Looking great Tim! Love that grain. She's going to be a beauty. How about a clear neck finish? Would look great IMO with a dark tease headstock.
cheers,
Gav.
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Looking great Tim! Love that grain. She's going to be a beauty. How about a clear neck finish? Would look great IMO with a dark tease headstock.
cheers,
Gav.
Tim, here are a couple of build diaries that used Dark Tease: Lawry's RC-1 and Alex's LP-1.
Cheers Gavin, I think I may end up doing something along those lines. I've sanded back the Vintage amber and I looks much better. With the clear neck finish can you just apply the top coat that comes in the neck finishing kit, or is it best to apply a clear base and then a clear top coat. Sorry about the newbie questions!
Thanks Scott, I checked both of those out and they are both finished amazingly! It does seem to look very classy when finished.
Thanks everyone for your input and ideas! helps out alot :-)
Tim I've heard of someone using only neck top coat and said it worked well and was quite slick to play. Think it was Pablopepper.
It was indeed and it worked well. http://www.pitbullguitars.com/?page_...iewtopic&t=737
I followed Dingobass' instructions in the link above with excellent results. Be very thorough with your sanding, any of the yellow left behind will be highlighted by the top coat.
@Brendan, thanks mate I'm really happy with how it's turning out now I've cut it back quite a bit and applied a second coat of DarkTease, More grain is becoming visible now, which is always nice. Does anyone know if you're meant to cut it back after each coat to make the grain pop more? Or is it just a one off and then you apply the rest of the coats to your liking?
@Wokka and Pablopepper, Thanks for that, I may end up going with that option I think it could look really good. I did read on the forums that the clear base coat darkens the wood slightly, which could suit the body more. I've coated the top of the headstock with a thin coat of Dtease but I'll leave the rest of the neck blank until I get the body to colour I want so I can see if it will look good.
Here's a photo of the body after I cut it back. I evened it out a bit more before I put the second coat of wudtone on. Will post the pics of the body with the second coat when it cures a bit more.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...1-IMG_1043.JPG
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...7-IMG_1044.JPG
looking good Tim but you don't have to cut back the previous coat that much. Normally a light fine steel wool rub is enough. The grain is popping more but you want to try and get as much dark tease on the body now unless you are after a lighter colour brown stain
Thanks Wokka. Yeah I did go a bit crazy with the sand paper! I do want a slightly lighter brown colour though and the second coat still made it darker than the first so I think I'm heading the way I want to. Still have plenty of Wudtone left even after I used half the bottle for the initial first coat I ended up sanding off.
The coats I'm applying now are very thin and I would say that I have enough for 6 or 7 more if I keep applying it in the same manner. Does the top coat make everything look darker too?
Cheers,
Tim
wow the grain is popping crundes and looking very nice indeed.
Cheers Jarrod. I'll be happy if it comes even close to looking as classy as your guitars. Congrats on GOTM by the way :)
Tim - DB's mantra from memory with Deep Base coats is don't sand. Wait until you're done with the deep bases. Then light sand with 0000 wool. In between base coats and top coats - more light sanding with 0000. Really with these you are only taking out any ridges that haven't settled from the Wudtone.
Hope that helps.
Thanks Brendan,
Yeah I think I will just stick with steel wool for the rest of the coats. Gavin1393 suggested lightly cutting back with sandpaper to get the grain to stand out more, which it has done quite well I think but I may have slightly overdone it!
Cheers,
Tim
Tim don't worry about overdoing the cutting back and re-sanding, next wudtone kit you get should be enough for 2 guitars (if the wudtone kit has deep coat and base coat). DB said don't steel wool between deep coats if you want a really deep/darker colour. Otherwise I'd still do a light steel wool rub between all coats will give it a smoother finish in the end. The wudtone top coats will make the colour go slightly darker but not really noticeable. Other types of higher gloss clear coats normally make it go a bit darker (poly's, tru oil etc)
Cheers Wokka, I think I might give it a very slight steel wool between coats just to even out the finish slightly. When I applied the first coat that I ended up sanding off I found it quite hard to even up the finish with the steel wool because the coat was so thick So I think if I leave it until I've finished all the base coats, the stain might accumulate in certain areas to the point that it's hard to even out the finish (for my level of skill anyway).
