cazaron LP-1M Build Diary

[cazaron]

That's amazing. Who does that?
'Yeah no worries it's only a few hours be there soon'

[Simon Barden]

I know. It was on a Sunday and maybe it got him out of visiting the in-laws.

[Kick]

Great story Simon!

[cazaron]

Kick, how's your build going? Made any progress?

[Kick]

Kick, how's your build going? Made any progress?

Due to circumstances I do not have much time right now. I am hoping to continue tomorrow with the headstock. I have made some sunburst on that to (similar to the burst on the body) but it needs more layers of stain.

And then I must decide what to do with the back and sides of the body and the neck...

[cazaron]

I simply love what you've done with yours so far. It just looks absolutely stunning. I've got your build thread saved, mate. Hope it sounds even half as good as it looks

[Kick]

Thanks Cazaron!

[cazaron]

I've got the guitar sitting in a clamp now, getting the neck secured to the body.

I measured and everything seemed ok. I guess now we just wait and hope.

Next steps: Grain fill the body and neck join, sand, stain the back/neck black again, then source some sealer and lacquer for the top coat.

Some quality time spent there. But all progress is, if nothing else, progress.

[cazaron]

Hey all, starting to think about clear coating this, definitely going to need an aerosol like Behlen stringed instrument lacquer.
Like https://www.guitaraust.com.au/finish...-aerosol.html/

I'm noting two things about it though; 1) it's very expensive in Aus, especially as I'll need four or five cans apparently, that's almost the price of the guitar on spray... and 2) it seems to be out of stock.

Are there any good alternatives?

[Simon Barden]

That's just a clear nitro lacquer, so any clear nitro lacquer cans will do. But they do tend to be expensive (mainly because nitro is a more specialised spray now acrylics have taken over the car spray market) and are around £12/A$19 in the UK and generally mail-order only, so there's postage on top. But you should be able to finish a guitar with two 13oz/400ml spray cans; three at most.

This place seems to be more reasonable, especially for multiple cans. http://luthierssupplies.com.au/produ...oducts_id=2768

Or you can go for a clear acrylic car spray lacquer, which is a lot cheaper.

But I'd get compatible sealer and lacquer and would go all nitro or all acrylic for best results. In theory nitro and acrylic are compatible, but I'm never 100% sure about this. It depends how much the spray nitro sinks in as to whether a sealer will help. Probably not needed on the maple veneer but maybe the rest of the body. And you could just get a 3rd can of the clear rather than a sealer and use a couple of coats from that

With either acrylic or nitro, you need to budget for a vapour mask. I've seen videos of people spraying outside without a mask (primarily because they were talking at the same time), but any paint spray is bad for your lungs, and the nitro solvent vapours are a lot worse for you than than with acrylics, so take care of yourself first.

Or you could use a wipe-on water based poly. Look at the finish Toshi got with it on his P-bass: http://www.buildyourownguitar.com.au...l=1#post136720

It's probably a bit harder on the sanding back flat stages, but you can get just as good results as with nitro in terms of the finish. I think nitro ages better and is also easier to repair than any of the other finishes, which is why I use it, but poly gives a harder finish that's less likely to mark.