My First Build - TLA-1

Hi everyone,

I nearly always read forums from a distance and leave the posting to others but thought in the case of guitar building it was time to make an exception.

I have had my tele kit for a couple of weeks and have managed to get the neck prepared and the shape of the headstock done. It nearly went pear-shaped when using the jigsaw - it was so lucky I had built in a lot of space for final sanding otherwise I would have added an 'artistic flourish' to the traditional tele shape. I think a coping saw will be the go on the next build.

I have been sanding the body today and am planning to avoid any power tool usage wherever possible. From the reading I have done it looks like I need to set the sanding sealer on the ash body fairly early on - as I sand I notice some parts will smooth but it opens up new grains in the wood so I can see what that is the recommendation.

Have been videoing the build and putting it on YouTube but will take some photos as I go and post them here.

Thanks for having me on board.

welcome! you are right re the sanding sealer, if you want to get a smooth finish. I have used the Feast Watson stuff with success.
hope you have fun!
A

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Originally Posted by Andyxlh

welcome! you are right re the sanding sealer, if you want to get a smooth finish. I have used the Feast Watson stuff with success.
hope you have fun!
A

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Thanks for the reply - happily thats exactly the sealer I have bought so I am glad I am on the right track

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Originally Posted by supapuffin

Thanks for the reply - happily thats exactly the sealer I have bought so I am glad I am on the right track

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Hi all,

these are the two videos I have done so far covering the build - I hadn't gone for high production value as initially it was just for my own future reference. However, they may be of some interest for others doing their first build to see common mistakes and possible solutions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1J6CVnvI6t8&t=2s

AND

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psF72MkqX-c&t=1s

Hey supa - keep the vids & pics coming. Enjoying your experience as I'm a newbie builder too. The detail in your vids is very helpful, Cheers.

These are great videos, keep em coming thank you and good luck.


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Looking good so far, and the videos are pretty comprehensive.

The paint for the Tele build arrived this morning. Despite these four cans costing about as much as the base kit I hope it will be well worth the investment. Whilst it's not everyone's cup of tea, I think the Fender Surf Green colour is one that is iconic for vintage Strats and Teles.

Now just to finish the surface prep and apply very carefully.

Nice choice of colour, that’s what I was originally going for but found it difficult to get the right colour at the right price.
Might end up going for a very light blue now.


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Oh interesting. This will be the first time I've seen someone use nitro on here, should give you a very authentic finish. Looking forward to it.

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Originally Posted by I’ll give it a go

Nice choice of colour, that’s what I was originally going for but found it difficult to get the right colour at the right price.
Might end up going for a very light blue now.


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I had exactly the same thoughts about the price of the paint. The way I justified it to myself was thinking if this turns out to be my one and only guitar build then I want it to be a colour that I will always be very happy with.

Which just goes to show that you can justify anything to yourself if you think hard enough about it.

Hopefully it will work out well. Apparently it is best to leave it to cure for up to a month after the final coat so we will have to wait a while for the final result.

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Originally Posted by supapuffin

I had exactly the same thoughts about the price of the paint. The way I justified it to myself was thinking if this turns out to be my one and only guitar build then I want it to be a colour that I will always be very happy with.

Which just goes to show that you can justify anything to yourself if you think hard enough about it.

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Ha ha you got me looking at Surf Green again last night. Looks like I’m trying to justify the cost again to myself.


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You definitely want to leave it a month minimum. I’ve used that exact brand once before and even after a month the paint was still quite gummy. Also don’t put it in the sun to accelerate the drying. I managed to get some small bubbles in mine from that.

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Originally Posted by Richy17

Also don’t put it in the sun to accelerate the drying. I managed to get some small bubbles in mine from that.

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This is good advice for any rattle can, acrylic and poly. Direct sunlight is a really bad idea as you discovered.

To speed things up the best thing is a fan, even a gentle breeze will move the solvents away from the surface, allowing the remaining thinners to also work their way out of the finish.

Hi again,

I have done a new post on YouTube of the progress I have made with the Tele kit build in the last little while.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYu3ZYTlJY

I was ready for this as I got interested in kit building but you when you start work on it you want to be ready for plenty of sanding. I think going through a process like this means you will have the most enjoyment of the experience when you get to the end. I have resisted the temptation to use the orbital sander for this reason - though I suspect this will be the only time that occurs.

Thanks for posting the video 👍🏻

My pleasure. Thanks a lot for watching.

Thanks a lot to you both. I think I will hang it in the back of the shed with the door open to keep the air moving and just forget about it for a while. I think I will be able to start work on build 2 in the meantime anyway so that’s a plus.

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Originally Posted by supapuffin

Thanks a lot to you both. I think I will hang it in the back of the shed with the door open to keep the air moving and just forget about it for a while. I think I will be able to start work on build 2 in the meantime anyway so that’s a plus.

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You got some paint on it buy the sounds of it?

Attachment 30591

Two coats of sanding sealer have been applied. Now the serious sanding can begin.

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Originally Posted by I’ll give it a go

You got some paint on it buy the sounds of it?

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Just the sanding sealer so far. I have all week off work though so hoping to get there by this time next week.

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Originally Posted by supapuffin

Just the sanding sealer so far. I have all week off work though so hoping to get there by this time next week.

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You lucky bugga, looking forward to those pics coming through.

I don’t get back from Bali til late Tuesday so I’ll pick up my kit from the post office Wednesday. Thursday I’ll do my mock build and see what I can do with it over the weekend.


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Supapuffin let me know how you find the Wicked Witch Nitro. I've been looking at their tinted clear for my TL neck.

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Originally Posted by Woltz

Supapuffin let me know how you find the Wicked Witch Nitro. I've been looking at their tinted clear for my TL neck.