no worries Tim, you will get a more even and smoother finish if you do steel wool between every coat. Also apply thinner coats works well. Try and give it at least 24 hours between colour coats and 48 hours if the gloss is extra aging. Where are you located ? Its pretty well hot everywhere this time of year so good curing weather
Cheers Wokka, I'm in Melbourne so I'm sure the 44 degree days this week are speeding the process up nicely. I applied the fourth coat this morning and I'm really like the results, still looking a bit uneven but I've slightly refined my wudtoning technique and it's getting more even with each coat. Will post some photos after the 5th or 6th coat so there is some noticeable difference.
I'm still tossing up between a Tru-oil finish or the Wudtone satin finish that's on the way in the mail... Might hold off for a bit and see what the guitar looks like with a few more coats before I make my mind up. Does anyone know if it's possible to apply a Wudtone top coat and then if I decide that's not the look I'm after cover that with Tru-oil... Probably a silly question but thought I'd check.
Cheers
Tim
Tim, you can get a semi (but still pretty glossy) coat from Wudtone. Take your time and check Dingobass' posts - maybe search for the term "A4" - that's part of the process.
Hey guys, I often read about using a thinned down Wudtone. Just how 'thin' do you make it? What sort of ratio? And do you use full strength after X coats or use thinned all the way?
Wudtone starts to coagulate (harden / thicken) over a short period of time as the solvent evaporates. To reverse this process you need to add solvent back into the mix. Shellite is used for this pupose as decreed by Andy from Wudtone and passed on to me by the great man DB, himself!
Add a little Shellite and shake it up until the consistency is much like it was when you first opened the bottle. And, don't believe that the solvent doesnt evaporate through the plastic bottles despite being closed, because it does!
Good to know Gav :-) Would it be possible to put the wudtone in the fridge to slow or stop any evaporation? Or will that just make it coagulate because of the temperature change?
I'm told it slows down the evaporation, but confess to never having had to find out!
So I think I'm finally happy with the results of my Wudtoning and am ready to apply the top coats! It certainly wasn't an easy or quick process but I certainly learned alot in this first stage of applying a finish. I ended up doing six coats and thinking it looked great so thought a seventh coat could only make it look better...I was wrong!
It became too thick and began to be quite difficult to spread evenly so I got a lot of blotchy areas on that coat. I ended up cutting it back again (3rd time!) but just very lightly with some 240g sandpaper and then applied another 2 coats of Dark Tease.
I've decided (with some forumers help) that I'll leave the majority of the neck clear and have just coated the front of the headstock with DTease.
I'm very happy with the results now and am glad that I was so pedantic with the wudtone. I still haven't decided whether or not to apply the satin finish that came with the wudtone pack or use tru oil. I may tru oil the neck as I want it to be slightly darker than it is now but still am unsure about the body. Have any forumers used the satin finish with Dark Tease?? Would be great to see how it can look before I decide.
Anyway here are the results.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...6-IMG_1061.JPG
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...l-IMG_1062.JPG
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...7-IMG_1065.JPG
wow Tim that looks excellent, it's been well worth being pedantic and cutting it back 3 or so times. Stain and colour look consistent in the pics and the dark tease headstock will look a treat.
I'd try 3 or 4 coats of satin and if you aren't happy with the results you can always go over with a couple of coats of TO, I'm not supposed to say the words, I've already got 12 months more detention in the naughty room !
The clear neck will be a good contrast to the dark tease body/headstock
Great finish. Worth all the effort I reckon.
Looks fantastic Tim. That dark tease on the ash really is the business. All your pedantic efforts have resulted in a really even finish. I agree with Wokka about the clear neck - should look amazing with the dark tease body. Great work!
Cheers,
Gav.
I think Andy P from Wudtone would like a photo of this when it's finished for his Wudtone site. Nice work, Tim. A very sophisticated finish.
looks a million bucks matey, nicely done!
Thanks for all the great feedback guys! :-)
@Pablo, Gav and Aj. Thanks for the kind words, it's nice to have people who's guitars I've been drooling over make comments like that!
