DJP Build No2. LP-1S

[gavinturner]

OMG that spalt. You lucky devil. This is going to looking killer dude.

cheers,
Gav.

[DJP]

I'm hoping so ! The kits from Pitbull are really great fun and seem well made.

[Slayer666]

Got my eye on one of these for my next build... the clear finish looks awesome (and I have some)... what was it you stained it with first?

[nitroburner1000]

Dingotone clear stain completed. Applied one coat quite liberally followed by two thin coats. Am waiting 5 days before applying intensifier. Got to say I am really very impressed with the Dingotone clear. Already seems to have a semi-gloss look.ATTACH=CONFIG]16547[/ATTACH].

Im really falling in love with these natural finishes to the guitar caps, looks fantastic mate.

[DJP]

The spalted cap looks great. Difficult to get representative photo though. It is quite a lovely pale honey colour - in some photos though (e.g. outside in bright sunlight) it looks lighter. I'm struggling a bit with the headstock. On a previous build I used spray on poly to fix and cover the Decal. It worked a treat. This time after reading some more stuff I bit the bullet and bought a can of spray on nitronasty stuff. I started with a base layer and it's giving horrible orange peel effect, so will need a bit of sanding and flattening before Istick the decal on - but i am now reading will need to apply at least 6 - 9 coats nitro on top, and will need to sand back to get rid of any ridges around decal (plus that orange peel is a common - but treatable effect that I am likely to see again). But how far does one 13oz can nitro go !

[DJP]

Got my eye on one of these for my next build... the clear finish looks awesome (and I have some)... what was it you stained it with first?

The only prep apart from a light sanding was a carefully applied a dilute timbermate Ebonygrain fill - then really careful sanding so as not to go through the cap. The stain is simply the Dingotone clear stain / Finish applied in pretty thin coats with a very light 1200 sand in between each coat. I have found the Dingotone really nice to work with on this build.

[Slayer666]

The only prep apart from a light sanding was a carefully applied a dilute timbermate Ebonygrain fill - then really careful sanding so as not to go through the cap. The stain is simply the Dingotone clear stain / Finish applied in pretty thin coats with a very light 1200 sand in between each coat. I have found the Dingotone really nice to work with on this build.

Awesome thanks... defo on the to do list.

[Simon Barden]

DJP, had you put any DT on the headstock before you used the nitro spray? If you have, you are going to have endless problems as nitro wont sit properly on an oil and wax based finish. It does need to be bare wood.

If not, then just keep on spraying. The wood will absorb the first couple of spray coats so it's bound to look rather rough to start with. You'd normally use spray highly thinned clear lacquer coats or a sanding sealer (thinned lacquer but normally with a bit of filler) on first before spraying the normal clear coat lacquer on, but do a couple of coats, let it dry for a couple of days, sand it back flat and things should be easier from then on.

If you are doing just the headstock, then one can should be fine. You'd normally expect to use a 2-3 cans to clear coat the entire guitar.

[DJP]

Argh. Help !
Geez one of the pieces of info I had was you could use nitro over Dingotone, but not Poly.
I have attempted to sand back - but I see I am an now starting to go through the veneer at edge-so its paper thin. Luckilly the thin edge is not visible at moment.
Really not sure what to do..
The nitro went on back of headstock just fine - looks great.
Maybe its the maple veneer. Its smooth as now though!
The Nitro definitely "stuck" ...it was just the orange peel texture on the surface.
Maybe I Should just put the Decal on now that it is smooth, and try to build up enough coats- enough to be able to sand back any surface texture without damaging the decal etc.
Really don't know what to do.

[nitroburner1000]

Argh. Help !
Geez one of the pieces of info I had was you could use nitro over Dingotone, but not Poly.
I have attempted to sand back - but I see I am an now starting to go through the veneer at edge-so its paper thin. Luckilly the thin edge is not visible at moment.
Really not sure what to do..
The nitro went on back of headstock just fine - looks great.
Maybe its the maple veneer. Its smooth as now though!
The Nitro definitely "stuck" ...it was just the orange peel texture on the surface.
Maybe I Should just put the Decal on now that it is smooth, and try to build up enough coats- enough to be able to sand back any surface texture without damaging the decal etc.
Really don't know what to do.

You could always give the headstock a wipe over with metho or thinners to get rid of any oil residue, then when dry a very, very thin test coat of nitro to seal it. check for any reaction. If not leave for a day then another very thin coat of nitro. let dry then sand with 600 grit very very lightly. Put about 4-5 thin coats on if no reaction, lightly sanding between coats. Then try decal when very dry, about 3-4 days, again with very thin coats. the orange peel effect is usually from a too heavy coat.
Hope this helps.