First Build- Tele Deluxe GTH-1

It took longer then I had anticipated, but I was finally able to get started on my guitar kit today. I had previously done a mock build to ensure everything was included, so today I worked on doing some initial sanding, and getting the neck to fit into the body. It took a little more work then I had hoped to sand the neck pocket so the neck would fit in, but I am happy with how it fits, and I think it has a good fit. Aside from fitting the neck, I started sanding the body of the guitar, I started with a 180 grit, and after that, I used a 320 grit. I am planning to do some more sanding with higher grit, the next time I do work on the guitar.

Does anyone have any recommendations on how high of grit I should sand with prior to starting the finish?

I have uploaded a picture of the guitar I am planning to model my guitar after, and there are a couple things I was hoping to get some suggestions on.

Does anyone have any advice on what product to use to get the body a solid black with a high gloss?

Is there a product that can give me that vintage yellow finish for the neck and fretboard, and depending on what I use on the neck and fretboard, do most products come off the frets easily afterwards while polishing the frets?


I appreciate any suggestions, or advice anyone has.

I noticed on my guitar body that there was no hole for the ground wire to go to the bridge, do I just need to drill a hole for that, or is there another way a should be going about it?

Polyurethane will work on the neck. It will yellow over time, but some people will do a yellow stain to make it look more vintage straight away. It cleans off the frets no problems. Most products will as it quite difficult to get any paint to stick to metal without good prep work.

Yes it looks like you will need to drill a bridge earth hole, just make sure you mark where the bridge is first and drill from the top of the guitar into the cavity.

320 grit is fine as you are going to need to prime the surface to do the solid colour. Be patient allowing the primer to cure as if you don't it will sink back and show the grain later. This is also a good time to make sure all the main surfaces are super flat, any wobbles will be very evident in a gloss black finish. My technique in this thread:

https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...ead.php?t=9001

For high gloss black I would use automotive acrylic. You can get 400g Septone gloss black from Supercheap. Build up a number of coats over a couple of weeks. Let it cure and harden as long as possible. With your nose right up on the surface of the guitar you shouldn't be able to smell any solvent. Putting a fan on it once it's tacked off is a good way to evacuate solvent from the surface and speed the process up a bit. Then you need block it back with a firm flat block and wet and dry sandpaper, being extremely careful not to get any moisture in any holes or cavities (the wood will swell and crack the paint). I normally go from 800-2000grit avoiding any hard edges as they are very easy to break through. Then using an electric buffer ideally, cutting compound, then cut and polish, then swirl remover and you should end up with something like this:

https://i.imgur.com/6g7MpT8.jpg

Be warned, high gloss black is one of the most difficult finishes to get looking good.

I recently completed a test fitting of the neck and bridge in place, and installed the high E and low E strings to see how they lined up. I was happy with the alignment of the strings and how the neck fits

My finishing products should be arriving within a day or two, and then I will get started on grain filling, sealing, before I do the primer and solid color.

How should I be applying the grain filler, do I just use a high quality brush?

If anyone has done the Tele GTH-1 and has a wiring diagram or suggestions with wiring, that would be great to look at.

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How should I be applying the grain filler, do I just use a high quality brush?

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Hi Ben.
Different products are going have different application methods. Some are paste-like and others are more liquid. So depending on what product you you're going to use, see what the manufacturers recommendations are and go from there.
If it's a product that's available here in Australia, and one of us has used it, there will certainly be some advice offered.

Look forward to seeing your build progress.

I have a gloss black body tele bass, with a yellow coloured maple neck and fretboard.

My build diary here....

https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...ad.php?t=10588

Sonicmountain is really good with his advice on painting, body prep and finishing....have a read of some of his posts.

Can I recommend that you do not use timber pore filler at all. If you intend to paint then use primer....from filler primer to just primer. Spray....sand back...spray again....repeat.

Paint works a lot better with paint...so primer works well with base coat.

One piece of advice that Sonic has put in his black build.....he did not use a clear coat. He just did lots of build coats of the gloss black spray paint and levelled and buffed that.

I am sure you have an auto parts chain in Canada that does paint like we have in Australia. But, really stay with automotive acrylic lacquers...e.g. acrylic lacquer primer and acrylic lacquer base coat.

For the neck I used an alcohol based wipe on stain and then some aerosol (spray can) U.V. rated exterior grade Gloss polyurethane.

Good luck...black is a tough job.

