EX -4 ZZ TOP homage

[Hardcoretroubadour]

I am going for the Flying V head with some mods, black hardwear and Coolangatta Gold stain. i must say it is a bit confronting to see the bag of screws and pieces with no real idea on what i am doing, but i will have a look at the videos and take it one slow step at a time. I can build fly rods so hopefully this shouldn't be too hard.... i hope

[wazkelly]

Have to agree the back wing has a few irregularities that will eventually sand out. Just need a cork sanding block, 80 grit followed by 120 grit, and keep checking frequently that your sanding efforts keep things perpendicular and 90 degrees to the faces either side of the rear edge.
3 point bridge is different to the one that came standard on EX-5 and unsure how low or high things end up using one of those.

Using DT Coolangatta Gold suggests you are somewhere in OZ? Great colour, same as on my EX-1 which can be found under 2nd build in my signature. Need to be very, very patient applying DT to avoid any dramas.

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[Hardcoretroubadour]

Just down the road in Brissie. I saw your builds after I chose the colour, and it confirmed my choice as yours look great. Hope I can do it justice.

[wazkelly]

With an Ash body I would highly recommend using ebony timbermate to grain fill, probably applied after a decent all over smooth sanding with 120 grit as that will still leave a fair bit of the grain receptive to the process. 240 grit may make it a bit too smooth but should the go to grit once you start sanding the stuff off, no less than 24 hours after it has been applied.
Did that on my red J Bass and the look can turn out quite amazing if there is a decent grain pattern to work with. Your body has a lot of grain definition and well worth the effort.
Living in Brissie and using DT has some challenges but as we are geading into winter humidity should not be as big an issue however cooler weather means allowing a bit longer between coats to let things have a chance to fully cure.

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[Hardcoretroubadour]

With an Ash body I would highly recommend using ebony timbermate to grain fill, probably applied after a decent all over smooth sanding with 120 grit as that will still leave a fair bit of the grain receptive to the process. 240 grit may make it a bit too smooth but should the go to grit once you start sanding the stuff off, no less than 24 hours after it has been applied.
Did that on my red J Bass and the look can turn out quite amazing if there is a decent grain pattern to work with. Your body has a lot of grain definition and well worth the effort.
Living in Brissie and using DT has some challenges but as we are geading into winter humidity should not be as big an issue however cooler weather means allowing a bit longer between coats to let things have a chance to fully cure.

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Thanks mate, you just answered some of my next questions, picked up the timbermate today, I'll start sanding next week once. Kids are back at school and I have some time to play. Trying to rebuild a boat too, so burning the candle at both ends

[wazkelly]

This will be quicker and easier than building a boat.

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[wazkelly]

Should add, don't sand back of the neck if it feels smooth enough already otherwise it won't take up much colour from the stain. To blend colour from maple to ash may need a fraction more on the maple so best not to make that job any harder than it needs to be.

As you add layers of finish that also smooths things out to a degree and final polishing does the trick. Too much effort smoothing off before applying stain may lead to low colour absorption.

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[Hardcoretroubadour]

Thanks again for the obviously hard won advice.
Not sure about the harder than a boat, just smaller....

[wazkelly]

My old man built a couple of sailing boats when i was a kid and saw how much effort that required. Provided me with lots of sanding practice and an appreciation for working with well defined timber grained wood and stains to compliment. Not to mention applying many coats of gloss varnish too.
He used a lot of cedar ply for deck and teak for harder wearing bits and pieces.

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[Hardcoretroubadour]

Progress shots at 240 grit, pretty happy how it looks, grain filling next ....