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After spending many months being "responsible", it was finally time today to start the HB4 kit I got back in December last year.
Decided on a traditional looking burst finish. I used Feast Watsons Golden Teak and Mahogany stains to complete the staining job today.
There's a bit of work ahead cleaning up the binding and deciding on a clear coat for this one (usually a fan of gloss finishes, but thinking a satin finish might be okay on this one but happy to take suggestions on what would be good :) ).
Look forward to finishing this one and dying to play it.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...-hb4-front.jpg
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...0-hb4-back.jpg
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...1-hb4-head.jpg
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Also had to take a post-stain mock-up...man I am looking forward to getting this one together :)
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...hb4-s-mock.jpg
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Nice job on the burst, very traditional
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Thanks Stan. Came out better than I thought it would.
Question for anyone that's built the HB4. What's the go with earthing this one?
Is it just a case of earthing to the tailpiece via the tailpiece screws?
Cheers
Darren
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Nice looking burst, and DB has your answer regarding the tailpiece ground.
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Awesome burst Darren! Looks amazing. Gonna look even better with some clear on there. Well done! In terms of the earthing, if it's a hollowbody then you will need to drill a small hole under the tailpiece and run a wire to earth it. That's what I ended up doing with my 175 and it worked a treat.
cheers,
Gav.
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Thanks Scott and Gav.
I did search for HB4 wiring info, but there is just so much stuff on this forum now, its sometimes hard to find the right thing (my search might not be articulated well either :) ).
Cheers
Darren
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Great job, it's looking stunning already.
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nice looking burst Darren, will look sweet with clear coats
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Thanks for the kind comments Guys.
Looking forward to getting the clear on it.
Cheers
Darren
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Thanks for the nice comments Guys.
As an update, the first burst fell victim to a very nawsty accident. I was cleaning up the binding a little too vigorously, and managed to slip and put a nice scratch across the front.
A bit of sanding and a revisit with the stains and I have revived it, however, it is now a slightly darker burst than before, and I think (by luck more than skill) I managed to get the flame to pop a bit better.
I'm now in the process of French polishing it, however, being an extreme novice decided not to go down the mixing shellac flakes process so I'm using a premixed shellac (which adds an amber shade to the colour).
I'm managing to make a mess of the binding again, but plan to make myself a couple of special tools for cleaning up binding and preventing me from scratching the finish again.
Hoping once its finished I can polish it up to a nice shine.
Anyway, pretty happy with progress to date.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...B4-Shellac.jpg
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I've also progressed a little on the neck.
I have used inkjet waterslide decals before but was pretty disappointed with the results. these ones required that they are clear lacquered before soaking and application to prevent the ink from running. This was too much mucking about for my liking and the end result didn't look so good.
I stumbled across a different inkjet decal paper that doesn't require the "coat with lacquer" step.
At $8 a sheet, I'm hoping it works out better.
Basically, it's a matter of print, let it dry, apply.
Applying to raw wood requires that you first paint the wood with Mineral Turps first which apparently makes the decal melt into the wood.
The decals will dry with an eggshell white background, however, the background then fades to clear once coated with an oil based finish.
Here's some shots. Photo 1 is the decal wet (and hopefully how it will look after oil). Photo 2 is the decal dry (hopefully it won't stay like that, crossing my fingers):
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...-Decal-wet.jpg
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...-Decal-dry.jpg
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Aaaah, French Polishing always looks great on these classic shapes.
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As an afterthought it struck me that, on a Beatle Bass (as I like to call this kit), no finish is more appropriate than one made from the shell of beetles (according to my year 7 woodwork teacher)....the big question is, the shell of which one?
Cheers
Darren
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Well Paul McCartney, obviously. He was the bassist. Trouble is, how are you going to get his shell?
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Love the new burst. You've really popped the grain and the tobacco brown is even deeper. Looking amazing.
cheers,
Gav.
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Okay, now I've got 9 coats of shellac on the thing.
My French Polishing skills aren't probably where they need to be yet (and maybe not for years), but I am loving the experience and learning all the way.
I am really interested to know from any of you who know about Shellac, how many coats should I put on? and whats the best way to polish up a high gloss at the end?
The premix stuff I am using instructs me to put three coats on each an hour a part, leave for 24 hours, steel wool and do the next set of three and so on until you achieve the finish you want.
I'm putting the coats on with a cloth pad so the coats are pretty thin. Any suggestions would be great.
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...b4_9-COATS.jpg
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...-9-COATS-2.jpg
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Whooo - that's a seriously Baroque look you've got happening there.
That French polish sure is the real Mc Coy.
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Ok, here is a link to one of the most simplified explanations on how to FP....
http://www.stewmac.com/How-To/Online..._spraying.html
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Thanks for the link DB.
Confirms for me that a fine grit sand and rubbing compound should be my final steps.
Now to get myself a suitable rubbing compound...
Cheers
Darren
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So, after having a bad experience with the Stanley knife when scraping the binding and slipping across the body, I decided I didn't trust myself with a such a sharp tool.
After some thinking, I decided I wanted to sand the binding clean, but needed a way to be fairly precise and not sand the finish. So I made myself a special sanding block using a block of wood, a stick on felt protector and some lacky bands.
I basically cut a section out of the block that gave me sufficient clearance for sanding the binding without getting the finish. I used a file to curve the bit of the block where the sandpaper runs so that the block will work on the inside curves.
In use I found that the block worked well and if I cut long strips of sandpaper, I can just feed it around the curved face when it gets clogged (without having to reload it, which was what I was doing initially). Much slower than scraping, but much less risk for those with limited coordination (like me).
Here's a piccie of my biding sanding block and a piccie of the HB4 binding mid cleanup (clean side on left).
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...anup-block.jpg
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...ng-Cleanup.jpg
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Wow. Obviously a long time since I posted an update on this build. Thanks for the nice comments Gavin, Fretworn and Wokka.
It's been a bit of a trial getting a finish on this kit, I feel like the Karate Kid (Shellac on, Shellac off), but have learnt a lot along the way, and am really happy with how it has progressed.
Unfortunately (sort of), through a series of events, I am in the process of rebuilding the kitchen and as a result, feel a bit guilty if I spend time on my build (on the plus side, it allows time for the finish to really cure properly :) ).
The following photos provide some form of update. Think I am finished with the Shellac, and now plan to work through the 3M polishing papers in the hope I can bring up the mirror finish I am looking for. The last picture is the reason I am progressing slowly :)
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...date-Aug14.jpg
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...te-2-Aug14.jpg
http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...chen-Aug14.jpg
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That looks so good Darren. A real classic looking burst.
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looking very traditional colour/burst for this shape Darren, well done, should look sweet strung up
