A real shame about the finish, but as you say, live and learn. And it's all recoverable, it just takes time.
A real shame about the finish, but as you say, live and learn. And it's all recoverable, it just takes time.
Certainly a set back in work but as Simon is saying, it is recoverable.
Nr 1: Red Widow LP-1MQ (Finished) ->Diary<-
it looks like you swelled the grain around the holes wet sanding ? by the looks of it the body looks wavy if it was me i would hit it with some 400 and try get it flatter, then touch up your colour and then clear it with 6 coats of clear leave it 3 or4 days then put some tape over the holes and rub it with some 2000 w&d then polish it.
you pricked up my ear when i seen Valiant i'm a car guy
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126 guitars done so far still going, 34 Starts, 25 Teles, 27 Les Pauls, 11 SGs, 8 Hollow Body, 21 Super Strats
Yeah, its fixable, just a setback. It happened so quickly. I'm going to leave it to completely dry out. The body is dead flat, I think its just the photo and the reflection of all the junk in my shed, like the drop sheet over the car.
I have a VJ regal cruiser I'm working on. Its all in bits at the moment but doesn't really need much to finish off. Its occupying a lot of work space so I might spend some time on that and come back to this in a couple of weeks.
EDIT. I actually just looked again and in the top photo you can see the wood starting to swell even then, but I didn't notice until it was too late.
Had another look at it this morning. It really isn't too bad, but I'm still kicking myself. I would have been very close to assembly this evening if that had gone well.
I'm now seriously considering some mods to the electrics and scratch plate as long as the build is going to stretch out a bit further.
Last edited by Sonic Mountain; 10-09-2017 at 07:08 AM.
Nice and warm in Brissy at the moment for spraying...whats it like on the up there on the range?
Build #1 - ST-1 - Completed
Build #2 - LP-1SS - Completed
Build #3 - TLA-1R - Completed
Build #4 - SGD-612 - Completed
Build #5 - ES-1G - Completed
Build #6 - STA-1HT | Completed
Build #7 - ST1JR - Completed
Current Build #8 - JBA-4
Build #9 - Semi-scratch build Tele x 2 - Completed
Current Build #10 - PRS-1H
Current Build #11 - AGJR-1 - Completed
Current Build #12 - ATL-1SB
Current Build #13 - GST-1
Current Build #14 - FBM-1
Pretty warm from what I can tell, I'm in Melbourne at the moment which is why the diary has gone a bit quiet. The guitar is hanging up in my shed, so it should be well and truly dried out by the time I get back. I have some time off at home when I get home so should be back on track pretty quickly. I saw a guy in the mall here ripping out some Pink Floyd on a clearly home built guitar yesterday, pretty inspiring to get back into it.
Back into it, rubbed back and undercoated. Looks like it has settled down OK and its spent a week hanging in the shed in 30 degree heat, so pretty sure it'll be alright.
I can see some slight evidence of the marks in a couple of places, just where the primer and high fill has cracked when it lifted, but I think another sand back and undercoat will sort it. Then just some more waiting for it to cure, then top coats again.
Also got a bit done on the neck. Its now got about 6 coats of polyurethane gloss on it. It's dry enough to handle, but I'll give it a cut and polish in a week or so.
Back to the issue of the replacement nut. Bringing the bins in the other day I noticed a bit of a street sweeper brush in the gutter and a light bulb went on. I got into the habit of collecting these in high school as they were perfect for making lock picks out of, but being steel and about 1.25mm thick its also perfect to make a shim to fit under my new nut. Which I did.
The nut is now probably a little high, a much better problem to have than not high enough, but I will wait until I'm ready to put the setup strings on before I refine it. As you can see, there is a bit of overhang, but I think I will get away with it. Worst case scenario I'll get some blanks and files, but I'll try this first.
Yeah I have and I think its close enough, thats my main concern now re the 'E' strings.
As far as I can tell there is no direct replacement for the supplied nut. I spent ages in the guitar shops here going through all of the nuts they had in stock and there is nothing quite like it. This one is a Graphtech Tusq Stratocaster nut. At least its easy enough to change if it doesn't work out. Watch this space I guess.
Back on track, we have colour again. About 90% happy with it, I did goof around the bottom in one spot and got a nice big sag which has gone crinkly. Its in a good spot to patch so not a major issue apart from more waiting for it to cure so I can knock it back and re coat. Its very dry and hot here, so I might be able to do that this afternoon before I am away again. If I can buff it without messing it up again I think I will be satisfied with it.
(Ignore all the junk in the background- first order of business after this kit is together is to purge the shed and set it up a bit better)
I am definitely going to construct a spray/drying box before I do the next one. The size of the guitar makes it easy in some regards, but all the different surfaces make it tricky to get an even coat.
I also oiled the neck, I think I'll probably do a couple more passes, it is amazing how much is soaking into it. The lighter section is a lot thirstier than the darker part. I did find a couple of machining marks that I hadn't previously noticed towards the heel, but they aren't especially noticeable.
The headstock is looking nice and glossy, there a re a few minor imperfections that will buff out once its really hard. I did notice a tiny bit of my decal has gone walking which is disappointing, but I can live with it.
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