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DanMade
06-09-2013, 09:43 AM
This will be my second kit, a LP-1SS.
I'm planning on using all the stock hardware on this one. The kit arrived earlier this week and all the black hardware looks pretty sweet.

The Spalted Maple top is nicely figured and has a nice flame too. Perfect for what I have planned for this one.
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/46o3f-image.jpg
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/g71hc-image.jpg

DanMade
06-09-2013, 10:10 AM
Since this is only my second build I'm still experimenting with finishing systems too see what I like. For this LP I'm going to stain the timber with artist dye's and Finish with tru oil.

After extensive sanding, although it took me half the time it did on my first build thanks to a newly purchased random orbital. If you plan on building more than 1 guitar a decent random orbital sander is almost an essential.

First I'm going to stain the top with black artist dye, then be sanded back. This is to highlight the lows in the figure to make the flame pop.
I mix the dye with water and rag on. I went with an initial wash coat of the black, then hit it again with a higher concentrated mix , concentrating on the outer edges as I am going a burst finish and will need the edges to be darker.

Pic 1. First wash coat.
2. Fist wash coat dried and edges highlighted.
3. After sanding back
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/7nj47-image.jpg
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/76m0w-image.jpg
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/d642l-image.jpg

wokkaboy
06-09-2013, 10:22 AM
looks like a great effect Dan, well done, and a lovely looking top on the axe. Whats the next colour plan ?

Gavin1393
06-09-2013, 10:39 AM
......not sure I am convinced about finishing the sanding with a random orbital sanding machine. You really need to be sanding WITH the grain rather than all over it......hope it works out ok......

DanMade
06-09-2013, 10:48 AM
Next step is the colour coats. For this I'm using a sapphire ink and a turquoise ink.

This is the fun part. I just add coats of the two colours blending them together to achieve a nice transition to the burst. It's just about adding colour coats and letting them dry then just add more colour until you achieve the depth of colour and evenness your looking for.

The sapphire and the turquoise don't differentiate much in the photos, the contrast is much more pronounced in person.
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/p02lr-image.jpg
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/z8079-image.jpg
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/eov59-image.jpg

DanMade
06-09-2013, 11:00 AM
/<\\/p>[]<\\/p>/Quote from Gavin1393 on September 5, 2013, 19:39
......not sure I am convinced about finishing the sanding with a random orbital sanding machine. You really need to be sanding WITH the grain rather than all over it......hope it works out ok......

I only use it on flat surfaces on the initial rough sand (240 grit) to remove any deep scratches. It worked extremely well on the end grain of the edges. The deep machine sanding marks o the edges took me the most effort to remove by hand on my last kit. Using the orbie with care to keep the edge flat and not roll the edges, it was done in 5 mins where it took me at least 4 hours by hand.

Plus the random orbital doesn't leave scratch marks so I wasn't worried about sanding with the grain. Should I be?

DanMade
06-09-2013, 11:05 AM
Some more shots of the staining process.
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/fk298-image.jpg
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/xvk96-image.jpg
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/3xh6s-image.jpg

DanMade
06-09-2013, 11:09 AM
Once I had a colour I was happy with I stained the back and sides with a brown Japan stain. Then I start with the base coats of oil.
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/lbf87-image.jpg
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/chpde-image.jpg

Tim
06-09-2013, 12:13 PM
Yer I wouldn't be to keen on using a Orbital either .
But in saying that your kit is coming up a treat

stan
06-09-2013, 12:25 PM
looking great so far Dan

joshj
06-09-2013, 12:40 PM
while I will admit this looks great so far and it is looking to be an epic LP, after doing a fair few guitars now I will say orbital sander is not a good idea, a hand sanding using 3 different grades of wet/dry while it is a little bit more work is the best way to go, sanding with a block or clip in palm sander shouldn't take more than half an hour for each grade of paper, I personally use 400, 800 and 1200 for the wood before stain/lacquer then I move to a 1200 and 2000 for final sanding before polishing LIGHTLY skimming the finish with a 2000 grit paper soaked overnight in soap water it has a extremely reduced chance of scratching the finish while taking off the layer of cured top coat lacquer 7 - 10 days after laying final coat

Brendan
06-09-2013, 01:12 PM
Looking great Dan - that blue will really pop with some high gloss!

DanMade
06-09-2013, 01:39 PM
Just to clarify I only machine sand at the very start of prep sanding. I still go through the grits hand sanding. The orbital is only used to take out deep scratches. The sander I have is a variable speed and I only use it at low speeds, I don't get very aggressive with it.

You have me worried now, with you experienced guys advising against using an orbital sander. Why is using one a bad idea?

