ah ok cheers Simon, I thought it was other way around red top and black edges.
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ah ok cheers Simon, I thought it was other way around red top and black edges.
It may have been once, but on the first of the recent pictures, it is now definitely black top and back, with red sides.
Yep, the colour design changed a bit over the last few months. It's going to be black on the front and back. Was originally the other way around. Hey, I'm still surprised that we picked a colour in the end. We started out with about 50 designs and the kid isn't known for his fast decision making.
The red on front and back is the overspray from doing the bevels.
And yes, I did run out of red. It was a smaller can, 140g, it was enough for me to do about 5 coats around the edges. Probably could have done the whole guitar with a few less coats.
Today I've been looking at the neck, while I wait for the body to dry a bit.
A few issues, which I think are pretty easy to fix.
1) Fret 24 is a bit buggered. Looks like when the fret marker got put in, they went a bit close to the fret, and there is a cave in between the fret marker and fret. So I'll have to fill that with some Timbermate I guess. The fret is also quite buckled at that side, possibly some of the wood from that cave-in has popped up the fret or something.
I've done a little work on it - tried reseating the end of the fret with a hammer, which has done part of the job. I've then filed it down a bit on that side, which is also helping. I'll have another go at it tomorrow once I've thought about it a bit more. I might try clamping between some wood to see if the fret can be pushed lower.
Pictures of the problem fret area:
Attachment 19366
Attachment 19367
And 'problem' 2 for the neck. I was checking the frets for level, and the whole neck seems to have quite a pronounced back bend. I know this will change once there are strings on it, pulling it back into level. But should I have the board more level to start with? Is it worth adjusting now, or wait til the strings are on?
A few pictures, held against some straight edges:
Attachment 19368
Attachment 19369
Hey MJG, try putting a bit of thin superglue under the 24th fret where it's not seated and clamp it overnight.
The neck has way too much forward bow. Turn the truss rod anti clockwise while facing the adjustment socket. You need to get the neck flat for a fret level. When its stringed and tuned up you may need to make further adjustements
That thin superglue has so many uses. Put a bit into the gap, and clamped the fret down, it has come out looking pretty good. Thanks wokkaboy.
I gave the truss rod a 1/4 turn, that has taken out most of the bow. I'll adjust a tiny bit more tomorrow. Didn't want to overdo it.
The frets look pretty level now, I can see that I'll have to flatten probably the 12th and 5th by the look of it. They are a little higher than the rest. A job for another day. :)
Today I was working on building a router table, to make cutting the headstock easier. Using my massive plunge router on such a small piece isn't easy, hoping that converting it to a router table will give me a bit more control.
The trouble 24th fret has now been brought into line. I've given it a hammer, file, clamp, glue, sand and polish. Looking much better.
http://graybloomfield.com/guitar/wp-...1-1024x768.jpg
I've also done a bit of clamping on the 12th and 5th frets which had popped up quite a bit. Then had to do a little work on a few others, but in the end the frets are levelled. They still need a polish to remove the tarnish that has appeared on them from being in the garage for a few months. When I got the neck out of the box I thought they were gold frets. Yikes!
I've filled the hole near the 24th fret marker by mixing some black and brown Timbermate, which seems to match the colour quite well.
I've also got my router table to a point where I can use it. Still needs side walls and doors on the front, but it's functional. This was built with mainly recycled wood (I pulled apart an old workbench that was in the garage when we first bought the house 10 years ago, it's just been gathering junk on it since then). I did buy a new piece of MDF for the table top. Still need to fit the fence properly as well.
http://graybloomfield.com/guitar/wp-...4-768x1024.jpg
Used the new table to do up a few headstock ideas. The one on the right has been picked to advance to the next round. The pointy bits are a bit pointier on that one.
http://graybloomfield.com/guitar/wp-...6-1024x768.jpg
Well done on the fret. Nice router table - is that a Ryobi with a half inch collet? Recently got one myself...
Nice work on the router table there Matt.
