My first kit, LTA-1

Hello everyone!
I'm Eddy, an Italian guy from Perth.
I'm building my first kit ever, an LTA-1. I'm not too good with tools and wood but I decided to give it a try anyway. Hope for the best!
I've just finished to sand and grain fill the body of the guitar. It looks a little bit pink, is it normal? I've sanded it down to 240. Shall I sand it a little bit more or can I paint it next?

Thank you very much for your help!

I'm posting some pictures, including my headstock shape...
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Welcome along Ganna - many here have limited woodworking skills - some have even been advised by former teachers never to work with wood again, yet have built beautiful acoustic guitars... Looks like you've started well - drop a line if you have any questions.

Welcome. Nice looking kit you've scored there and like the headstock.

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Welcome Eddy. That would be a TLA-1 kit. Looks great. What grain filler did you use? I think timbermate maple can look pink.What are you planning solid paint or stain? Headstock shape looks great

Yes, I'm quite proud of my headstock! ;)
I'm doing it in DT gold stain. I used timbermate, i was a little bit scared at first but after a quick look on internet looks like it is normal to have a pink veneer on the wood...

Hi Eddy. There shouldn't be a veneer on this body. It should be solid ash. What color timbermate have you used? not sure how gold will go over pink

Maybe it's a combo, the back could be veneer, the front doesn't look so

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Actually Ponch now I can see the body on a PC screen (not a mobile screen) it looks like there's a 1 piece veneer on the back and the front looks like 3 pieces with no veneer. That's weird why the factory would veneer the back and not the front instead. Also puzzled why only 2 neck screw holes have been drilled in the body. This body must have been done after a Friday liquid lunch !

Oh,oh. Actually I thought that the front and the back of the guitar were different but because this is my firs kit I thought it was normal. What I should do now? If I sand more the back of the guitar holes start to pop up on the veneer , that's why I filled them.
What about the neck holes? Shall I just drill the other two?

By the way I used timbermate mahogany...

Hi Eddy, yes I would drill the other 2 neck screw holes, take the neck plate out and make sure all 4 holes align, they should do if you can see where the 2 hidden/filled holes are.
These veneers are usually thin so don't sand the back much more. If it was my kit I'd probably get a darker colour timbermate and go over it again to hide the pink. For best grain popping effect go for ebony colour Timbermate is the darkest. Will suit the gold stain better than pink !
Wow the mahogany TM I'm surprised came out so pink

Ok, I finished the first step, the stain coat. I applied the coat 5 times, until I was satisfied of the color.
Just a couple of noob questions:

Is it right that the pre-drilled hole below the bridge pickup doesn't align at all with any of the bridge holes? Is it just to let me know where the center of the body is?

Is it normal that the pick guard doesn't fit properly around the neck hole of the guitar, not even around the neck itself? Should I modify the pick guard? Sorry for the stupid questions...
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that hole near the bridge is for the earth wire from the bridge to the control cavity.
I think most people find they have to trim the pick guard a little, I used an aftermarket one and it actually fitted pretty well, only needed a little adjusting.

looking great so far Ganna, as Dedman said the earth wire goes through the hole under the bridge, to the bridge pup cavity to the control cavity.
Just carefully file (not a rough rasp) the pickguard edges till it fits over the neck heel. Clean up the edges with some sandpaper when it fits. Also remove the pickguard and make sure the neck heel fits snug in the neck pocket, that may need a little sanding/re-shaping as well

Understood. Thank you very much guys! No way that I can do this build without your help and support.
I'll wait a few more days for the stain to cure and then I will give you some updates.
Thanks!

Ok guys, the stain coat is almost cured, just another couple of days. Before apply the intensify coat is better to scrap the body with 400 grid or just 0000 steel whool?
While I was waiting for the coat to cure I checked all the rest of the components and everything seems to be ok and fitting properly.

Hi Ganna, you can use 400 grit paper or super fine steel wool. The steel wool works well for me. Make sure you wipe the body clean before the intensifying coat and try and apply thin layers. Best of luck.
Glad the rest of the hardware fits ok !

Thank you Master! I am practically your young Padawan!

Ok, the stain is finally cured but I am not completely satisfied of how the side of the body is. Shall I sand it back to 180 and reapply the stain? By the way I love how the front and the back came out!

Hello ganna, can you post some pictures? I've found that sometimes if the outside edges of a body are over sanded (to higher a grit) the stain cannot penetrate the wood. To fix this I have sanded back these areas to 180 grit then reapplied the stain. The tricky part is in blending these areas that are re-sanded with the rest of the concave inside edges to get an even coverage.

The problem is that I can still see too much grain filler on the sides. Probably I didn't send them enough. That makes the side way darker than the rest of the body and with the red - pink colour of the grain filler...

Hi Ganna please post some photos of the sides, sounds like you didn't sand the grain filler enough if there is too much pink colour

Yes, it sounds like the sides need more sanding to remove some more grain filler. I would use a lighter grit - 240 or even 320

This is the side of my previous TLA build, you can see how far I sanded back leaving in this case the lighter grain filler in the grain

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...1b10ec56c9.jpg

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Ok guys. As soon I get back home I will post some pictures. Around 6 pm. Thanks!