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Absolutely - I have very high hopes but will let you know how it works for me

Good job on that body supapuffin:cool:

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Originally Posted by Andy40

Good job on that body supapuffin:cool:

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Hi Andy - thanks so much for the kind comments - I have been working up to applying the grain filler so will see how it looks from there.

Hi everyone - this video is slightly out of order with some of those to come but I thought it may be interesting for some people also on their first build. This video shows the use of grain filler/slurry being used to fill the deep grain in some of the ash. It seems to be working well now that I am in the process of doing the final surface prep.

https://youtu.be/I_m1SP1W8_A

Hope your Timbermate doesn't shrink down like mine did under acrylic.
I does state 'non-shrinking' on the label but I reckon this is simply window-dressing.

cheers, Mark.

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Originally Posted by king casey

Hope your Timbermate doesn't shrink down like mine did under acrylic.
I does state 'non-shrinking' on the label but I reckon this is simply window-dressing.

cheers, Mark.

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I know what you mean and its a concern

In the past I have found it works well as long as you dont try and use it to fill a massive gap and if you do - to do it over a few goes.

I left it proud when it dried which I hope will allow some room for shrinkage.

If it all goes pear shaped then I will add a post to the forum about 'Relic-ing my kit guitar' and say it was my plan all along.

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Originally Posted by supapuffin

If it all goes pear shaped then I will add a post to the forum about 'Relic-ing my kit guitar' and say it was my plan all along.

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That would be a shame considering the cabbage you paid for the paint.

I used Timbermate to fill around some gaps when I re-dowelled my Squier neck.
I left it to dry for ages and sanded it nice and smooth.
It didn't shrink until after the paint had dried, so it was the paint that triggered the shrinkage.

FWIW most of what I point out on this forum tends to pan out as complete bollocks (I've adjusted for that in my avatar) so hopefully
you can safely disregard my input.

cheers, Mark.

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Originally Posted by supapuffin

Attachment 30591

Two coats of sanding sealer have been applied. Now the serious sanding can begin.

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Have you found when sanding the sealer that the heat from the friction when sanding seems to melt or I go like a wax?


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Originally Posted by I’ll give it a go

Have you found when sanding the sealer that the heat from the friction when sanding seems to melt or I go like a wax?


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I sure did. I noticed it flaked off the paper fairly easily but I think I went through paper faster than usual when cutting through the initial layer - it would clog up pretty fast.

I suppose that when this is used in more typical cases it would get cut back with 80 grit paper using a sander so would not be as noticeable.

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Originally Posted by king casey

That would be a shame considering the cabbage you paid for the paint.

I used Timbermate to fill around some gaps when I re-dowelled my Squier neck.
I left it to dry for ages and sanded it nice and smooth.
It didn't shrink until after the paint had dried, so it was the paint that triggered the shrinkage.

FWIW most of what I point out on this forum tends to pan out as complete bollocks (I've adjusted for that in my avatar) so hopefully
you can safely disregard my input.

cheers, Mark.

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Thanks for taking the time in any case Mark - I really appreciate your input

If it turns bad then we will look for a solution on the next one

Suppapuffin,

How much would you or did you sand back the grain filler?
I’ve put 3 coats on mine now, then lightly and slowly used 1200 grit to make sure I didn’t over heat the grain filler. It feels really smooth, now wondering if I should start the primer.

Cheers [emoji1303]


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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_m1...ature=youtu.be

couple of things in your video the TL-1 has a basswood body it doesn't need a grain fill and timber mate should never be used under a painted finish (lacquer & nitro 2k) it will draw out the reducer and swell and shrink back badly and for ages it will keep doing it, been reading some of the reply's and a lot are just plain wrong, if your using a sanding sealer there isn't a need to grain fill that's what its for i have done over 50 builds and i haven't used timber mate on any of them, i think people who do kits go on youtube and watch vids of guys who haven't a clue what their doing and 1st time builder think its gospel and its not. Before anyone uses any product know how to use it and on wood know about the wood your trying to cover

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Originally Posted by phrozin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_m1...ature=youtu.be

couple of things in your video the TL-1 has a basswood body it doesn't need a grain fill and timber mate should never be used under a painted finish (lacquer & nitro 2k) it will draw out the reducer and swell and shrink back badly and for ages it will keep doing it, been reading some of the reply's and a lot are just plain wrong, if your using a sanding sealer there isn't a need to grain fill that's what its for i have done over 50 builds and i haven't used timber mate on any of them, i think people who do kits go on youtube and watch vids of guys who haven't a clue what their doing and 1st time builder think its gospel and its not. Before anyone uses any product know how to use it and on wood know about the wood your trying to cover

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I’ve realised I’ve wrote down the wrong thing, I have used sanding sealer. Only when reading your post did I realise DER!!

How much should I sand this back now?


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After an extended break due to work commitments I have finally sprayed on the first coat of nitro primer.

To say the fumes from it are strong is an understatement - I am glad I bought a good respirator before spraying but I got quite a shock when I took the mask off at the end

Will send some photos once I have sanded back.

Hi everyone,

I am a little bit behind in the videos showing where I am up to - I have done a couple of coats of primer and am really happy with how that is coming along now.

This is the playlist with the latest video - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...DZ6aiFTH6CpQdD

This shows more of the surface prep after applying the grain filler.

Thanks for the thoughts and advice on the grain filler - I am hoping that will be ok - after sanding it right back it is a very fine layer so will see how we go. Any problems I have had in the past have been where it was applied too thick and couldnt set because it sealed itself against the air. However, if it goes pear-shaped then it will be a cautionary tale for everyone else.

Final coat of primer has been applied - now it just needs to sit for a week and think about what it's done.

Attachment 31222