Way to go! Nice router table indeed!
Yep, it's the Ryobi 1600w router with the half and quarter inch collets. Nice machine, but a bit hard to control as a plunge router when working on small items. Hoping the table will make that easier to manage.Quote:
Originally Posted by stan
I have a similar Spec AEG unit, great for the hard work but i revert to a palm router for fiddly stuff. the table should make this easier. A similar table is one of the projects that future FrankenWashie needs to tackle. But i have guitars to finish before then.:)Quote:
Originally Posted by mjg
The kid and I had more fun with spray cans yesterday. We got three coats of black done, before I got called away to dress up in a giant orangutan suit and dance in front of a market stall for the rest of the afternoon. Don't ask. ;)
I used a mix of vinyl tape and painters tape for the edging - the vinyl stuff so that I could follow the curves easier. Turned out to be a bad idea for the tighter concave bits, where I didn't fold it over the edge. I must have been stretching the tape too much as I put it on, because after a few coats it started to pop back off the surface. By the next day I had self removing tape. Nice.
Today I've fixed up a few runs by sanding them back, and done two more coats of black. Left it for an hour, then removed all the tape. Have to say, I was pretty nervous that either the black or the red would peel off with the tape. But it all worked.
There are a few wonky edges, and a few joins where the black got in, and also one part where the tape must have popped up and we didn't notice. But all in all I'm pretty happy with how this has come out, given that it's my first spray painting adventure.
Plan is to leave the black to dry for the rest of the week, then use a light sand to try to remove a few of the stuff ups. I've got no red paint left, so trying to avoid buying a whole new tin for touch ups, but might do that if required.
Some photos:
The kid doing a spray run
http://graybloomfield.com/guitar/wp-...3-1024x768.jpg
SO shiny!
http://graybloomfield.com/guitar/wp-...6-768x1024.jpg
Self removing tape...
http://graybloomfield.com/guitar/wp-...1-1024x768.jpg
The big reveal...
http://graybloomfield.com/guitar/wp-...5-1024x768.jpg
Pretty happy with this:
http://graybloomfield.com/guitar/wp-...7-1024x768.jpg
http://graybloomfield.com/guitar/wp-...8-768x1024.jpg
So, I've got a few bits like this to fix, is sanding the best approach?
http://graybloomfield.com/guitar/wp-...1-1024x768.jpg
and this sort of thing...
http://graybloomfield.com/guitar/wp-...4-1024x768.jpg
looks great MJG, your boy has done a great job at the painting.
Yes I would lightly sand the areas that need fixing
Also routed the headstock today. Needs a bit of sanding to clean it up, but came out how I wanted. Using the router in table format made this sort of job so much easier!
http://graybloomfield.com/guitar/wp-...7-1024x768.jpg
http://graybloomfield.com/guitar/wp-...8-1024x768.jpg
Tell you what, looking at how the paint job has turned out, I'm tempted to fit red LEDs underneath the bridge, so that it glows in the middle. Too much? ;)
Thanks wokkaboy! Took a few coats for us to both find that perfect speed and distance, but got there in the end and it looks pretty spiffy in the end.Quote:
Originally Posted by wokkaboy
Thanks, I'll give that a sand next weekend then.
That is looking like a weapon already, great job. That black and red combo is going to look sick with a clear coat over the top.
Holey smoke, the black and red sets that kit off!!
Very nice. Coming along well mate
You may find that scraping with a small sharp blade first is a more precise way of getting the excess black paint off. Then some very light overall sanding before the clear coats.
Really devilish :) Go with the LED's!!
Thanks all.
