First Build: Red and Black Wilko Johnson Telecaster

[JohnH]

How long had the TO been on before you tried sanding it? Just curious as I’ve never had it leave a guitar feel greasy.

[Mark Gill]

How long had the TO been on before you tried sanding it? Just curious as I’ve never had it leave a guitar feel greasy.

No, I only sanded after the stain. I put the Tried and True on anyway afterwards just to see if it improved things (but it magnified the imperfections).

Maybe I'll see if any oil will come off with napthat before I start again and re-sand

[Mark Gill]

No, I only sanded after the stain. I put the Tried and True on anyway afterwards just to see if it improved things (but it magnified the imperfections).

Maybe I'll see if any oil will come off with napthat before I start again and re-sand

John H, I don't think it was actually the fault of the Tried and True—I think too much stain had just gunked the whole thing up too much.


And the answer is: none… none more black.

I think it’s physically impossible for light to escape its gravitational pull.

Sanded the stain off, went for Duplicolor lacquer after being warned by a number of people that spraying enamel was not for the faint-hearted.

Horrible results (runs, no matter how I angled the can or snuck up on the job from the side) meant that I went through a whole bottle of the lacquer before I went back to researching it. Turned out low temperature = runs. I’ll bet you all knew that. So I put the guitar body in bed with a hot water bottle, and sat the can in some hot water for ten minutes. Results much, much better, though it certainly ain’t perfect. I had no idea how spraying a chunk of wood served to magnify all the imperfections in the sanding job.

If any noobies are going to try the same thing, I would say (and I'm sorry, because doing research on the forum shows that a lot of information has already been posted):

Don't put too much on with each spray.

If you do have to sand mistakes between coats, be very gentle to avoid going through the primer as well as the topcoat.

Laying it flat seems to stop the paint running down.

Do it in a dedicated indoor spray booth which is as free of possible contaminents as a Nikon clean room (ha! I know we've all got one of them on the premises!). Seriously, do you all find that any crud floating round in the air seems to get sucked onto the body of the instrument when you spray outside?