Gavin1393
06-09-2013, 02:01 PM
Hi Danmade, in order to remove scratches you need to sand with the grain. If you sand against the grain, you merely make more scratches.......since you have used a dark colour to POP the grain, the chances are that this dark colour is also going to POP your scratches if you didnt remove these later with your sanding with the grain.

wokkaboy
06-09-2013, 02:14 PM
Yes looking sweet Dan. Love the effect first pitbull build I've seen with this look. Look forward to finished pics

joshj
06-09-2013, 07:54 PM
Always sand with the grain man, especially if staining and not doing a solid colour

pablopepper
06-09-2013, 09:31 PM
Beautiful. Looking really great.

Fretworn
07-09-2013, 01:53 AM
Looking nice Dan.

SIMpleONe89
07-09-2013, 03:59 AM
Wow amazing colour! It doesn't look spalted at all though, but I really love flamed maples!

Also, is it just me or are there some tiny little pits at the bottom of the guitar's top?

DanMade
07-09-2013, 05:26 AM
Yes they are pits you can see. I had to fill some bigger pits and cracks in the thin Spalted veneer. That's just the nature of highly figured veneers I suppose. Sounds worse than it was .

I didn't grain fill the top, I was worried about sanding through the thin veneer. So I am going to try a technique of wet sanding the oil after a few coats have built up to act as a grain filler. I've done 1 wet sand coat today and I can all ready see a lot of the low spots levelling out. I will put a few more coats on to build it up again, then I will wet sand and rub the slurry into the grain and low spots.

The Spalted effect is more noticeable in person. The flame stands out in the photos and the Spalted figure kind of disappears.

As for progress I've cut the headstock shape, just the standard LP shape. Levelled and dressed the frets. And stained the headstock and neck.
Tomorrow ill start some coats of oil on the neck and keep adding coats to the body.

robin
07-09-2013, 07:09 PM
Wow Dan that's looking beautiful already. I really love flame maple tops. Can't wait to see how this build progresses.

Cheers
rob

gavinturner
08-09-2013, 10:26 AM
Great dye job Dan! The dye and sand back can be really tricky to get even, not to mention the dye burst. You've pulled them both off brilliantly. Great work! Can't wait to see it with some clear on.

Cheers,
Gavin.

DanMade
08-09-2013, 10:44 AM
/<\\/p>[/<\\/p>[]<\\/p>/]<\\/p>/Quote from gavinturner on September 7, 2013, 19:26
Great dye job Dan! The dye and sand back can be really tricky to get even, not to mention the dye burst. You've pulled them both off brilliantly. Great work! Can't wait to see it with some clear on.

Cheers,
Gavin.

Yeah, it's very easy to sand through. But you can just do extra coats if you do.

I had a small setback, when I did the first wetsand on the back, I sanded through the colour in a few spots. I was using 800 w&d rubbing back with the tru oil. I got the sand through where the grain had raised from the initial coats. I only did 2 coats before the wetsand, I should have done 3 like I did on the top.

Lessons learned, I sanded the back side back to bare with the random orbital and re stained the back. Looks even better now.

So now I have all the body and neck base coats on and wet sanded. Plus I've started on the top coats. I will get some shots of the top tomorrow morning in the sunlight.
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/109t9-image.jpg
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/5051v-image.jpg

SIMpleONe89
08-09-2013, 01:04 PM
Wow very impressive! Is that a veneer on the headstock?

DanMade
08-09-2013, 09:44 PM
Yes that is a veneer cap on the headstock, it came like that out of the box.

As promised, here is a shot in sunlight.
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/2j5u2-image.jpg

stan
08-09-2013, 11:19 PM
looks fantastic, the blue is a great choice

phloggy
09-09-2013, 12:48 AM
That looks amazing.

DanMade
16-09-2013, 02:44 AM
Quick update. After all week of applying coats of tru oil, around 20 on the front and 10-15 on the back, sides and neck it's just a matter of letting it cure for a couple of weeks now.

Being my first time using tru oil I'm happy with the results. Although it was a bit of trial and error finding the best technique to apply the tru oil, I found the best way was to either rub it in with my fingers like I was rubbing sunscreen onto my skin, or using Kleenex glass and mirror wipes wrapped around a small piece of scotchbrite pad. The glass wipes work fantastic, they are designed to absorb oil and leave a streak free Finnish. This makes them perfect for applying a thin even coat, though it will use more product this way compared to a regular cloth or using fingers, the results are worth the extra consumption.

Tru oil is a lot more labour intensive than using Wudtone. I found the Wudtone easier to apply and use.

DanMade
16-09-2013, 02:49 AM
Also, I received my ingraved trussrod cover,
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/5l4qu-image.jpg

stan
16-09-2013, 08:31 AM
great build Dan, looking forward to seeing it in one piece!

DanMade
02-10-2013, 01:16 AM
I glued the neck in this morning. All went well.