EDIT:- For the neck.....StewMac in the USA has water based stains......

https://www.stewmac.com/luthier-tool...id-stains.html

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Can I recommend that you do not use timber pore filler at all. If you intend to paint then use primer....from filler primer to just primer. Spray....sand back...spray again....repeat.

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Ozzbike, if you're making this statement with Timbermate and the reported issues of shrinkage in mind, that may be a fair call.
However I don't think that should be a blanket statement for all grain fillers or grain filling techniques.

Ash will certainly take a lot of paint fill the grain until it's flat. Ben hasn't said what product he intends to use, so it's hard to offer specific advice. There are grain fillers available that definitely won't shrink, like CA or Glu-Boost or even shellac/slurry is an option.

FWIW I have yet to have an issue with Timbermate under paint, but I will qualify that by saying that I also used shellac and primer over the Timbermate.

You aren't wrong at all McCreed.

The thing is with finishing is that there is more than one way to skin a cat, and it takes time to work out what suits your own process. Ozzbikes advice is correct for getting a good finish with acrylics on wood. It definitely works and if you use a 'high fill' product it will happen more 'quickly'. But you still really, really need to let it cure properly. The longer the better. And the same goes for top coats of acrylic lacquer. If you are patient the results can be outstanding.

That said, grain filling is worthwhile, especially if you want a natural/stained finish (which I realise isn't the case here). I haven't used shellac for it (but I am going to give it a go at some point) but I have used CA (superglue) and it really does speed up the surface levelling. So it would also work for a solid colour. One of the great things about CA is that it's almost totally non-reactive to all finish types. One of the hard lessons people often learn is incompatibility between fillers/primers and top coats. I know this isn't a problem with CA.

I appreciate all the responses to this and the advice you have all given. I will take more time to read it all in more detail at a later time, but I just wanted to respond and say what products I am using.

The finishing products I am using is a company in Canada (Oxford Supply Co.) that specifically makes products for guitar finishing, so I have been following the advice they have on their website for what products to use for my finish. So, I have a grain filler, sand sealer, primer, solid color, high gloss clear coat, and polish, as well as a neck amber. Since I haven't used the products before, I can't say how they will work, but I have been following a guy on YouTube who has recently started trying these products and talks highly of them, so I am looking forward to seeing what results I get.

I plan to post more progress once I am able to get started on the finish, and hopefully will remember to take photos each step

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One of the hard lessons people often learn is incompatibility between fillers/primers and top coats.

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Ain't that the truth! I think a lot of us have had that painful experience.

re: Oxford Supply Co. - I checked out their website. Looks like they have everything you'd need to achieve a good result in their Deluxe Aerosol Finishing Kit. Having all products from the same manufacturer is a good start for eliminating compatibility issues.

Also their grain filler is an oil based one and I'm guessing is a liquid or paste based on it being in a typical 250ml paint tin. Making that presumption, application would likely be a squeegee or brush depending on the consistency.

Watching with interest.

I was able to get my grain filling done a couple days ago. I had never grained filled like this before, so it was a new experience but I am pleased with how it went. If I do another build at some point, I would thin out the grain filler to make it an easier application. I am planning to do some light sanding on the body this weekend, as recommended by the product I used for after grain fill application.

My next steps this weekend will be to shape the headstock, and then start spraying my sand sealer, and possibly primer, depending on how things go.

Latest update on my guitar build:

I was able to get my headstock shaped this weekend, and also sprayed the sand sealer on the body. I have to still sand the headstock and smooth it out but happy with how it turned out. Finished working on the fret ends as well, so once I sand the headstock more, my neck should be ready to be sprayed with the amber coloured nitro lacquer I have.

Hoping to get the body sanded, and then spray the primer sometime this week, with hopes of getting started on the colour in the next couple weeks.

I am hoping to start spraying my neck and headstock this weekend, just wondering a couple things:

Should I tape over the nut so none of the lacquer gets on it and in the slots?

Should I also tape off the truss rod cavity to prevent any lacquer from going in there?

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Originally Posted by BenWill

I am hoping to start spraying my neck and headstock this weekend, just wondering a couple things:

Should I tape over the nut so none of the lacquer gets on it and in the slots?

Should I also tape off the truss rod cavity to prevent any lacquer from going in there?

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Its a good idea on the nut, but entirely up to you on the TR hole. Perhaps wad a small piece of tape up against the end of the truss rod, but you will still want some lacquer on the visible portion of the access hole. The trick is to do it in suc a way that you can still extract th wad after spraying.
I’ve never bothered, as you are generally not jetting the spray in there, just dusting it over the top in progressive coats.

