RD-1 Kit Build

Hi Everyone.

I finally took the plunge and treated myself to an RD-1 kit just before Xmas. I’ve been looking at them for a while now but wasn’t sure if I’d have the time to do it properly. I had planned on doing a full build diary but time has meant that I’ve had to do little bits when I’ve had chance and as a result I’ve not thought to take any pics until today.

So far I’ve sanded the neck and body and stained them using Crimson Guitars stunning stain. (it could definitely have been sanded more but I was impatient and wanted to get the stain on). I’ve just finished applying the third coat of danish oil today and I’m really pleased with the results so far. I’ll probably go with a couple more coats of danish oil and maybe try a coat or two of tru oil on top to build the finish.

When the finish is done I’ve got an EMG 57/66 set ready to go in with the chrome hardware and I plan on getting a white pearl pick guard made for it.

I’ve attached some pics. I’ll try and keep the updates coming now I’ve got the build diary started. Let me know what you think.

Looks great! That stain is gorgeous. Did it go on without problems? Ben Crowe always makes it look easy on his videos, but then he makes almost everything look easy...

Thanks. Yeah it was easier than expected actually to get a decent finish. The original plan was for a thin burst but it became more like a purple top with a dark brown body as I went on. I would definitely recommend the stains, I had no real experience with stains and oil but I’ve watched plenty of videos and it’s going well so far.

Warning: Tru Oil yellows with age and turns blue guitars green. As your guitar is in the blue spectrum I think you should reconsider your plan. Perhaps someone can offer an alternative product.

Thanks for the advice. I had seen a couple of examples where danish oil had been used almost as a base for the first costs then teak oil and tru oil had been used on top to build it up but hadn’t considered the yellowing over time factor. I’ll have a look into it. Might be a better option just to stick to more coats of the danish oil and finish with a decent polish. Ben Crowe used renaissance wax in one of his videos which I quite like the look of.

Danish Oil itself will yellow with time. Maybe not as much as TruOil, but they are all very similar products - oils that polymerise when they dry. As such, there would be no benefit using TruOil over the top of the Danish Oil.

Danish Oil itself can be made from Tung Oil or Linseed Oil. I'd guess yours is of the Tung variety, as it obviously isn't as yellow as TruOil is (and that's certainly a Linseed Oil compound).

Thanks Simon. All advice is much appreciated so I can get a better understanding from people who’ve actually used these products.
I’ll be honest. It’s all a bit experimental for my first build. Part of the fun for me is trying the different stains and oils, seeing how they interact with each other and then age over time. It seems a bit like I could watch endless videos on YouTube but I’ll never really know how the piece of wood, stains and oils will work together until I give it a go and see for myself. Hopefully this won’t be the only diy kit I take on (if the wife lets me) so I’ll be able to learn from my experience/mistakes on Future builds.

Nothing like learning as you go along. Advice from others is OK, but nothing quite drives things home as doing it yourself.