Not too long now, I'm on the home stretch.
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/0z40n-image.jpg

Ryzzz
06-10-2013, 09:53 AM
Hey Dan great build so far your guitar looks good :) Just wondering could you document how you went about fitting the neck into the pocket or did it go in with no sanding? Also where did you buy the tru-oil finish from. Thanks a lot and loving the build so far.

Tim
06-10-2013, 10:17 AM
Looks sweet Dan , another nice kit from the Danmade stable

stan
06-10-2013, 01:18 PM
Great going Dan, it's looking good

adam
06-10-2013, 01:39 PM
I had to go back to the start of your build thread to check we hadn't sent you an LP-1 (flame maple) instead of an LP-1SS (spalted maple). Sure enough, it's a spalty. Looks friggin' amazing Dan, but you'd have to say its more flame than spalted.

wokkaboy
06-10-2013, 02:23 PM
Wicked looking LP Dan, I can't wait to start a LP kit on backorder, the results of these axes blow me away. Keep up the good work

DanMade
07-10-2013, 12:26 AM
/<\\/p>[]<\\/p>/Quote from Ryzzz on October 5, 2013, 18:53
Hey Dan great build so far your guitar looks good :) Just wondering could you document how you went about fitting the neck into the pocket or did it go in with no sanding? Also where did you buy the tru-oil finish from. Thanks a lot and loving the build so far.

Hi Ryzzz, the neck fit in the pocket without any sanding. It was a great fit out of the box, almost no play.
What I did was to first check the alignment of the neck with it just dry clamped. Once I was happy that the neck would fit without issues I glued it in. I just used some string as a guide to set the alignment.

I'm pretty sure there is an in depth guide if you need more info.

As for the Tru oil, I purchased it from the local gun shop.

@ Adam. Yes I'm very happy with this kit. I was surprised by the amount of flame in the top, you can actually still see the Spalted figure, it just doesn't come through much in the photos.

DanMade
11-10-2013, 06:02 AM
So now I've got it wired up and the strings on. I will have to replace a dodgy volume pot, other than that it all works fine.

I will give the neck a few days to settle and then I'll give it a proper set up. I haven't touched it yet and it already feels good.
Still have to mount all the covers and final details like that too.
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/v6m1i-image.jpg
http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/32977-image.jpg

robin
11-10-2013, 06:28 AM
That is one beautiful looking guitar Dan, well done mate.

rob

lawry
11-10-2013, 06:33 AM
Great axe Dan. The depth in the finish is gorgeous. Congrats!

lawry
11-10-2013, 06:35 AM
Just noticed it doesn't have the Blue Meanie truss rod cover on it in the photo. You still going to do that?

DanMade
11-10-2013, 07:05 AM
Yeah the Blue Meanie cover will be going on. I've left it off for the moment in case the truss rod needs tweak.

Thanks for comments everyone.

GlennGP
11-10-2013, 09:33 AM
As lawry said, the depth of colour you've achieved is fantastic. Nice work.

stan
11-10-2013, 10:53 AM
Definitely November GOTM fodder, nice job

pablopepper
11-10-2013, 10:55 AM
Oh my. That is an amazing looking instrument. Well done.

Andyport
11-10-2013, 12:13 PM
Hey, well done Dan, what a great looking LP.
That colour looks superb. GOTM contender...again!
Just finished my latest too, an ES, will post some photos on the weekend.

wokkaboy
11-10-2013, 02:11 PM
Agreed looks sensational Dan, I'm going to try and get this flame effect with a LP kit on backorder with amaranthine. This one will be hard to beat for November GOTM for sure

DanMade
11-10-2013, 11:21 PM
Ooh. A Flamed Amaranthine LP. Can't wait to see that.

I have just got home from from a trip to see the guys at my local music spot. I had to get a replacement for that dodgy wolume pot, and I wanted to get a case for it too so I took the Blue Meanie in to show the guys there.

They gave me a great deal on the case and pot. And at first when I showed them the guitar the thought it was an ESP. You should of seen his face when I told him it was a $200 kit guitar.

So now I get to wire in a new vol pot and finally hear what the neck Pup sounds like. I have temporarily installed the P-90's that are fore my Tele build. From what I've heard from the bridge pup, these Tonerider rebel 90's are the real deal. They have a really rounded sound and break up ever so cleanly. I just run through a Fender Blues jr. Every guitar I have used through that amp tends to get muddy when you push the drive. But these rebel 90's still sound clean and have a great snarl, even with the drive crancked. And they clean up really nicely when you roll off the guitar volume.

Andyport
12-10-2013, 12:47 AM
Would loved to have been at fly on the wall when you showed him the LP!!
Goes to show the quality of the builds now that are coming out of this site.

Michael Icefire
17-07-2014, 04:31 PM
disregard, thanks, delete post