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Hi All
Got my ST-1 from Pitbull yesterday and got stuck straight into sanding and shaping the head stock.
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I also sanded the body of guitar with 400 grit paper.
I am planing on painting the guitar white. I have Primer/sealer then white water base paint then gloss lacquer.
If there are any steps missing please let me know.
I usually sand up to 600 before primer, then sand the primer and first colour coats with 800. Then 1000, 1200 and finally 2000 on the gloss coats.
Of course if you want the grain texture to show through ( some people do depending on what you like) through ignore that > ;D
Thanks, I don't want the grain texture to come through. I am going with solid white colour. I might run over it with 600 grain next time. I haven't primed yet. So i prime,sand,prime,sand then colour,sand,colour,sand if needs more colour then paint more. Then clear gloss lacquer of course going up in grits along the way.
Your picture is scary down the bottom by the way. :-)
Love the strat build...love love love:D
Great start to the proceedings mate, Like Dedman says, if you put the effort in to the pre-colour sanding then you will get a better result on the final colour finish.
Check and change your paper often, use good quality sand paper, not Bunnings stuff and you will be right. if you run from 80-100 grit through 120-180, 240-320-400 and then 600 before primer your finish will be great.
Thanks, will do the 600 grit when I start sanding again. It's hard NOT to buy Bunning's stuff. That's the paper I have. What shop do you get your paper from? We are both Inner Westie's, if you source yours locally.
I actually buy online from http://www.thesandpaperman.com.au the product is better and he's really easy to deal with. Shipping isn't expensive and you normally get it in a couple of days. You're also supporting a small Australian business.
They also stock micro mesh polishing pads which are awesome for the final polishing stages.
The bunning stuff is cheap and it's okay if you don't have the time to source other options, like you say,it's hard NOT to buy from Bunnings, they're everywhere.
Also check out any woodworking stores for sandpaper nearby - places like Carbatec and maybe AllTools?
Ok After a month of doing not much with my guitar I have made some progress
I have done finished the neck using Tru-Oil and orange oil on the fretboard. I think it turned out ok
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I have done the body. It turned out ok. It was a lot harder then I thought. Everything looks ok until you paint it. I found it hard to get into the corners near where the neck attaches.
I used 3 x coats of primer sealer
9 x coats of paint. It was quite translucent.
Primed again as I had some high spots
Painted another 3 coats.
Put 3 x coats of lacquer. Sanded to 2000 grit.
Used compound to cut then polish
Am I happy with it? Yes. Could I have done better? Yes. I made a few mistakes with the painting but I will know better for next time.
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body and neck look great Jbees. Getting a good paint job takes years of practice so looks like you have done a good job. Next paint job you do will be better and should take less coats. I've found with painting preparation is about 75% of the work. Once you have grain filled and laid down a few primer coats and got it flat, it should only take 2 -3 colour coats, then your clear coats.
The paint I used was Waterbourne primer, paint and Lacquer. I have lots left. I live in the Inner west of Sydney. If someone wants to come and get these off me (for free of course) Trying to give back to the community, feel free to PM me and i will arrange to meet somewhere. Don't want to see it go to waste by sitting in a lawn locker. Have attached photo
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Jbees so did you spray with a spray gun ? It's a generous offer but you should store the paint. You never know when you will need it for another project !
Painted on with brush, I don't have alot of equipment. Next time I will use a stain. With regards to the paint, someone can always use it then they can give it back if they have finished. I would probably keep the lacquer as that is something I would probably use again.Quote:
Jbees so did you spray with a spray gun ?
wow ok Jbees, you have done well to get that finish with a brush. If you are painting in the future you can get good results with rattle cans and you won't get brush stroke lines left in the paint.
hi Jbees, i just order an ST-1M myself, im trying spray cans. i let you know how i go. you have done well with brush on paint. i honestly didnt notice you used a brush. well done 😊
Gotta say that looks so damn good for using a brush. Could have sworn it was done with spray of some sort.
Hi All
IT IS COMPLETE
Copper shielding done. Neck fitted nicely.
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Put on strings that came with the kit. The neck had an ever so slight convex bow in it. Haven't touched any frets (yet).
Tuned guitar. Innotation was more or less spot on, which I was very happy with.
Fret buzzing is starting all all strings at the 1st fret to the 5th fret. Higher up past that it is all good.I thought i would leave the guitar like that for a week to see if the strings pull the neck up a bit. If anyone thinks any different please let me know.
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I am happy with the results so far. If I look at the guitar closely i can see a few imperfections and that was due to my poor sanding abilities. When they say "sand then sand more, then when you think you have done enough sand some more" This will give a better finish. It is hard to sand the V where the neck sits. My finish is good without being great. From a distance of 1 metre though you can't really notice anything. I will let you guys know how the fret buzz goes later.
It doesn't take long to attach all the hardware(4 hrs)
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Now where's my next guitar project :)
Look great, well done.
Robbo
Nice sweet classic olympic white look and love the maple fret board with it too.
Thanks. Thats why I bought Pitbull. They were the only ones that came with maple fret board.Quote:
love the maple fret board with it too.
Great job to start your building career! Sometimes, no matter how much you read all the great posts here on what to do, it's not until you do it yourself that you really learn what works best for you. Well done.
Looks a cracker!
Keep us posted on the setup!?!
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Nice first build, you cannot beat the classic olympic white / maple neck strat
All set up and working now. Had to adjust the truss rod to loosen up the neck. I had to do nearly a full turn. I have done nothing with the frets. There is now no fret buzz anywhere and the action is low. I had to play around with the bridge. Tried lowering and making them higher, but I think it was just normal. Out of all the parts on the guitar I think the bridge is not great. It seems very flimsy. But the neck and the body is excellent and I think that is where the value is. The guitar sounds pretty good for what you get. I am no audiophile. I mean for $140 it is excellent value and well worth doing. I know I can do better next time. Not that I did a bad job on this. I think i might try a GR-1SF next.
Thanks for all the support and advice that was given.
Fantastic first build man, great work. You'll love playing it...good to hear you are looking for another build:o
Classsy first build JB, Nice and clean. Wonderful work!