filthyPierre's GR-1SF build

Ill be following this build as well i have only seen a few of theses come out killa with dye as they end up looking very streaky be interesting to see how this one goes have thought about grabbing this kit a few times but for what it cost not sure its value

Ok, so after a few days of filling and sanding and more sanding, I got to the point of applying the dye.

Here's some mixes I made up with the green and blue pots:

Attachment 21691

1 - Plain green, diluted 3:1
2 - Green and blue 2:1, diluted 3:1
3 - 1 with 2 second coat
4 - 2 with 2 second coat
5 - Green and blue 1:1, diluted 3:1
6 - 5 with 5 second coat

So I decided to go with number 5, green and blue 1:1 diluted 3:1. Applied with a rag.

So here's the result of one coat (sorta) on the back of the body:

Attachment 21692

It's still wet in this photo, but looks rather patchy. The biggest problem was as soon as I touched the body with the rag, I could feel it pulling the grain up, felt bad, really bad. So I had to try do it in such a way as to try to minimise the grain being pulled up. Didn't have too much luck.

And it seems if you go over it just a bit, it immediately gets darker where you previously applied and overlap with where you're currently applying. So I was also trying to minimise that effect.

So not real happy with it as this point. Just checked it again, it has been about an hour, so it's reasonably dry. Still looks like shit. Damn. Lots of grain raised :( I prepped how the guide said - sanded up to 400, wet it with a sponge in water, which didn't raise too much, sanded it down again with 320 and 400.

I need to come up with a better way of applying it.

Try giving it a light sand once it is dry, then giving a second coat of stain. That should reduce the grain and also even the stain coverage.

Thanks, yeah was planning to try that. Not a lot more I can do really. Two-and-a-half hours later it's pretty much dry, and a fair bit lighter. Not quite as bad patchiness, hopefully a sand and second coat will sort it.

Cheers

Right call on the colour choice.

Yep, ILR is bang on. Sand back , restain, let it dry and then if it's still a bit patchy go for another coat. And great colour!

Thanks guys on the colour. Was pretty much exactly what I was looking for and I jagged it after the second attempt.

But, application has been difficult. After sanding the back with 400:

Attachment 21878

So it wasn't in very deep, as it became quite patchy in places. But it was nice and smooth. So I tried a second coat, this time with a different rag with finer weave. Immediately could feel the grain lifting again. Grrr. Swapped to a wide soft two-dollar-shop brush, and did two more coats (after letting dry overnight in between):

Attachment 21880

Not what you'd call perfect, but I was happy with the result - not happy as in "I did a great job", but happy as in "I doubt it will get any better unless I sand it all off and start again". Hmm. I guess at that point I figured it didn't look too bad (but changed my mind later on after I'd done the top).

I wanted to do a different colour on the sides, so used a mix of the green black ink with green in 2:1. Used the brush from the start, and by this time I'd developed a technique to minimise the visible brush strokes. Doesn't look too bad:

Attachment 21881 Attachment 21883

At this point, I didn't want a similar streaky effect on the top as is on the back, so decided I would spray the top with my airbrush. The top is probably the worst for the grain raising. Even after sanding perfectly smooth, a few hours later or overnight, it's very rough again. Anyway, masked up what'd already been done, and proceeded to spray (Aztec A470 with yellow (large coverage) nozzle):

Attachment 21882

Once dry, looks reasonable. Still tossing up whether to do another coat, so leaving the masking in place for the moment. Will take another photo once the masking is off. It looks lighter on the arched part due to the flash, it's not really like that in reality. But now I realise how shitty the back looks.

One thing to note about working with the ink is that it immediately reactivates with the next coat, or even the slightest hint of water. For example, you think your hands are dry, but pick the body up and your hands are stained. And this is after it's been dry for two or more days. The binding was easy to clean up - a minimally damp rag gets anything off, but you have to be careful about getting the wood, as it takes the dye straight off. Which says to me it's not soaked into the wood enough, and just sitting on top. Obviously if I was able to rub it in to the grain it would be a better finish, but that's impossible with this basswood or whatever it is, it's just too fragile to touch with a rag....

... which doesn't bode well for the next step, the clear Dingotone. I'm not confident that it won't immediately mix with the dye. And probably not going to be able to rub it in like DB does in his video. Perhaps after a couple of coats it will be a bit more forgiving. Not looking forward to it though....

Looking for suggestions on how to resurrect this. Please bear with my ramblings...

This morning I did a test using the stain coat of the colourless DT (more like pee coloured than colourless) over the test pieces I did for making the colour mix (a couple of posts ago, top of this page). The rag went green as soon as I rubbed it on. I waited for an hour or so and did a second coat over the same area - same thing, went green, but not as much. I've just tried a third coat, and there was some green staining on the rag after rubbing it on, but much less than the previous two times. However, there isn't as much dye on those test pieces as there would be on the body.

But at this point I'm 100% certain that attempting to put the DT on the guitar body will cause the dye to reactivate and wreck the finish (smear it at the very least). I guess I could experiment on the back, but I don't want to get to the point where I can't remove the DT if that's the only way to go. I've oiled enough cricket bats in my lifetime to recognise the smell of linseed oil - and while the DT doesn't smell exactly like it, it was the first thing that popped into my head when I caught a whiff of it. So I'm assuming it's something along those lines, and if it gets into the wood I won't be able to take it off. Perhaps it will take the dye deeper into the wood and by the time I get to the third stage it might be set. Lots of 'ifs'. Of course, if the timber wasn't so fragile, I would have been able to rub the dye in a lot harder and we probably wouldn't be having this conversation.

At this stage I can probably wipe off the dye and start from scratch with some other type of finish, but to be honest, for the time being, I'm well over it. It's dangerously close to becoming matchsticks. I always did want to try a Pete Townshend on some poor guitar, this one could well be it.

Any suggestions where I can go from here? Most obvious thing is to wet it down, wipe off the dye and start sanding again. But I feel like I've done so much sanding, if I do any more I'll end up in China.

Shame, the top looks really nice today.

I'd forget the DT and just spray the body with a clear coat. You've got the choice of polyurethane, acrylic or nitro clear lacquers and it will sit on top of the stain nicely.

Thanks Simon. Yeah, I wondered about something like that but I don't have anywhere to do it properly at chez Pierre. Perhaps I could line my garage with plastic to make a spray booth....