Latest update on my guitar build:

I was able to start spraying my black lacquer on the body recently, after doing the sand sealer. I finished spraying the black last night, so now I will wait for it to fully dry and cure, before I mask off the body and spray the two red X's I am planning to put on the body, and then move onto the clear coating once everything is all ready.

I have my neck and fretboard all ready to be sprayed with the amber lacquer I have for that. I am looking forward to spraying that and seeing how the colour looks.

Being my first time doing an spray painting, it has been a learning experience but I am happy with the results I have gotten so far. The guitar build is taking longer then I had anticipated as I normally only work on it either on a day off from work or sometimes an evening throughout the week, but I am happy to take things slow to ensure I get a finished product I am happy with.

Slow and steady wins the race!

Looks like you made yourself a little spray booth with an extractor fan and everything.
You gotta love back shed ingenuity! Good on you.

"The guitar build is taking longer then I had anticipated"

I think this has been said by a great many builders, I've said it on just about every build!

Your progress is great, don't fall prey to impatience! As McCreed says, slow and steady wins the race!

I have been able to get some work done on my guitar over the past couple weeks, with spraying the neck being the majority of the work I got done. I sprayed what I'm hoping will be the last two coats of the neck amber lacquer I have, and will now wait until I can clear coat it, which I am hoping to get done when I clear coat the body, so I can get it all done at the same time. Aside from the neck, I was able to get the X's I planned to put on my guitar body, masked off, and begun to spray those on, with my brother in law finishing the last 2 or 3 coats on the X's, as I ran out of time to continue working.

With the addition of the red X's on my guitar, I'm beginning to see how the guitar will look when complete, which is exciting.

Just got sent this photo once the painters tape was taken off of the guitar to show how the red X's turned out, really happy with result.

Latest update on my build:

The lighting isn't the greatest in the photo I have here, but I was able to spray my clear coats yesterday, which if all goes well, should be the last spraying I need to do, which means my build is starting to come together as I had hoped at the beginning of the build.

Once the lacquer clear coat cures, I will wet sand and polish the guitar, and then afterwards, it should be time for the actual construction of the guitar. I have only soldered a couple times before, and its been awhile since then, so I'm looking forward to getting more experience with that, hopefully everything will connect smoothly.

Starting to see a potential end in sight for my first guitar build.

No pictures for this update on my guitar, but I was able to get started on wet sanding the body last night. First time wet sanding, but had some instruction getting started with it.

Hoping it won't be too long before I can finish the sanding on the body and neck, and get the polishing done.

It's been a little while since I have posted an update on my guitar build. Covid-19 lockdown in the area where I live put a delay on some of my progress as my guitar was at my brother in laws workshop. I recently picked up my guitar and was able to do some work at my place, such as wet sanding and polishing.

I have finished wet sanding and polishing the body and the neck. I am very happy with how the neck turned out, with the amber colour I got and the grain that the neck and fretboard have look nice. The body polished up well, being my first build, I didn't know what to expect but I am happy with the result, and may do some further polishing if I feel it needs it.

Planning to post some pictures of the recent work later today.

Look forward to seeing it!

Photo updates on my guitar build.

Here is my completed guitar build. It is a Tele Deluxe build, and is based off of the Telecaster guitar Deryck Whibley uses from the band Sum 41.

Upgrades:
-Grover locking tuners
-Graph Tech Black TUSQ nut
-Graph Tech Black TUSQ string trees


I am still adjusting the guitar slightly to get it to feel how I like it to, but so far the guitar sounds good, and plays well. This was an interesting and enjoyable first guitar build and I am happy with how it turned out, especially the amber colouring I have on the neck. The finish on the body isn't perfect, and there are a couple dings, but overall, I am happy with how it turned out, and hope it continues to be a good playable guitar.

Good to see you completed your journey. Also glad to hear it plays well for you. That's always a bonus!
I'd rather have a guitar that is cosmetically imperfect and plays great, than the other way around.

So, what's next???

Your headstock is cool !
And the figuring on yiur neck is gorgeous.
Well done.


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So, what's next???[/QUOTE]

I think at some point I would like to do another build, but for the time being, I am going to enjoy this guitar. I have some minor work and setups to do on a couple of my other guitars as well, and I'm always keeping an eye out for people selling used guitars for a next project