Yet another Sale item is coming my way.

[Cliff Rogers]

Cliff how much dye did it take to get dark? I watched the video of the Big D guy...and he seems to just pour it out onto a cloth and smear it around.

I am wondering if I do it with a cotton ball inside a rag balled up like a shellac mop if this will control the soak up of the dye and then the application flow.

This is such a nice guitar I don't want to mess it up with a learning curve.

Honestly I would normally try a new finish on a solid basswood body first.

The body is mahogany with a spalted maple veneer. The body does not bother me at all....I don't want to lose this veneer...but I want it to look nice too.

Really tempted to just seal it.....clear finish...with maybe a few coats of the tinted aerosol Poly I have here. But I also wanted an excellent looking kit like this to be totally different and to stand out.

Easy and safe way.....or push the limits of my skills and abilities???????

It was the Swamp Ash that coloured up very dark very quickly, the crappie pine not so much.

I didn’t bother with a cotton ball, I just used a wad of T shirt material folded up a couple of times.

I have 4 kits with very thin veneer tops and I haven’t been game to start on them.

I am playing with solid bodies that I can sand back until I am confident enough to start on the veneer.

3 of them also have binding that is likely to be a problem with the strong dyes.

[ozzbike]

It was the Swamp Ash that coloured up very dark very quickly, the crappie pine not so much.

I didn’t bother with a cotton ball, I just used a wad of T shirt material folded up a couple of times.

I have 4 kits with very thin veneer tops and I haven’t been game to start on them.

I am playing with solid bodies that I can sand back until I am confident enough to start on the veneer.

3 of them also have binding that is likely to be a problem with the strong dyes.

Oh this has binding everywhere. But, I found the use of Polyurethane (water-based), some blue tape and a kids paint brush works well. So I think I will have more time to think as I tape up the edges of the binding everywhere and then dribble on 6 coats of the water based polyurethane and then the issues shall begin.

My Bigsby Thinline Tele body has both binding and a faux binding edge I made and sealed both with this poly trick. It worked really well.

I want to see the binding first hand, but I have never played with binding and don't even know how to attach it.....and I was thinking about shaping the headstock and then curling some more binding around the edge of that design to match the binding already along the neck.

I think that the binding will need to be cut on an angle to sit in along the edge of the headstock at the nut. Then also cut and bevelled to meet the edges I may cut in. That will be fun too.

Honestly binding did scare the crap out of me. But since the poly thing I am fine with taking my time and sealing it up first.

The fitting of binding is something I have never done. I bought a stewmac router fitting to cut the groove for it and have never used it.

But my biggest fear is the veneer....and it leans me more and more towards just sealing it up and using the colours on another build. Just going a shiny natural body and headstock front with a matt finish back of the neck.

[Cliff Rogers]

Thanks for the tip on sealing the binding, I have some of the water based poly. 👍

[DarkMark]

I want to see the binding first hand, but I have never played with binding and don't even know how to attach it.....and I was thinking about shaping the headstock and then curling some more binding around the edge of that design to match the binding already along the neck.

I think that the binding will need to be cut on an angle to sit in along the edge of the headstock at the nut. Then also cut and bevelled to meet the edges I may cut in. That will be fun too.

Honestly binding did scare the crap out of me. But since the poly thing I am fine with taking my time and sealing it up first.

The fitting of binding is something I have never done. I bought a stewmac router fitting to cut the groove for it and have never used it.



A bit of careful chisel work, a bit of sanding on the purfling and you’ll get there. This is on my ES-3.
Personally I use acetone to adhere it to the wood but I know others have used super glues.

[ozzbike]

A bit of careful chisel work, a bit of sanding on the purfling and you’ll get there. This is on my ES-3.
Personally I use acetone to adhere it to the wood but I know others have used super glues.

I have seen the recommendation to use Acetone.....I have some wax and grease remover....same stuff isn't it?

It is a clear liquid not much removed from water in consistency. I would rather run a little of that up the back edge of the binding/purfling then run the risk of creating glue spots with CA glue.

Mark, did you just brush it / dribble it / squirt it onto the binding and then tape it in place? Or was there some other magic involved?

The track your parcel thing had the guitar in Sydney yesterday.....I reckon Fri or Mon for delivery here.

I am waiting to see the nature and size of the binding used on the body and neck, and also the colour of the dots on the fretboard. The listing stated they were mother of pearl...maybe they are real or black pearl, as the photos have them nearly abelone in colour.

The luthier supply place on the Gold Coast has a tortoiseshell plastic binding and heaps of different styles of dots from plastic to abelone.

Really keen to just see this one.

[Rabbit]

lI would definitely avoid using power tools though .

Are you suggeting that maybe a belt sander with 40 grit may not be the best tool for the job?

The luthier supply place on the Gold Coast has a tortoiseshell plastic binding and heaps of different styles of dots from plastic to abelone..

The bloke at the shed who does guitars showed me one with tortoiseshell binding. It looked way better than the usual plastic binding, which in my mind, makes a guitar look cheap. He was able to get it for a bargain because apparently hardly anyone uses the stuff.

[DarkMark]

I have seen the recommendation to use Acetone.....I have some wax and grease remover....same stuff isn't it?

It is a clear liquid not much removed from water in consistency. I would rather run a little of that up the back edge of the binding/purfling then run the risk of creating glue spots with CA glue.

Mark, did you just brush it / dribble it / squirt it onto the binding and then tape it in place? Or was there some other magic involved?

The track your parcel thing had the guitar in Sydney yesterday.....I reckon Fri or Mon for delivery here.

I am waiting to see the nature and size of the binding used on the body and neck, and also the colour of the dots on the fretboard. The listing stated they were mother of pearl...maybe they are real or black pearl, as the photos have them nearly abelone in colour.

The luthier supply place on the Gold Coast has a tortoiseshell plastic binding and heaps of different styles of dots from plastic to abelone.

Really keen to just see this one.

First of all acetone is very flammable and will absorb into the skin, use appropriate PPE and good ventilation.
I brush it on the wood and binding about three times with a small brush. If you’re prepared you can even dissolve a little binding in a GLASS jar with a bit of acetone into a slurry to have at hand if you feel you need it to fill a gap, cut it up small and give it time. Because I only have painters tape I used an alternative method to masking tape (painters tape doesn’t stick strong enough). I found a way to use my off cuts and wedges (about page 6 or 7 ES-3 diary).
I’m not sure what degreaser is, Xylene? Shellite? These aren’t acetone.
If you cut your channel so the binding sits a little proud of the wood you can sand down to level.

Edit: oh yeah, you may need to pre bend binding using heat depending on you headstock shape.

[ozzbike]

First of all acetone is very flammable and will absorb into the skin, use appropriate PPE and good ventilation.
I brush it on the wood and binding about three times with a small brush. If you’re prepared you can even dissolve a little binding in a GLASS jar with a bit of acetone into a slurry to have at hand if you feel you need it to fill a gap, cut it up small and give it time. Because I only have painters tape I used an alternative method to masking tape (painters tape doesn’t stick strong enough). I found a way to use my off cuts and wedges (about page 6 or 7 ES-3 diary).
I’m not sure what degreaser is, Xylene? Shellite? These aren’t acetone.
If you cut your channel so the binding sits a little proud of the wood you can sand down to level.

Edit: oh yeah, you may need to pre bend binding using heat depending on you headstock shape.

Thank you so much for the garage tutorial. I have place marked this post. Thank You.