VonScott's first build - ST1

Got my first kit late last year and did all the measuring and mock setup, but have only just started work on the finish this week. The body has been sanded and I'm using aerosol cans for the finish, almost done with the primer and looking forward to getting some colour on there (surf green).

The headstock has been shaped and I've applied clear dingotone to the neck - I'm not positive whether or not I've done a good job of this because from a certain angle in a certain light dark marks appear, which could be the wood grain, could be a dodgy finishing job on my part, or could be I didn't sand it well enough - any feedback would be much appreciated.

It's fairly dismal weather in Melbourne today, but hoping to finish priming and considering whether to apply another coat of clear to the neck or just start the final coating.


Attachment 24782

Attachment 24783

Attachment 24784

Attachment 24785

Looking good! Love a surf green strat...what colour pick guard will you go with?

Sent from my A0001 using Tapatalk

Thanks! Have a white pick guard and no upgrades to the standard kit - figured I'd wait to see how it turns out and then choose whether to upgrade parts from there.

Welcome aboard VonScott. Surf green is never a bad idea IMO. :) Can you show us a pic of the marks on the neck?

Thanks Sonic! It's the darker parts on the images above I'm not sure about, I've outlined what I'm referring to in red below

Attachment 24795

Ah yeah, I'm pretty sure that's just the maple, there are a few different patternings. The Factory doesn't spend a lot of time selecting woods and centreing grains etc, so its a bit of a lottery. It's not a flaw, just a natural variation.

Ah great, I hoped that’s what it was, I don’t think it looks bad by any means, I just don’t have any experience to know if it was right. Thanks!

Looking good VonScott!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by VonScott

Thanks Sonic! It's the darker parts on the images above I'm not sure about, I've outlined what I'm referring to in red below

Attachment 24795

---

Definitely Grain variation, nothing to worry abou there Vonscott.

Thanks John and FrankenWashie!

Full steam ahead, have done another coat of primer on the body and another coat of clear on the neck.

I too would say it's just figuring in the maple. I've got a rosewood neck that I'm fitting to a maple-necked Tele for a friend, and the maple in that goes from very plain at the headstock to a very good quilt at the heel.

Good luck with the rest of the spraying.

Thanks Simon!


A question for anyone that has aerosol spraying experience:
I’ve started spraying the colour today - very exciting! On the first coat there was a couple of paint runs so I sanded them down using 600 grit when I was keying for the next coat - it took ages, was that the right approach or could I have used a more course grit to flatten it and then work back up to 600 in that spot?

The main goal is to not get any more, but already on the second coat I got another splotch, so I know I’ll be doing it again!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That’s probably a case of goon a bit too heavy on your initial coat. You are far better to mist on several very light coats, than try and get “shiny”complete coats in one hit.

I had this fun and games with my LP build, it takes a while to get your control and stroke motion down.

Are you using a gun or a rattle can?

Yeah, that’s definitely what it was the first time around, I was a bit over eager. I’m using rattle cans so the second one was just a rogue splotch. Should I be sanding these down between coats or wait until I’ve got a few layers on?

I’m going to be extra careful on future coats, so hopefully no more!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’d give your self half a dozen coats before you block back. How many undercoats did you put on?

Thanks, that’s good to know, I’ll keep playing the painting/waiting game!

I lost count of how many layers of undercoat I put on, but it was pretty much two full cans.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by VonScott

Thanks, that’s good to know, I’ll keep playing the painting/waiting game!

I lost count of how many layers of undercoat I put on, but it was pretty much two full cans.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

---

You should be good as long as you blocked back well on the undercoat and git things flat it should go well.

I had some advice from Phrozin that you should have at least 4 colour coats before you cut back (I think?!) I'll dig around for the thread and link it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

And form my experience, always wait at least a day before sanding back any runs. Because the paint is thicker in the run, it takes longer to dry. Doing it too soon means the centre is often still wet, and the solvent in the paint has re-melted the layer or two beneath, so when you sand it before it's all dry, you end up with a dent that needs to be filled.

Thanks for the advice Franken and Simon. I've just my fifth coat this morning and it's looking really nice, with the added bonus that the run and "splodge" seem to have settled significantly so shouldn't be too difficult to knock back.

Also put the first coat of neck finish on yesterday and it's looking nice and shiny!

I'm going away for a few days next week, so hoping to have the neck and body done and ready for curing before I leave.

Here’s some update pics.

Paint is all on, it’s far from perfect but I should be able to get it all flat. I’m not putting any clear on it, so currently just leaving it to cure before I wet sand then polish it.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...1a6ae6d87a.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...31aa63b2ff.jpg

After the earlier question about pickguard colour I’d starting thinking of a lot of other options, but putting it on the body in the pic below I still like the white, so will stick with that at least until it’s all done and I consider all the upgrade options.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...2e735da948.jpg

The neck has two coats of final coat on it, it’s still quite sticky after 5 days, so also giving that some time before progressing.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...b32e020e4e.jpg

And now, while I’m waiting I can’t help but go back to the pitbull site and think about a next project!

