NON-PBG - LP Build Diary for DIY Guitars GLP-40BBK

[wazkelly]

Oh ok...um pictured on this page that I bought:

http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...ht=alkay+paint

Hi Alkay, just finished off my two F styles and sadly had to use copper snail tape in the control cavities to get rid of some buzzing therefore conductive shielding paint was a fail on the single coil PUP versions but worked fine on both Explorer shapes loaded with humbuckers.

Suggest getting all your top coats done before doing the shielding paint and if that doesn't work out so good, just add a bit of copper tape to a section at a time until buzzing, if any at all, disappears. On my J Bass I only had to add copper foil tape immediately beneath volume pots & output socket which saved me having to remove PUP's unnecessarily.

[Alkay]

Hi Wazkelly,

Thanks for the info, I'm not quite there yet..I hope I don't get the buzzing but I will see after the solder. I'm hoping the conductive shielding paint does the job.

Anyway, here is a pic of this thing I just built to help with drying, applying stains and finishes. It's 360 rotation and will will work for all my future builds. Works for me in the fact it's portable. (Please note I have no experience with woodworking but I gave it a go haha).



Cheers,

Alkay.

[Alkay]

Ok so I'm about to do the second coat of tru oil.

I read that it's best to put on two to three coats before cutting and polishing, eventually building up to about 10 or more layers.

I have 00-00 steel wool, can anyone tell me if that should be suitable?
Then wipe down with a lint free cloth and repeat with each coat.

Cheers,

Alkay.

[wazkelly]

Hi Buddy, like the look of the finishing rotisserie. Reminds me of a kebab shop haha.

Be careful not to apply too much as hanging vertically will naturally cause runs if coats have been overloaded. Suggest at least 6 or maybe 8 coats of TO before first sand back with 0000 steel wool or fine grade wet and dry as the layers are so thin and very easy to sand things back to bare wood without realising it. The upside is you can put another coat on after 6 - 8 hours depending on how warm the drying environment might be. On some of mine I would put a coat on in the morning before leaving for work and another upon arriving back home before settling down for an evening meal.

Whilst there are many more coats it does take around 3 weeks at least to finish things off properly as you will need to sand it back at least 2 or maybe 3 times before the final wet sand and applying the car polish if you are chasing that super shiny glassy look. Best to leave it for at least a week or more for the very final coats to harden up ahead of the final wet sand and polish.

[Alkay]

Hi Buddy, like the look of the finishing rotisserie. Reminds me of a kebab shop haha.

Be careful not to apply too much as hanging vertically will naturally cause runs if coats have been overloaded. Suggest at least 6 or maybe 8 coats of TO before first sand back with 0000 steel wool or fine grade wet and dry as the layers are so thin and very easy to sand things back to bare wood without realising it. The upside is you can put another coat on after 6 - 8 hours depending on how warm the drying environment might be. On some of mine I would put a coat on in the morning before leaving for work and another upon arriving back home before settling down for an evening meal.

Whilst there are many more coats it does take around 3 weeks at least to finish things off properly as you will need to sand it back at least 2 or maybe 3 times before the final wet sand and applying the car polish if you are chasing that super shiny glassy look. Best to leave it for at least a week or more for the very final coats to harden up ahead of the final wet sand and polish.

Hahaha a rotisserie you say. I don't think I'll eat whats cooking though haha. The fireplace might if I don't get this one right haha.

I have applied the oil onto the lint free rag and carefully applied it onto the guitar and neck. Seems to be working quite well and no run off.

Ok so I read your comments and understand, several coats to go before sanding back.

What wet and dry fine grade should I be using?

Also the car polish. What should I use?
I really want that super shiny finish and understand it takes time.

It may need longer drying time. That kebab machine is in the garage and it gets down close to zero sometimes.

Anyway, here's the rotisserie with a second coat on the body haha. Starting to shine already.



Cheers,

Alkay.

[wazkelly]

For wet & dry nothing under 800 to start with otherwise the finish disappears really quick. For subsequent wet sanding suggest using 1200, 1500, 2000 and buy some micro mesh Pads to do the very final sanding that goes through 4000, 6000, 8000, then 12000 before you add the car polish. Here is a shot of the stuff. Had to buy finer grade wet & dry paper at an auto shop - Autobahn which is where I bought the polish too and reckon Supercheap should have the supplies too..

