Copper KH-1

My most recent project was a Pitbull KH-1 kit, a replica of a Klein guitar. When I started I had a couple of goals in mind: 1) I wanted the finish to be shiny copper--not metal flake copper, but shiny copper like a new penny (or...a new, shiny copper pipe, if wherever you are from doesn't have copper pennies), and 2) I wanted to add a push/pull pot to let me split the humbucker at the bridge. It was a bumpy road, but I'm happy with the result.

First, a photo of the destination, to whet the appetite:

Attachment 23502

Now, back to the beginning...

The kit arrived and of course the first thing I did was to have a look at the neck. It had quite a bit of back bow! I found the truss rod wrench and did some adjusting, but I didn't want to push things too far and risk damaging the neck on my newly arrived kit. I contacted Pitbull to let them know about the excessive back bow, and was told that they thought the string tension would bring it out, but if not (or if the neck were damaged by trying to adjust the truss rod to get the bow out) they would warranty the neck and get me a replacement. I was somewhat comforted, but wasn't sure how I was going to level the frets if I couldn't get the neck straight...

Attachment 23505

Attachment 23506

Time to shape the body! I knew that a Klein has a lot of contours that the kit body did not have, and luckily I was able to find a drawing of a Klein body online that gave me all of the info I needed to shape the body as it needed to be. My trusty angle grinder was VERY helpful with this job.

Attachment 23507

Attachment 23508

Attachment 23509

Attachment 23510

Then...sanding. Lots of sanding. Luckily the basswood body is fairly soft and easy to sand.

Attachment 23511

Attachment 23512

Attachment 23513

To the basement for primer and paint. I knew I wanted a shiny copper finish on the guitar that wasn't sparkly like a metalic flake would be, and the closest paint I could find was copper Rustoleum. My father had encouraged me to find an automotive paint that would suit, as he has the equipment (including a paint booth) to spray it, but I couldn't come up with anything that was quite what I was looking for. Also, his shop is a two hour drive from me, so to the basement I went with my rattle cans.

Attachment 23514

Attachment 23515

Attachment 23516

Attachment 23517

The copper paint had a little bit of texture and it cannot be buffed or smoothed (or it just goes dull), so I knew I wasn't going to get a real "copper mirror" effect, but it was very shiny and I was pleased with the paint results. I sprayed the whole thing with a few coats of Rustoleum clear coat, and gave it a week or so to dry. And then, tragedy struck.

Nice work on the paint job. I've wanted to do the "copper mirror" finish too but it doesn't seem to be achievable with paint alone.

Oh cool build. Weird guitar, but I like where you are going with it.

Am I the only one holding their breath for the tragedy to unfold?

Cool looking guitar!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Swanny

Am I the only one holding their breath for the tragedy to unfold?

Cool looking guitar!

---

Its Ok Swanny, I saw the preview and the main character survives... :P

cool build HML, I like the body re-shaping and you did an excellent job on the copper paint. Don't forget to enter December GOTM has to be in by midnight tonight Perth time

I'm back. Sorry for leaving you hanging for a few days. The tragedy I mentioned above was that I loaded the freshly painted and clear coated body into the car to take to my father's shop to show him the paint job. Upon arriving, his dog leapt into my car and dug his toenails through my beautifully finished guitar! He left deep gouges in the finish and sent me all the way back to square one. I don't have pics of the damaged body. It was just too traumatic.

But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I learned from the experience that the Rustoleum clear I had used was neither especially hard, nor well adhered to the copper paint. A better clear coat solution would have to be found. Also, I had been thinking that the volume pot hole was too close to the pick guard, and this was a good opportunity to move that hole a bit. My father felt guilty about his dog messing up my paint job, and offered to do the body work to get the body back in shape. He filled holes and sanded. I moved the volume pot hole. He sprayed it with automotive primer. I sprayed it with Rustoleum copper again. He sprayed it with nitrocellulous. I was back in action!

Attachment 23582

Attachment 23583

Attachment 23584

Attachment 23585

good result in the end HML !

While that was going on, I got to looking at the pickups. I knew I wanted to add a push pull pot so that I could split the humbucker, but the humbucker that came with the kit only had two wires. It had a plastic cover on it, so the first job was to get the cover off and see if I had access to the wire that carried the electrical signal from the first coil to the second. The cover was glued on with some sort of foamy white glue, and it gave me some trouble prying it off, but eventually it came off. And the verdict on the wires? Luckily, the wire I needed (short black wire in the photos) was easy to get to.

Attachment 23586

Attachment 23587

Attachment 23588

I snipped the wire and soldered up a pair of new wires that I'd be able to use later for the coil split.

Attachment 23589

Attachment 23590

Attachment 23591

I did a mock up of the pickups in the guitar and decided at that point that the covers would have to come off of the single coils as well. Not only did I like the look better, but the plastic covers meant I couldn't really know how far the poles would be from the strings. These covers were also pretty seriously glued on, and the tops of the pickups had been painted or coated in something black, so the poles couldn't be seen. It was a pain to clean the poles, and I can't say I did a great job if you look closely. But they look pretty nice from 5 feet. It was also time to shield the cavities.

Attachment 23592

Attachment 23593

Attachment 23594

Attachment 23595

About this time I noticed that the humbucker ring that came with this flat top guitar kit was angled, causing the humbucker to sit out of parallel with the strings. I had to do some sanding to flatten it.

Attachment 23596

Attachment 23597

Attachment 23598

I wonder if that humbucker ring is from the neck pickup on a les Paul? Kinda looks like it.
Looking great so far!