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Hi All
Just joining up and becoming familiar with how things work, not a great technology user (Social Media / Forum chats ) etc however a keen guitar player. I got a kit TL-1 DIY Electric Guitar Kit to build as a present. I am excited and want to do a good job with it so stepping my way through the Web site and Forums.
Hi and welcome.
Hello and welcome John W.
Nice present. Do you know how you are going to finish it?
I also have a TL-1 kit on the go - currently waiting for some good spraying weather in Perth!
Thanks Trevor
Not yet, this has caught me by surprise (nice one) so just starting to look around to see what I like but it will be some sort of natural stain, I like the wood look. I still have not done my mock build? Any clues on how to see what the options are for finish? Also anything I need to do with mock build ie just fit it together without screwing things in place? All new to me, so plan to go slow :)
For the finish, anything goes. It really depends on your skill set, equipment and work area. I really like the Feast Watson stains available from the Big Green Shed (as I also like the wood look and natural colours), but I have used water based dyes and inks. For the clear finish I have mainly used Tru-oil for its ease of use, but have used Feast Watsons wipe on poly, and rattle can SCA acrylic. Lately I have been spraying water-based poly.Quote:
Originally Posted by John W
I find the Basswood is nice to work with. It does not usually have a huge amount of grain pattern. For basswood bodies, my TB-4 build is FW jarrah stain with Tru-oil, the AG-2 build is red ink with Tru-oil, and the back of the TL-1TB is FW Brown Japan with Tru-oil. The TL-1 I'm working on ATM is Ubeaut Blue water-based dye with Cabot's water-based poly.
For the mock build: yeah, basically fit it together to check to see that all the parts fit. Make sure the neck fits nicely into the pocket. Make sure the bridge (with the pickup) can fit nicely in the bridge cavity, and that you can achieve your scale length of 648 mm. Also that the strings align well along the neck with the bridge.
P.S. Don't forget to start a build diary.
Thanks again Trevor, don't have a great skill set so I think I need to keep it simple and not try and get too clever. Will keep looking around and check out your suggestions. I did do a mock up and started a build diary. Looks like have all the parts and everything seems to fit well, I have not checked the scale length, so might need to go back and do that? Do I just check that by measuring the distance between the nut and the bridge, or do I need to put some strings on to get a more accurate result?
Yes You need to do a mock build checking the neck alignment by putting high and low E strings. Also temporarily fix the bridge and check the scale length
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This is awesome. I am just looking for some general advise to start learning different guitar chords. Greetings from HongKong
Youtube is the best site for learning basics of music
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True. But I am pretty sure that MR is not an actual person and doesn't have actual fingers. A bot or AI in training perhaps?Quote:
Originally Posted by Drashkum
Trevor Quick question, after looking at lots of Guitars I really like the Butterscotch Blonde. I am not sure where to source what I hope would be a good Butterscotch Blonde stain. I have a white pickgaurd but happy to puchase a new Black one to better match the look. Any recommendations ? Hope this sort of question is not too trivial! Cheers
Actually, I'm not sure! I know there is a Dingotone Butterscotch - but I don't know how successful it has been. Some of the Dingotones have issues with drying!Quote:
Originally Posted by John W
Hopefully others will pitch in with some suggestions.
Also, it would pay to start a build diary to keep track of your progress.
PS; Feast Watson do a stain and varnish liming white in Natural Buttercup! Not sure how this would go !
I am guessing you'll be putting it on a light colored wood? I cannot say that I have tried this yet, but I have a flamenco guitar with a spruce top and back and sides that are (I think) poplar, which is mostly light, except for green streaks. I am pretty sure this guitar was finished with shellac, and is a lovely butterscotch.
I have in mind doing a finish that is a bit darker than butterscotch on a paulownia body (which is a little darker than maple or basswood...more like oak). My plan was to finish with garnet shellac (the darkest kind), however, it's probably not as dark as I thought it would be...but maybe more like what you are interested in?
Attachment 44852
I have used platina shellac (aka super blonde) on necks to get them a little darker. It doesn't give them a lot of color, but is nicer than natural, IMO, and also has the advantage of giving the grain, and especially curls or birdseyes, some chatoyance. There was one spot on a maple neck that I got from PB that looked like a tiny knot when the neck was unfinished. When I finished with platina shellac it "became" this lustrous birdseye.
Although not quite as dark as I think I wanted, I am still planing to use the shellac to darken my bass body. Any alcohol based dye will work with shellac, which also may be useful for your purposes, particularly if you'd like it to be a bit more amber or brown.
I always have some platina shellac around to use a lot as a sanding sealer, and to seal between coats of finishes that I am not 100% sure are compatible. So, another reason I plan to use it is to to sanding seal, color and prep for clear coat in one step. It's worked well on maple. Hoping it will work as well on a more open grained wood.
I have not used Dingotone products. And I won't use them. I have been using this site since 2016, and the unhappy stories about using dingotone far outweigh the happy stories.
Meanwhile...
There are people here who have gotten pretty great results with Feast Watson finishes. Might be worth a peruse through the "scratchy Tele's" link in TD's signature for examples ;-)Quote:
Originally Posted by Trevor Davies
Just for clarity, when you say Butterscotch blonde, are you just after a light brown stain, or the semi opaque (milky look!) type of finish?Quote:
Originally Posted by John W
I always thought Butterscotch blonde was a thin coat of yellow Lacquer paint sprayed on a alder body in such a way that the paint is so thin that you can see the grain through. I thought it is not a hand stained colour guitar. Pls correct me if I am wrong
https://amzn.eu/d/ar5X7KY
Good luck with your build
Drashkum
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Oops! I focused on "stain" rather than "milky"
Same type of paint as found on the original 1950's Fender guitarsQuote:
Originally Posted by Drashkum
Hmmm, now I see why this paint is so popular..
Sounds good to me. I have no idea.Quote:
Originally Posted by Drashkum
Thanks Has given me some mor ideas will have a closer look at Feast Watson stains