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Hi,
i just got a TL-1, i don't even know what kind of wood it is.
I'm planning to stain the body with some powder stain that you mix with water, i'd like to obtain a light red mahogany color.
I'm a bit lost with the sandin process, how many times and with what kind of grit specialy with the US and EU grit designation standard, i've read so much forums and post that now i'm lost.
Can someone tell me how do i sand my guitar with EU designation?
... I have similar questions for my DMS-1 !
If it's the straight TL-1, https://www.pitbullguitars.com/shop/...ic-guitar-kit/, then as teh description states, it's a basswood body.
Basswood is pretty soft, so be careful with it as it will dent easily without a finish on it to harden up the surface.
Sanding has two purposes. 1) to get the surfaces (especially the top and rear on a Tele) as flat as possible to make a commercial-level finish possible and 2) to remove any tooling marks (mainly on the curves on the sides).
For 1), using double sided tape to stick sandpaper to a flat piece of wood, or a bit of flat metal helps you get the flattest overall results. For 2), its freehand sanding, or sandpaper wrapped or stuck to a tube, but its definitely the hardest of the two processes.
Keep going with one grit until you've got rid of all the marks from the previous grit's sanding. If you're struggling to get rid of any deep marks, you need to do back at least a grade to something coarser.
If staining, you don't want to go too fine with your grits so I'd stop at 180 before staining. US and EU/P grits are the same up to 220/P220, so no need to worry at this stage. After that, the US grits are finer for the given grit value. Comparison chart here.
https://www.thesandpaperman.com.au/a...ion-chart.html
ok so i'm in quarantine with only 80, 120, 240 and 320 sandin paper (EU) what can i do whith that!?
i guess i'll just do a quick shot at 80, then a long one at 120 until everything is smooth then i stain with with soluble in water powder stain.
Am i corect for now?
I'd like to put a dark stain, then sand again at i don't know what number and after apply a lighter stain.
Simon gave you a good explanation and advice in his post above.Quote:
ok so i'm in quarantine with only 80, 120, 240 and 320 sandin paper (EU) what can i do with that!?
I wouldn't use the 80 grit on Basswood. As basswood is quite soft, you'd likely create more work for yourself by leaving scratches from the coarse abrasive.
If you have any tool marks (left behind from the manufacturing process) 120 is probably a good starting grit for the body.
To reiterate what Simon posted, that would be way to coarse to touch the veneer with.
What I use on veneer, are fine grade synthetic sanding pads. I know you're on lockdown, but you can get them online. Alternatively, you can use steel wool on the veneer to smooth it. Just be sure to clean off all the little steel wool bit that come off before you apply any finish. Tip: use a vacuum cleaner with a hose and brush attachment.
Yep good advice for sure, i'm starting today sanding with 120 untill everything is smooth! let's go!
By the way i love the guitar on your avata, it's axactly what i'm aiming for, now i'm just a bit pissed that someone has it already... now i feel i'm just making a knock off.
Thanks! I'm sure mine similar to someone else's somewhere!Quote:
By the way i love the guitar on your avata, it's axactly what i'm aiming for...
Also, I just realised I mentioned sanding veneer in my last post, sorry, got my threads mixed up! So ignore that part of it!
However, one of the great things about building your own guitar is it will always be unique in some way.
Even if you do a red stain tele with a maple fretboard, it's not going to be the same as mine no matter what, and there's lots of ways to get creative and give it your own stamp.
Besides, any of us that has built a ST or TL has also made a "knock off" to a certain extent.
is started to sand with my orbital sander but i realised something was off...
https://ibb.co/VvGSk9Z
I started sanding at 120... it was just a nigthmare, there is some kind of coating on my guitar body , it takes forever to remove, i had to remove it with 80 grit paper, and even with this there is some parts that are so anoying to sand.
it's almost done but i'm exausted.
Spent 3 hours sanding and sanding.
Finished at 240.
https://ibb.co/NsRSHPm
I am building a blue tele. I don't think it matters at all that there are thousands of other blue teles in the world, because mine is mine and I made it. Plus they will never all be quite the same.Quote:
Originally Posted by Laforet99
Attachment 34512
i sanded till 320, then i stained the guitar.
some parts seem to have lost their sanded smoothness after the staining process.
what should i do now?