The pickguard and hardware look great against that colour

It's worth giving the body a brief initial sand, as you'll increase the surface area of the paint and it will cure a bit quicker/harden even more in the time you leave it alone before you do the full sand flat and then polish.

It should look superb once you've polished it and put it all together.

Vote of approval from me. I think the green and white combination looks fantastic on this body.

Thanks for the tip Simon, I gave it a once over with 600 grit this morning and then forced myself to walk away before I got tempted to keep going!

And thanks for the votes of confidence John and Mark, the more I look at the body/pickguard combo, the more I agree!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

White pickguard and hardware on that surf/seafoam green colour is classic. It's looking great.

Perfect Dingotoning, the differing maple grains look great especially when it is glossed:cool:

Thanks Andy, after my initial concern about it I love how it’s looking now. Unfortunately it’s been really humid here so the final coats take ages to dry - the current coat (2nd) has been hanging for almost two weeks and is still a bit tacky to touch, so I’ll be tempted to forgo a third coat if this one cleans up alright.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Try and put it out in the sun for a bit , I find the UV rays help to harden the finish. It’s looking really good with that color combo.

wow that is looking fantastic mate. I have some Olympic white downstairs but I think I will leave it some time before I attempt a painted guitar again.

Thanks for the tip Wayne, have it out on the washing line now!

And thanks djk, the real test will come when I wet sand, hoping I don’t go through the colour, but am pretty nervous about it. I was tempted to go Olympic white for this build too, another classic tele colour!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Another question I hope someone might be able to help with ...

I’m looking to replace the stock nut with a bone one, I’m looking on real parts at the moment and they have a good selection ... should I get curved or flat bottom, and is it safe to get the slotted ones or am I better off doing that myself?

Thanks!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Flat bottom is fine for the PBG necks. I've also found the preslotted ones to be fine. There may be a little overhang either side of the fret board to file off and on one of my guitars the slot was cut very deep and I had to put a small shim under the nut, doesn't seem to be a super common problem.

Great, thanks Sonic!

And thanks for pointing out the PBG necks are the same, I’m about to order a tele kit cos I’m getting such itchy fingers waiting for this one to cure, so I’ll just get two!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The nut bottoms follow the contours of the bottom of the fretboard. A 'slab' board is flat at the bottom and is the most common type of fretboard. It will have a flat-bottomed nut, A 'veneer' board is curved at the bottom (to match the curve on the top of the neck) and will have a curved-bottom nut.

That’s good to know, thanks Simon!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Maybe I should qualify that with a 'generally'. You might come across the odd Fender vintage style model with a slab board but you then find the nut channel is curved at the base, but with other makes of Fender style guitars that aren't vintage reproducion types, it's almost always a flat bottomed nut.

Update time!

Yesterday I started the wet sanding process - having read through so many build diaries before I even ordered my kit I kept seeing comments about how much sanding was involved, so I was aware, but during the initial prep I was thinking "this isn't so bad", but holy wow ... it has taken me two full days to get this baby flat!! And not two days of a little bit of sanding, then go play for a while and come back to it later, I'm talking two days of doing very little other than sanding, sanding and more sanding!! And that was just the first 600 grit sand, so I get it now, it is a massively painstaking process.

However, the results are amazing!! it's so flat and has me so excited to move up the grits and make this baby shine!

I mentioned earlier I was nervous about breaking through the colour, so I started out going SO gently, it probably would've taken me two weeks at the rate I was going. But fairly early on I broke through the colour, at first I was shattered, but then it was probably a good thing because I'd broken the seal - so to speak - I wasn't as tentative and started to progress much quicker.

I'd say there's about ten spots I'll need to touch up - my plan for these is to tape of the body and just the spots where I broke through an then sand them down to 600 as well before moving onto the higher grits.

The neck has finally started to cure a bit as well, having hung it in the sun daily for the past week. It's still a bit tacky to touch, but not sticky at least - should it be smooth before I start doing anything else, or can I give it a light sand to see if it's ready or I need another coat of finish?

What brand was the paint? I am looking for paint for a friend who wants to redo his Guitar.

It’s Rothko and Frost nitro, it’s quite exxy, really toxic and makes a hell of a mess, but it looks pretty! I got it from here: https://www.guitaraust.com.au/finish...-aerosols.html

Latest on this project - I finished up sanding and polishing the body and am really happy with it, these pics don’t do it justice, it’s nice and shiny and has good reflection.

I also shielded the pickguard and did a test fitting of the new pickups, pots and switch, they’re a very tight fit into the body cavity, it’s going to be touch and go with them not touching the body shielding once that’s in.

The neck is finally starting to feel dry, it’s a month on Monday since the last coat of neck finisher so hopefully I’ll start finalising that this week.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...edea228b51.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...38bcf84b96.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...1e22f0a474.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...d0705f357b.jpg