All depends on which paint you use, and which mask ;) .Next is the silver, and maybe the bevel shadow. Not all the axe bases have the shadow on the bevel of the blade, nor the outline of the body.Quote:
Originally Posted by Trevor Davies
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All depends on which paint you use, and which mask ;) .Next is the silver, and maybe the bevel shadow. Not all the axe bases have the shadow on the bevel of the blade, nor the outline of the body.Quote:
Originally Posted by Trevor Davies
If it's smelly with a mask, you've definitely got the wrong mask!
You need one suitable for organic solvent spraying. I use one of these, though there are plenty of other makes.
https://smile.amazon.co.uk/gp/produc...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I get a new one every year. I know they are rated for 1 month, but that is for near-continuous use and my actual spraying is very occasional and also I'm standing outside, so vapour concentrations are relatively low. If you can't smell anything then the carbon filter is still working. If you can smell solvent/paint, then either the mask isn't on tight enough/badly fitting and needs adjusting or else the carbon filter is all used up and you need a new mask.
I got a proper mask for spray painting now - but it has been too windy, too cold and too wet for spray painting.
I have given the axe body a good sand down with 400 g to get it as smooth and flat as possible.
Flat and smooth is good.
Finally getting some warmer and drier weather in Perth. I have now put on 6 coats of clear over the black and silver coats of paint.
The first coats of clear seemed to dissolve the silver - very frustrating!
I have learnt a lot about spray painting - mainly that I do not like doing it!
I did not put the bevel pattern on the back as I was having trouble with masking and damaging the earlier coats.
From a distance I think it looks OK.
I will put on a few more layers of clear (after a trip to the BGS). Then leave it at least a week and then do a wet polish etc.
Definitely looks like an axe from here!
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What??? No blood????
I get that. Spraying paint takes a lot of practise, but it's one of those things that hard to practise because most of us don't have a dedicated spray room. It takes appropriate conditions, space and time, AND it costs money every time you do it!Quote:
I have learnt a lot about spray painting - mainly that I do not like doing it!
It does get better with each job though. I am far far far from an expert, and maybe only marginally competent, but I'm usually reasonably happy with the result. However, I've had things go pear-shaped more than once and that's frustrating.
I do take solace from stories shared by way more experienced people than me have something not go perfectly.
I use the 2-metre rule...Quote:
From a distance I think it looks OK.
If it looks good from 2 metres away, it's good!
Like dozy said, "looks like and axe from here!"
Strange that the silver seemed to dissolve. Were the paints the same type?
But you seemed to have overcome those issues, and it's looking good. Keep going, get enough clear coats on there to allow a good flat surface to polish after sanding and it should look great. But I would leave it more than a week to do that. I'd suggest an initial go at sanding back after a week and seeing how that progresses. Then leave that for another week at least. The sanding helps to let any solvent trapped beneath a hard surface layer to escape and also provides a lot more surface area to the finish to let remaining solvent escape through. If you can smell the paint, it really isn't ready to polish and take a good shine.
I know it's tempting to want to just push on, but the longer you wait, the better the end results will be.
Thanks Dozy, McCreed and Simon.
@McCreed - Hopefully I'm a little spray paint wiser now as my next guitar build will also need to be spray painted :) At least it is an opportunity for more practice!
@simon - the paints were the same type. Once the first clear coat was on and dried it has not been a problem. Thanks for the heads up about waiting even longer before final polishing - I'll keep my nose tuned in.
A week is the bare minimum, given minimal coats and optimal drying conditions. When I had a guitar resprayed professionally in tge early 90s, long before I started myself, they waited two weeks before polishing. I of course wanted it back sooner, but I didn’t understand at the time.
It’s one reason to have several guitars on the go, so you can put one aside and move on to the next one whilst you’re waiting.
Fine looking axe! You could use the cure time to shop for platform boots and leather.
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Thanks Fender3x.
"You could use the cure time to shop for platform boots and leather."
I may need to be careful about googling that!
They gotta be Godzilla boots! ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by fender3x
Oh yes this is right up my alley, awesome!
The Godzilla boots or the Axe?Quote:
Originally Posted by Andyxlh
After waiting 3 weeks, I have finally wet sanded the main part of the body using micromesh pads. Then polished with Maguires Ultimate compound and Scratch X. Added the electronics and tested with the screwdriver test. All seems to be working.
I'm still working the neck with FW wipe-on-poly. It needs a few more coats to cover the logo.
Still no blood...
:)
Looking good though...
And still no pics with the makeup.......Quote:
Originally Posted by McCreed
+1 for the looking good bit.
Finally got the headstock logo buried under the wipe on poly.
Added the tuners and bolted on the neck. Rough tuned using the kit strings. Everything is still holding together.
I will leave it for a couple of days and then do a full setup.
And yes, still no blood or makeup!
Looking great! Any neck dive issues with the paulownia?
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Yes,Quote:
Originally Posted by dozymuppet
a common problem with me and basses! No worse than the FVB-4 or TB-4 though.
Superb work.
I’ve just been looking at the TB-4 kit on another thread and noticed that the original has the neck join at the 15th fret and the kit between the 17th/18th fret. That’s pushing the headstock out by an extra 4-5cm, so that must be adding to the neck dive on that model. As the bridge position looks roughly similar compared to the rear edge of the body, it probably means that the kit body is a bit shorter than the original, meaning it would be lighter than it should be (subject to the body wood selection), again adding to any neck dive tendency.
That's not a good trade IMHO. Most bass players don't spend much time above the 15th fret, so the extra access is rarely going to get used.Quote:
Originally Posted by Simon Barden
That said, the build looks spectacular, or terrifying or gruesome...not sure what the best compliment would be, just sure it deserves one.
Thanks Dozy, Simon and Fender3x.
I'm really happy with the final appearance. More of an inspired by tribute rather than a true copy of the real axes.
Learnt lots about routing pickup cavities, spray painting and clear coating. Also, I probably would not use paulownia again - but , live and learn. Overall it has been fun and now I have my Axe.
Bravo. Now for the make-up...
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I have not found the magic formula for making it hard enough to resist dents, but I can tell you that my back is a real fan of paulownia. My go-to bass is made of the stuff, largely because I don't get that old familiar spike in the back after a 30 min of playing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Trevor Davies
Anyway, a battle axe ought to have some nicks and dents don't you think?
In any case it's a killer bass ;-)
Nice work Trevor!
It's come out well. Given how soft the paulownia is you musta been holding your breath till you got finish on it!
Thanks for the nice words.
@Fender3x - "Anyway, a battle axe ought to have some nicks and dents don't you think?" Yes - and some blood.
@Rabbit - "Given how soft the paulownia is you musta been holding your breath till you got finish on it!" Yes and still holding my breathe each time I pick it up. But each time I look at it, it makes me smile.
Given the popularity of GS Axe basses as scratch builds, it's a wonder there's no kit ;-)
As a commercial prospect you are on shaky ground. Mr "I like to sue everyone because I'm greedy" Simmons has the patent on the design.Quote:
Originally Posted by fender3x