[stan]

the colour of that guitar is great, love it

[Alkay]

For wet & dry nothing under 800 to start with otherwise the finish disappears really quick. For subsequent wet sanding suggest using 1200, 1500, 2000 and buy some micro mesh Pads to do the very final sanding that goes through 4000, 6000, 8000, then 12000 before you add the car polish. Here is a shot of the stuff. Had to buy finer grade wet & dry paper at an auto shop - Autobahn which is where I bought the polish too and reckon Supercheap should have the supplies too..

Thanks stan and wazkelly.
I have read that there are several ways to wet sand using different liquids. Can you advice what's best in your opinion please?

Also what does the micro mesh pad need to be wet too? I haven't use these before.

Cheers,

Alkay.

[wazkelly]

Hi Alkay, clean water is all you need and yes you do the same with micro mesh pads. Not sure what other liquids may be used as it doesn't need to be that complicated.

Without meaning to insult anyone's intelligence here........you grab a sanding block, a cork one is my preference, wrap your wet & dry paper around it just like you do for normal sanding, then dip it in the water to wet the paper, now start lightly sanding on the dry body or neck, these parts will become moist/wet and the sanded bits will look milky and this residue should be wiped away with a damp cloth. Need to dip the sand block & paper in water frequently as this stops the paper clogging up and also helps keeping things wet/moist on the surface being sanded. It is also a good idea to lightly run your finger tips over the wet sanded surface to feel how smooth things are becoming and also identify areas that need a bit more work.

Don't be fooled into thinking that not much is happening due to lesser effort being put in as you can strip lots off in a blink of an eye if not too careful, particularly when using medium range grits.

Once you get up to the micro mesh pads lots of water becomes your friend as you should not be putting in to much effort and pressure at this stage otherwise you may introduce scratches from gunk caught up on the surface of the pads. When they arrived in the mail they looked a bit small, about 35mm x 35mm perhaps and around 3mm thick however you line them up between index & ring fingers on the surface to be sanded and away you go, hence why you needs lots of water or the light touch will not get them moving.

WARNING: if you have any freshly drilled holes or unfinished bits they will most likely swell once wet and a good idea would be to pre-drill all holes before top coats are done so that you can get a bit of moisture protection down into them holes.

Hope this helps in some way.

[Alkay]

Hi Alkay, clean water is all you need and yes you do the same with micro mesh pads. Not sure what other liquids may be used as it doesn't need to be that complicated.

Without meaning to insult anyone's intelligence here........you grab a sanding block, a cork one is my preference, wrap your wet & dry paper around it just like you do for normal sanding, then dip it in the water to wet the paper, now start lightly sanding on the dry body or neck, these parts will become moist/wet and the sanded bits will look milky and this residue should be wiped away with a damp cloth. Need to dip the sand block & paper in water frequently as this stops the paper clogging up and also helps keeping things wet/moist on the surface being sanded. It is also a good idea to lightly run your finger tips over the wet sanded surface to feel how smooth things are becoming and also identify areas that need a bit more work.

Don't be fooled into thinking that not much is happening due to lesser effort being put in as you can strip lots off in a blink of an eye if not too careful, particularly when using medium range grits.

Once you get up to the micro mesh pads lots of water becomes your friend as you should not be putting in to much effort and pressure at this stage otherwise you may introduce scratches from gunk caught up on the surface of the pads. When they arrived in the mail they looked a bit small, about 35mm x 35mm perhaps and around 3mm thick however you line them up between index & ring fingers on the surface to be sanded and away you go, hence why you needs lots of water or the light touch will not get them moving.

WARNING: if you have any freshly drilled holes or unfinished bits they will most likely swell once wet and a good idea would be to pre-drill all holes before top coats are done so that you can get a bit of moisture protection down into them holes.

Hope this helps in some way.

Thank you very much wazkelly. That's excellent advice and now I understand what to do after I get the wet & dry, micro mesh pads and polish.

This will take a few weeks as you said. I'm on my third coat of Tru-Oil which I'm running out of but have bought more from PBG which should be arriving very soon.

I'm in VIC so I don't have the sunny weather on my side here like you hahaha.