an old OLP Axis knock off, if you can get your hands on one of those.

I'll have to check on the pickup wires, but it's a very simple wiring set up out of the box -- one volume knob and a three-way switch.

[Spychocyco]

I just went through the thread but i haven't got my head around what your actually doing, what type paint are you using proper automotive grade or the shit from bunnings?

To be honest, I haven't got my head around what I'm actually doing. First paint job, and all of the videos and articles that made it look so easy didn't really prepare me. I don't have access to proper spraying equipment, so this is a rattle can job. The paint I used was an upper-end rattle can, but still, I guess the American equivalent of the "shit from bunnings."

[phrozin]

To be honest, I haven't got my head around what I'm actually doing. First paint job, and all of the videos and articles that made it look so easy didn't really prepare me. I don't have access to proper spraying equipment, so this is a rattle can job. The paint I used was an upper-end rattle can, but still, I guess the American equivalent of the "shit from bunnings."

sorry mate didn't realize your from the US, post some pic of the paint your using hard to help if i dont know what your using

[Spychocyco]

Apparently the back just needed a little more time. I had other things going on for the past couple of days, but I returned to the JK-1 last night and the gumminess had cleared up. The back was fully dry, perhaps a little slicker than the front, but ready to go, I think. Just too much impatience on my part.

I can't believe that I almost scrapped this one at one point because I thought it was going to be horrible. It looks great. I can't really capture the color with my flash inside. All of my photos come out looking this turquoise color, but it flips from a deep metallic blue to a dark purple in good light. I'll try to get it out in sunlight at some point and see if I can get better photos. There are definite flaws in the paint, one I'm particularly angry at myself about, but they're not incredibly noticeable without a close inspection. On to the polish.



I had mixed results with my headstock logos. I'm pretty happy with the way the MM-1 (pictured below) came out, but the JK-1 headstock is giving me some trouble. Since I painted it to match the body, I thought I'd go with a light gray, which looked good on the paper, but when I slid the decal off the backing on to the headstock, you couldn't see it at all. I guess the inking was too faint for the gray to show. I'm going to try with a darker gray, which I'm guessing won't have enough contrast with the blue/purple, and a cream, which I'm guessing will have the same issue as the dark gray. I really don't want to go with a bright color that will clash with an already pretty flashy paint job. Anyone got tips for getting a waterslide that works on a dark background?

[Sonic Mountain]

Unless you have an printer that can print opaque ink (ie white) you won't have any luck with waterslides on a dark background. Unfortunately this is limited to pretty high end commercial machines.

I'd suggest getting a decal vinyl cut in white - there are stacks of places online that will print/cut your design in a variety of ways. Thats probably the easiest way to get a pro looking finish.

[Spychocyco]

So it's been a while. I put my builds on the backburner for a while after running into some frustrations and life intrusions, but I've made some pretty good progress on them in the last week or so. The JK-1 has had strings on it, for one, and I'm down to getting the electronics installed on it.



The finish definitely has some more than slight flaws (you can see one or two pretty clearly on the headstock), but it looks better than it has any right to after all the woes I had with it. The guys here that have a lot of builds under their belts and a lot of finishing experience would have serious issues with it, but overall I'm pretty happy. It looks pretty good from a distance if not as good as I'd hoped up close, but I've got great experience to take into the next one. The paint is a blue-to-purple flip, but unfortunately, the flash only captures the blue, and brightens it a lot. I'm hoping for some sunlight photos once I've finished it that will better show it off.

I sanded the neck to about 2000 grit and applied the oil and wax treatment that I love on my EBMM guitars. It's not quite as nice as those, but it's really smooth and fast, and I'm pleased with the result.

After trying to source a vinyl label of my logo for the headstock, I wasn't really happy with what it was going to cost for such a small piece, so I instead found a vinyl design that I liked to make it look a little less plain, and I did a waterslide of the logo on the back of the headstock. The tuner holes in the headstock were not completely aligned, but it's not off horribly and it didn't bother me enough to refinish the headstock to fix it.

I strung it up with the rusty generic strings that came with it (saving the EBs for final) just to see what it would play like and if I thought I could make it a player before I made the decision on electronics. There are some action and buzz issues that will have to be worked out, but it's not bad. Held tune fairly well even with the cheap strings, though one of those did pop pretty quickly. In the end, I decided it didn't quite warrant shelling out the $200 for the SD Nazgul/Sentient combo I initially planned for it, and instead ordered a set of Dragonfire pickups that came highly recommended in another group I belong to. They should be here next week, and I can get this thing finished.

The MM1, on the other hand, is not going so well. I documented earlier the neck screw holes being off. I've been reluctant to jump into the plugging and re-drilling, so it's pretty much where I left it.

[Guvna19]

Hi Spychocyco, the Paint on the Jk1 looks sweet as does the headstock artwork

cheers
Guvna