Build Diary: IB-4 (first build)

[Pat Rodgers]

Thanks, fender3x, I did manage to resist the temptation to add another coat

I just finished putting a coat of Crystalac grain filler on the front, kind of as a test to see if it caused reactivation of the stain. It did, but not much, and the stain on the front was fairly heavy (I did not give it the same treatment as the back and sides since I will put a decal on the front). Right now, I'm researching the Platina dewaxed shellac that you mentioned earlier. I see it comes in a "flake" form, so I'll have to see if that's something I can figure out how to work with.

[fender3x]

I use it in flakes. The great thing about that is you can make just what you need, and it's really cheap. Here's a mixing chart:

https://www.shellac.net/PoundCutChar...rr0xlEvm4kLCdx

I mix mine up in 1 pound cuts. I usually make a half cup at a time, which is 0.5 oz of flakes. If you doing it metric, you use 14g of flakes into 764ml. One nice thing about the flakes is that they last pretty much forever. Just drop them in alcohol and wait overnight for them to dissolve. I mash my flakes up pretty fine, and they are usually ready in a few hours.

To get the lightest color of shellac I think you have to make it from flakes (at least I haven't seen it any other way). The next grade darker (which is not much darker) is blonde shellac. That can be purchased as liquid in a 2 pound cut. It's Zinzer SealCoat which is sold at the big-box hardware stores. If you look at the fine print it says it's 100% de-waxed shellac. Don't by the Zinzer Shellac, however, because it is NOT dewaxed. You can use it as 2 pound, but I like mine really thin...which you can get by cutting the Zinzer with 1:1 with denatured alcohol.

The clear grain filler I have used is AquaCoat which (I think) is more viscous than the Crystalac product. It pulls a little, but I mash it back into the finish, and haven't really noticed a color change. Maybe it will work the same way with the Crystalac product. The nice thing about the water based clear grain filler is that it has no color of it's own so what you "pull" effectively becomes a "tint" as long as you keep most of the filler on the body.

[Pat Rodgers]

I apologize, I was getting my brand names mixed up; I am actually using Aqua Coat grain filler, not Crystalac. It's the sanding sealer that is Crystalac.

Thank you for the link on how to mix the shellac flakes, it looks pretty straight forward. I did a test of the Aqua Coat on the front and sides of the bass body. The "face", or front, of the body was fairly heavily stained at the time, and it did reactivate the stain a bit, mostly due to me rubbing the filler in with my gloved fingers. I will avoid that and stick to using a plastic card edge from now on. However, the sides of the body (where the stain is at its present, permanent level of darkness) did not reactivate at all, and looks really good (it did darken a bit, as you mentioned it might). So, I think I'll stick with just using the Aqua Coat. For future builds, I will definitely put a protective layer of shellac in between the stain coats and filler, especially if I try to get fancy with the stain by using more than one colour.

Thanks so much for the advice, it is very helpful!

[fender3x]

What helped me most with AquaCoat is to use small amounts and try to leave it all on the body. I just keep rubbing it in to small areas until it looks flat. I don't think you can eliminate pull, it "tints up" a bit...but you can at least rub it back in ;-) Like you, I also discovered that, except in very curved areas, that a hotel card key works about as well as anything to apply it.

The other advantage to using small amounts and trying to leave it all on the body is that you use less of it. It was expensive to buy, but I have done maybe 6 guitars and have still not gone through my original pint--so figuring that way it's not much more expensive than any other decent filler--at least not in North America.

[Pat Rodgers]

I used a combo of old Costco card and fingers. You're right, it did tint up a little, but I didn't notice any "disfiguring" or pulling of the stain, so I'm happy with that. Below is from last night, shortly after applying the second coat of filler.

This particular body doesn't have a lot of flat area, so the fingers come in handy. Like you, I haven't been too worried about getting it real smooth, the sanding seems to take care of that quite well. And yes, I've barely made a dent in the pint of Aqua Coat, I feel like I could get a lot of mileage out of it.

I will probably do one more coat before applying the decal and then several coats of varnish.

Thanks, as always, for the advice and feedback!

[fender3x]

I end up doing at least three coats and then touch-ups. It shrinks a bit, so I usually wait a couple of days once I think I have it to make sure there aren't some places for touch up. In the pics yours looks like it has a bit of a sheen built up, which is how I like mine before applying topcoat.

The nice thing is that if you find any spots that need filling after you begin applying top coat, I have found that you can apply the AquaCoat over the top of dry topcoat without issues. At least it has worked for me with General Finishes* and Crystalac topcoates.



*I have had other problems with GF top coat and don't recommend it...but the problems had nothing to do with Aquacoat.

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[fender3x]

I will probably do one more coat before applying the decal and then several coats of varnish.

I just noticed this about the decal. AquaCoat seems a lot like top coat and you'd probably be fine putting the decal directly over it. That said I have had best results with waterslide decals when I put them over a coat or two of dry top coat. I have never put one directly over Aquacoat (if you do I'll be curious about the results). My experiments with putting the decal over shellac or bare wood did not turn out too well. My best results have been when the surface is smooth and shiney under the decal.

BTW the body looks great. Really nice color and grain!

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[Pat Rodgers]

Thanks so much for the comments, advice and complements

Yes, I do plan to put the decal on top of the Aqua Coat. The decal is kind of sticky on the bottom, so hopefully I won't have too much trouble getting it lined up (as best as possible) and then make small adjustments.

I'm glad you mentioned the ability to apply Aqua Coat over the top coat if needed. I'll be using water based varnish (Saman). Using water based products is all new to me, but aside from a bit of struggle to get the stain to my liking, I'm pretty happy with it.

I plan to put on a total of 5 coats of Aqua Coat so that I have a good thickness before sanding it. It's touchy; I wasn't careful enough and accidentally sanded through the first two layers of a small spot and removed a noticeable bit of stain, but I was able to touch it up to where it looked good again, thankfully. I found that sanding takes a very light touch at this stage.

[fender3x]

5 sounds about right. Mine usually look like they have finish on them when it's "enough."

The occasional sand-through happens. Glad you were able to fix it easily. Nothing has frustrated me more learning to sand lightly enough"

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[Pat Rodgers]

Thanks, fender3x! I'm going to put the 5th and final coat of grain filler on the body today, and the 5th of 7 coats of polymerized tung oil on the neck. The neck is looking good too, I will post some photos tonight or tomorrow.