At the risk of being completely wrong, I suspect that is loose wood fibres standing up in response to the moisture in the stain. However, I cannot give any advice on the right sandpaper grade to use for very gently removing them, as I have no experience sanding stained timber.
With my build I lightly wiped down the body with a damp rag, waited for it to dry, and then lightly sanded at 5 degrees off the grain to knock off the loose fibres. But this was prior to applying any finish.
yes you are right is the reaction to the moisture. So the max grit i had was 320, i gently sanded to recover the smooth touch, it went well.
i applied a first layer of transparent mat laquer in spray, looks ok, but needs more layers.
i don't know how long i have to wait before it dries.
You are both correct in that the stain (whether oil-based, water-based, alcohol-based) will raise the grain fibres and the remedy is indeed to knock it back with a very light abrasive as you've done.
I use fine synthetic sanding pads (sometimes referred to as "synthetic steel wool"). Some people use actual 0000 steel wool, but I find the near microscopic steel fibres that result an absolute nightmare to deal with for whole host of reasons.
In regard to your rattle can spray lacquer, you can re-apply while it's still just slightly tacky (before it reaches "touch dry") or, if it does get to the point of touch dry, leave it overnight. The next day: lightly abrade the previous coat (I wouldn't go coarser than 240); remove ALL the dust (blowing or vacuuming); apply next coat(s).
With spray can acrylic lacquer, if the coats go beyond touch dry, you need to abrade them to create a mechanical bond. There is an amount of chemical bond with spray can acrylic, but not like nitro or "hotter" lacquers.
Once you have all the coats of clear you want (I suggest at least 4-5) you need to leave it for at least 14 days before you start sanding back to level & polish. This part of the process is where patience is truly a virtue and probably the most difficult step.
You'll really hate yourself if you rush it and stuff up all the hard work you've put in thus far. I know this from experience :o
hi,
ok so i put 6 coat of mat spray laquer, with a 1 hour drying period between each coats, and a light very light sanding between each coat too, with 320 grit, the max that i have.
Attachment 34523
So as i anderstood the next step is polishing, but with what?
Sorry, I missed the "matte" finish bit.
You may not need to sand your final coat presuming you got a nice flat finish on the last coat (no runs, sags, orange peel).
If you got any defects like that (that you can't live with) you'll need to fix those by sanding them flat then re-spray and try not to repeat the mistakes.
If your existing final coat is all good, then it might just require a slight bit of wet sanding to just knock off any dust nibs. The idea is to just smooth it, not polish it IYKWIM. You probably wouldn't need anything finer than P800 or possibly just a light hit with a fine sanding pad or steel wool. (see my previous post)
However, I would still wait the 14 days before doing this.
it's all flat and smooth, i'm planning to just polish with some polishing cream and an old rag, that's all the equipement i have. And yes i'm planning to way several days... 14 days seems to be a long period to me, but i'll try.
14 days is the bare minimum. Wait another week and the result will be even better as the finish will be even harder.
Even for a matt finish, you still want the finish to be flat, so hold the body up to a light at a shallow angle. This will clearly show up any small dips in the finish that are still shiny. You want to keep sanding back until those dips are all gone.
But if you want a matt finish, I really wouldn't think about polishing it, as it's very easy to buff it up to a shine. But I would use some finer grit papers. You really don't want to sand back with anything coarser than P400, and you'll probably want to sand up to P2000 to get a satiny finish. If you polish it, then probably no more than P800, as you'll then get a semi-gloss look.
Don't use furniture polish (most contain silicone which is impossible to remove and makes and further painting/touch-ups impossible), use a paint rubbing compound like Meguires or T-cut.
What stain did you use? Looks great
it's done.
my guitar is finished
Attachment 34896
by the way i have a question.
is there any problem by mixing different kind of lacks?
like doing 3 layers of nitrocelulose lack, then i let it dry and then 3 more layer with like generic lack.
what kind of problems do you see?
They react or don't stick, and you have to do the whole thing again. Sometims it takes a while for the reaction to show, Sometimes the top lacquer never cures hard.
It really isn't a good idea. Stick to the same type and you'll be fine. If you mix them, you may be OK, but there's a good chance you won't
hum interesting...thx for your advice