I'll have to buy a razor blade Simon, have used an electric shaver for years. I do have a lot of woodworking chisels but I suspect they are a bit too unwieldy for the job at hand. I'd probably remove half the guitar before I stopped. :)
Anyone have a favourite place for buying custom guitar knobs? I've found some on Qparts that look perfect for the build, but they're going to be $16 US for the 2 knobs, and $35 US shipping. Can't justify spending more on the knobs than I did for the pickups!
e.g. these ones I like in the black (Which aren't in stock at the moment anyway...) : https://www.qparts.com/index.php/kno...dome-knob.html
Electric razors are the best. Changed in 1996 to Braun and never looked back. Now back to the guitar. Buy yourself a set of replacement Stanley knife blades. They should do the trick and you can also use them for fret rockers!
Perhaps try Allparts, the shipping costs may be slightly better.
Warning: parts shopping may be hazardous to your wallet.
well thats coming along quite nice there fella shame about the masking tape but easy fix if you want a cheat just polish it as normal and use a black marker pen on the black, coming up real nice for your 1st efffort
A few weeks on, and things are progressing. There have been a few minor stuff ups, but overall it's getting there.
I carefully sanded and also used a razor to scrape off some of the black overspray and leakage. That went OK for the most part, but I managed to chip or sand off a few bits of red and expose the primer. Just tiny little chips. Only wafer thin, as the saying goes.
Decided to try a red pen to disguise that. I found a red felt tip pen that was pretty much a perfect match for the red paint, and drew a bit on - looked good.
I also had some black spray left over, so I sprayed that onto some plastic, then dipped a small paint brush in - was able to use that to carefully hand paint a few bits on the curves where the tape wasn't quite right. That turned out well.
Sanded the back and front colour down a bit with 1200 wet paper. Just to level everything off a bit before the clear coats.
Sanded:
http://graybloomfield.com/guitar/wp-...4-768x1024.jpg
Red pen on the edge of the red here - pretty good match. But read on to see why this was a crap idea.
http://graybloomfield.com/guitar/wp-...5-1024x768.jpg
Saturday we had a day over 15 degrees (hooray), so brought out the clear spray. Sat it in warm water for 20 minutes before spraying, shook well for 5 minutes, and went at it. The kid did a lot of the spraying, and he has done a good job. Only one pass where something went a bit wrong with his gloves I think, or he was holding the nozzle weird, because it was spluttering quite a bit.
The red pen to disguise holes in the red paint turned out to be a really bad idea. Don't use 'Pilot Fineliner' brand red pen with clear coat. A marker pen would possibly have worked, but not the felt tip one.
Once the clear coat hit the pen, the ink reacted, mixed into the clear coat, spread in the direction of the spray, and changed from red to bright bright yellow. Holy crap! Panicked, tried to rub it off, then waited half an hour and sanded it off where it had spread.
When sanding off the red (now yellow) ink, I managed to pull off an even bigger bit of red paint, showing more primer than the small chip I'd been trying to hide. Crrraaaapppppppp. It's also made the clear coat a bit dirty where I sanded.
In the end we got three coats done with 30 minutes drying between, before the weather turned again, and it was too cold to spray.
Here's Dodgy Spraying and Son - for a two thumbs up job, give us a call:
http://graybloomfield.com/guitar/wp-...7-768x1024.jpg
Here's the stuff up... after sanding off the yellow and then revealing more primer...arrrggghhhh
http://graybloomfield.com/guitar/wp-...2-1024x768.jpg
Here's that bottom edge again. The red ink went yellow and spread. But funnily enough, once I sanded it off, sprayed more clear, and the clear dried, some of the red ink seems to have remained.
http://graybloomfield.com/guitar/wp-...0-1024x768.jpg
Here's the splatter that happened on the back, just on one pass.
http://graybloomfield.com/guitar/wp-...1-1024x768.jpg
So anyway, my plan for next weekend is a two pronged attack...
1) Buy some more red spray, and use that with a small brush to fix up the areas where the primer is now showing. I'm thinking that I'll sand them back carefully, put the red on, let that dry, sand to level it a bit, then it should be ready to continue with clear coat spraying?
Is it worth brushing on some clear, or doing localised spraying of clear, to try to get things level before continuing across the whole guitar?
