Looking sweet bro!
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Looking sweet bro!
90% of the paint on this bass looks great, the other 10% is unacceptable. I’ve been hindered with cold humid weather here so my project is on hold for months. Some bizarre wrinkling issue is showing up.Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankenWashie
I am thinking about using a rod in the jack output rout to hold the body. Then I might hold the thing up like a huge popsicle and spray paint it on a sunny day.
Picking black as a first attempt was a mistake. Every flaw is glaring.
More later ...
That is one of the reasons why i have chosen to do hand rubbed stain finishes on all my builds.
Hope it can still end up looking ok.
Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk
Quote:
Originally Posted by wazkelly
Attachment 31077
Hey wazkelly177774!
Here are my excuses....I got promoted at work and the responsibility level increased dramatically. I am out of energy. I am about buy a retirement home....blah blah.... Thus, I haven’t had any time to work on this guitar...until now.
A while back we had a dry sunny day so I sprayed the body with satin black paint and about 3 coats of satin clear coat. I’m not gonna lie. It looked terrible. It cured and now I’ve wet sanded it with 1000 grit paper. It is freakin smooth to the touch and no paint came off from the sanding. I am using lousy Krylon paint from ACE hardware.
Well, tonight, I’m going to wet sand with 1200 grit, then 1500 grit, 2000, then some swirl remover rubbing compound, I am confident I can make this thing look ok. It’s time for me to return to playing!
Stand by for updates on the longest build in Pit Bull history!
My 2nd last one took about 18 months to finish.....was obsessing with trying to achieve a perfect mirror finish and in the end had to make the call otherwise I would still be fussing over it some 9 months later. They scratch and mark so easily anyways and now it just looks a bit more played in and slightly roadworn.Quote:
Originally Posted by MusicStudent1
Hope yours turns out to a standard you are happy with.
Cheers, Waz
Thanks, Waz. Funny you mentioned scratches and marks...right before the final color coat, I bumped something an got a chip. I painted over it and now it’s a dimple....aaagh! Yup, it’s just time to get the thing together.Quote:
Originally Posted by wazkelly
I feel better knowing it took 18 months on your build. I guess I’m around month 9. No building took place over the winter. Will post pics soon.
Attachment 31182
Well, well...I am learning. I’d intended to do a gloss body and satin neck. I couldn’t get the gloss body to look good so I tried a couple of satin color coats and numerous satin clear coats. It looked horrible! Just came out of the can bad.
I let it cure and wet sanded with 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000 grit paper. Feeling discouraged, I continued with medium Stew Mac rubbing compound. Ok...now we’re getting somewhere. I don’t own a polishing wheel, but I can do it by hand. I’m back to my gloss body idea now. Gloss body, satin neck, gloss peg head. I’ll keep ya posted!
Looking good. Black is a super hard colour to get right so don't feel too bad. Keep at it, looks like it will be very nice after a bit more elbow grease.
Thanks, Sonic Mountain!Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonic Mountain
Yes, I think a few hours of rubbing and it’ll start to look good. It’s far from being finished but I’m inspired now.
Attachment 31269
After using an electric buffing wheel...huh...why didn’t I buy one of those before?
That freaking chip on the right lower horn sticks out like a sore thumb and excludes this one from making GOTM, but at this point I just want to COMPLETE THIS PROJECT, lol!!!!
The paint is the lousiest Ace hardware store satin black. Buffed to an unexpected shine. On most finishes, you can clean and degrease with naphtha. If I do that to this thing, the paint comes off!
Yep, super handy, even a cheap one is a huge labour saving device. Looks great.
Greetings my Australian brothers (and everybody else)!
It is amazing what a guy can do with a little time off. My EX-5 Bass sat unbuilt for over a year, and I think I can finish it right at the one year mark in couple of weeks. I did everything right paint-wise, except I used old low quality Krylon spray paint. No matter how long I let that paint cure, the 2nd or 3rd coats would wrinkle causing me to sand, spray, repeat....it was an incredible waste of time and effort. The finish still isn’t what it should be, but this instrument will be a player /practice instrument so I’m not going to obsess over it.
Attachment 32078. DISASTER!
Attachment 32079. Flat paint on neck back. I am satisfied with how this came out.
Attachment 32080. Headstock has nice gloss, but it’s imperfect from that wrinkling.
Attachment 32081. The neck fits into the pocket even with a few coats of paint on each. I never did the “test fit” from the install guide. I also haven’t drilled the holes for the bridge yet.
Stand by, Gents!
- MusicStudent1 from Houston, TX
PS - The New Zealand film, “Deathgasm” was pretty funny...it kinda motivated me to finish this axe!
Attachment 32190
Finally! The bass is 90% assembled. I just need to wire it up, install the strap pins, install my string retainer, put on the decal, set the action, intonation, and pickup height and it’s ready!
I am learned a lot so far. Not only did I not need a drill press, I didn’t even need a drill. I used that pin vice thing from my earlier post to hand drill all pilot holes. Even the neck pilot holes were done by hand.
Attachment 32191
The paint I used wasn’t the best but it is thin which is what I wanted. More to come.
Attachment 32192
I finally completed my EX-5 Bass this afternoon. I had a tough time with the pickup springs not compressing enough and finally ditched them and used foam rubber under the pickups instead.
It took a long time to wire the thing up but it was a success. I played it for the first time through my amp today.
I guess I’ll post some photos next. I still have to adjust action and intonation. The neck doesn’t seem to need anything. It’s got a slight bow as it should. Action is nice and low, no buzzing.
It’s been over a year...I was beginning to think I couldn’t do it....or wouldn’t do it. I’m very pleased with the finished product.
Now to play the heck out of it. Thanks for all the help, everybody. -MusicStudent1
Attachment 32367
Attachment 32368
Attachment 32369
Nice job. I’m wondering if that string tree will cause tuning issues on the high two strings though.
Thanks!
The string tree doesn’t look as neat as I’d like but it’s necessary due to a design flaw with the headstock. There’s no excessive binding, it just looks a little odd. Without it, the G string (and maybe even the D string) would be in danger of popping out of the nut.
I use graphite powder to lube points of friction and have had no problems even without it.
https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...ead.php?t=9654
Wow! I was just reading some posts and stumbled onto this! The tension from this guy’s EX-5’s D and G strings pulled the nut out of the slot!
Attachment 32437
The string retainer is a necessity, but it would look better if the strings bent around a roller. Guitars and Basses with the hockey stick headstock sometimes have this issue. I’ve used a black zip tie behind the nut to lock the strings into their slots. I had a bass with the E string pulled to the side. It popped out of the slot one too many times.
A bass locking nut would also be a solution.
They really should design a headstock that pulls the strings straight, not at an angle like that.