Just arrived at home!
I don't know if you can see it in the pictures but at the bottom of the guitar there is this pink-red area that doesn't look nice as the rest of the guitar. Should I sand it or is too complicated to apply the stain it back after?Attachment 11794

Ganna the pink doesn't look too bad. If you can live with it then keep applying coats, otherwise sand it back, it's your build so it's your decision.

yes, probably I will keep it that way. I'll do better on the next build. Thanks! ;)

I couldn't see what kind of stain you are using, what is it?

By the way, Hi Eddy...welcome to the forum

Hi Andy!

I used DT coolangatta gold.
Just a quick update, I printed my logo, name of the guitar and surname on a decal paper and put it on the headstock. It looks good!
Now I just have to put the neck finish on top and wait. How many coat do you normally apply guys? I was thinking to apply this coat and then a second one in one week. Do you use steel wool after the final coat?
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Hi Ganna, it might take a few clear top coats to cover the decals properly. Unfortunately at some angles you will most likely still see the outline of the transfer and possibly more top coats is the only way to disguise that.

Nice shape for the headstock! I think we're using the same mat.

I only have experience with transfers in scale modelling, but I'm pretty sure the priciples are similar - clear coats to conceal the line of the decal's edge. In my experience it's likely that when you're done, you, the builder, are going to be able to find a way to angle it just right, with the light in the right spot, and looking at it from just the right angle, that you'll see the outline of the decal, but it's unlikely that anyone else will ever notice.

That's right! I keep on finding imperfections that other people can't spot on my build unless you are really looking for them

After my third clear coat I started noticing that the bottom part of the guitar body it's shining but not the top. What I am doing wrong?
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Hi Ganna,

Sorry just saw your post. I have a couple of questions, have you used DT for the stain, intensifier and final coats? If so how many coats of each and how long did you wait between them. Lastly, have you ready my TLA-1R diary regarding applying the DT final coats?

Hi Andy! Yes, I always used DT. I gave the stain, then 3 coats of the intensifier waiting 7 days between them and then 3 coats of finals.
I always waited 7 days between coats... Is this something irreparable?

No worries.

The uneven gloss and streaking effect i can see in your pic can be caused by two sources:-
1. Too little DT final coat per application. not an issue, just keep applying thin DT finish coats and it will even out.
2. a little too much DT final coat in the last application. In which case you just need to:-
(a) carefully sand back the DT final coat with 600 grit, 1200 grit and 2000 grit (wet). I wet the sandpaper fold it over and gently sand in one direction with the grain away from the edge of the guitar.
(b) Be careful not to sand back too far or run the sandpaper along the edge or you start taking the stain off in places.
(c) If you take some stain off, re-apply some intensifier coat in dabs on the affected areas. and give it 5 to 7 days to cure. if the intensifier dabs dry uneven, carefully sand the patches smooth with 2000 (wet) as above.
(d) re-apply the very thin final coats, I prefer my method of thin final DT coats as you are usually not in danger of putting too much on.

I used the above method in scenario 2 because thats exactly what happened to me on my TLA-1R build (that streaking was quite major on mine because i put waaaay too much on) and I fixed the issue with not a lot of fuss. Just a bit of curing time.

In case you missed my method of thin final DT coats, I'll repost:-

1. cut two pieces of 5 x 5 cotton cloth
2. pour small amount of DT intensifier (or final coat) onto palate (in my case margarine lid, in DB's case yogurt top)
3. fold first cotton cloth in 1/2 and 1/2 again and dip folded edge into DT
4. apply DT to surface of guitar wiping in direction of the grain (try to do it thinly but don't worry if you can't)
5. just keep dipping the folded edge of the cotton cloth and apply with the grain (as opposed to soaking the cloth and wringing it out)
6. once entire surface has had DT applied, take the dry second 5 x 5 cloth and fold it in 1/2 and lightly wipe over the DT coat that has been applied in the direction of the grain.

voila = thin even coat, usually dry in 12 hours (but may not be cured)

I then wait about 3 days before wet sanding and applying the next final coat. (7 days in Brissy weather for intensifying coat)

Anyway Ganna, good luck. Remember I am no authority on the subject of DT, its just what has worked for me.

As with all finishes, its a bit of an artform and a learning experience. I have found that its well worth the time and effort to get to know the product by trial and error. Let us know how you get on.

Thanks Andy! I found your build and for what I saw you are an authority. Incredible final result. I hope I can achieve something like that!
I have also see that you wet sanded on top of the headstock decal after just one coat of clear on it. How you didn't scratched the decal? I tried on mine but I soon as I stated to lightly sand the decal started to be scratched!

Thanks for your kind words.

From memory I put down a number of DT neck finish (no stain) then the decal, then more final coats, light sanding in one direction with 2000 grit (mostly around the decals). I saw it was catching on one of the decals so i stopped, then applied the next neck coat.