2) Light sanding on the back, to level off where the clear has splattered? Or should I just leave that alone?
I'm planning on doing probably 3 more good coats of clear. I've got enough paint to do possibly 4 or 5 more heavy coats of clear, if needed.
And despite the stuff ups here and there, it's still looking OK. The kid thinks it looks awesome, and that's the main thing really. I just need to forget about my perfectionism, because it's probably going to get scratched and chipped once he starts using it anyway!
http://graybloomfield.com/guitar/wp-...7-768x1024.jpg
yup, a light sand to get everything a bit flatter before more clear 800 or 1000 grit. careful on the edges, its surprising how bitey 800 or 1000 can be on fresh paint
That's hot, I'm not a fan of the guitar style but what you created actually makes it really appealing. Great job Both of you!
I know how easy it is to chip finishes. Also know how marker pen doesn't do well once it's covered with lacquer. Great for simple touch-up jobs on finished guitars (or even tolex tears on amps) but the ink really separates with some solvent on it.
Good to know!
I got another spray can of red today, sprayed some onto paper and then brushed it on to the chipped areas. Looks like that will do the trick, I'll see how it comes up when dried and sanded a bit.
I also tried a bit of an experiment with a spare black metal knob - sprayed the top red. Not convinced it will look any good, but I'm keeping an open mind about it. I'll see how it looks on the finished guitar... some time in the distant future. :)
This week's progress...
Working on the neck. Sanded down to 240, put on some ebony Timbermate for grain filling, sanded down to 320, then started on an ebony stain finish.
The kid designed a logo for the guitar. Personally I think it looks a little bit 'lower back bogan tattoo', and I think I'll be calling the guitar 'Shazza' in my head from now on. But it does seem to work for the guitar style. Printed it on inkjet decal paper, sprayed with acrylic, then slid it on after the first coat of stain. It seems to be staying in place after two more coats of stain, so looks to be working.
I'm thinking I'll do one more coat of the stain, to darken it a bit more, then a wax/oil finish over that.
This is after Timbermate and sanding:
http://graybloomfield.com/guitar/wp-...8-768x1024.jpg
After two or three coats of stain:
http://graybloomfield.com/guitar/wp-...6-1024x768.jpg
http://graybloomfield.com/guitar/wp-...3-768x1024.jpg
Fixing the paint chips with a brush has worked, so I've sanded that down a bit, then spent yesterday afternoon shooting more clear. I got three more good coats done, and it has come up looking pretty good.
http://graybloomfield.com/guitar/wp-...0-1024x768.jpg
On the final coat of clear, a giant insect flew straight between the spray can and the guitar. It's now immortalised right on the front. I'm sure there's a cool German word that describes the exact feeling I had when that happened. Gemaltinsektenbedauern?
http://graybloomfield.com/guitar/wp-...2-1024x768.jpg
I've also sprayed the top of a spare knob with the red, to see how that looks. I don't know...
http://graybloomfield.com/guitar/wp-...5-1024x768.jpg
Another thing I've done this week is sand down my scrap piece that I've sprayed with colour and clear. I sanded with 1200, 1500 and 2000. Still looks pretty scratchy, and not at all a mirror finish.
Anyone have a recommendation for what polishing compound to use after sanding with 2000 grit?
I had a look at the range at Super Cheap Auto, and was a bit overwhelmed with the options. Liquid, paste, gel, lotion, spray, which seemed to do a variety of buffing, polishing, unscratching, grinding, finishing, starting, etc. I've heard the Maguires brand mentioned before, but their products seem to be 3 times the price of the others, and they also come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Would I want the Maguires Black, Maguires Gold, Maguires Gold plus Extra Unicorn Sprinkles?
In the spirit of scientific enquiry, I tried some Clorox Gumption on the scrap piece. Hey, it was sitting in the laundry cupboard, might as well give it a try? :) It definitely made things shinier than the 2000 grit, but still has a fine scratch pattern on the finish. It also has a pleasant lemon scent now. lol.