@Wokka, Cheers mate, yeah I think that's a good idea re satin finish. Will the TO still be able to coat the body properly with a different product underneath if I do decide to use it? Will have to see how I go, I kind of want to try both finishes on this guitar so I can get an idea of what they both look like for future projects (I believe I may have developed GAS recently...) I do still think I will use Tru oil on the neck to try and give it a slightly darker shade. I think the wood is light enough to still contrast nicely with the Dark Tease with Tru oil applied.
@Adam, Wow that is a compliment and a half! That would be amazing! Thanks for that mate. Hopefully things keep running relatively smoothly and It still looks nice at the end!
Cheers
Tim
That's a super classy finish you've ended up with Tim. You can be justifiably proud of how it has turned out. This is going to be a very stylish axe and I'm really looking forward to the finished product.
@ Lawry: Thanks for the kind words :) It's certainly not how I envisioned it when I started out but I'm still very proud and pleased with how it's progressing.
I've now applied 2 coats of Wudtone clear, which I thought looked really good but I've decided that I"m going to try and learn as much as possible with this build so I wanted to try a couple of different finish options, so I also used 5 coats of Tru-oil over the top of the Wudtone clear to see how the finishes differ. I like the look of both but I felt the tru oil brought out the grain slightly more and darkened the colour slightly too. The Wudtone was easier to apply but the Tru-oil was by no means difficult.
Here are some pics of the progress so far
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...9-IMG_1080.JPG
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...h-IMG_1079.JPG
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...f-IMG_1082.JPG
I also picked up some second hand fender highway 1 pickups on ebay for a good price. They came in a loaded pickguard, which is also cool although the pickguard has some sun damage or something so I will only use the pots, selector switch etc.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...l-IMG_1083.JPG
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...o-IMG_1084.JPG
cool looking good Tim, the pictures don't look too glossy for 5 coats of TO (it could be the angle or the light of the photos), you must be applying thin coats.
Pickups and pots look good, so you will transfer them to the white pickguard ?
Yeah I took the photos just after I steel wooled it before applying a what I think is the 6th coat so I kinda timed the photos badly. It also may have been the 4th coat as I've kinda lost track of the coats cos I've been applying them intermittently over the last 2 weeks.
I'm not sure how glossy I want it to be though so I have been applying super thin coats. I was originally after a satin finish but am gradually liking how the tru oil is looking so will keep going for a couple more coats.
sounds good Tim, thin coats you should get a smoother finish as well.
I keep a track of my coat numbers in my signature of builds otherwise I'd lose track too !
Still not sure If I'm going with the white pickguard. Have been going a bit crazy on ebay buying a few variations of pickups covers and pickguards so will post those pics when they arrive to see what you guys think. But whatever it is I'll just transfer the pots and pups to that one.
This is turning into a more and more classy axe, Tim. The grain is fantastic and the dark tease shows it off beautifully. And those pups should sound cool.
really nice build Tim
Ok well it seems I've run into trouble yet again. I applied four coats of tru oil since the last lot of photos and was going to stop at that and move onto the next step but I applied the coats a lot thicker than the previous ones and ended up with a small blob of hardened tru oil in the middle of the guitar. I thought having applied the coats quite thickly I would have plenty of room to steel wool the blob away and still be left with an even finish.
It turns out I underestimated how thin the tru oil coat was and ended up taking some of the colour out of the Wudtone. Subsequently many abusive words were hurled in the guitars direction, which certainly didn't improve the situation but did make me feel a little better after the blunder...
So now I'm wondering where to go from here. I have no Dark tease left to patch it up as I used the whole bottle because I have already sanded it down once and started again, which took up 2 guitars worth of stain. I'm also not sure if patching it with some new dark tease will get the same depth of colour as the rest of the guitar.
When it comes down to it if worst comes to worst I'm really not worried about sanding it back and starting again. I have really enjoyed the process this far and would be happy to do it again but it would feel like a bit of a waste.
Here are some pics to see the damage. It's a very small spot but It's not small enough that I'd be happy with the end product if I just left it there.
Cheers
Tim
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...7-IMG_1104.JPG
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...b-IMG_1105.JPG
We've all been there dude. Don't resign yourself to sanding it off just yet. I'm no expert, but I would try dabbing a bit of wudtone on the area with a cotton tip, very lightly. You might find you can patch it with one or two spots.