Teleburster TL-1A aka G-special

[robin]

Hi Scott,

I am so sorry to hear of the passing of you Dad. I feel your pain as my beloved wife of 40 years passed away last year and for me building my Kit has been cheaper and better than therapy.

Like you, I have in a small way dedicated this build to my wife as it bears her name on the Headstock.

I hope you get through this very difficult time, and I am sure you will have a guitar that your Dad would have been proud to see his name on.

God Bless mate and hang in there
rob.

[WeirdBits]

Thank you for the kind words everyone.

Time for the second Deep Colour coat. I started to feather the edge with steel wool, but it just wasn't cutting it so I ended up switching to sandpaper. I just caressed the edge very lightly with 400 grit paper and then gave it a rub with the 0000 steel wool to help smooth it out, and it seems to have worked ok (see first set of pics). I then applied as much Deep Colour to the sides as they would take, and then did a very dry rub on the edge/border to the top and back to take it in about 3/4". After that I repeated the process with a wetter rub but only going in about 1/2", which helped to darken the edge and blend it with the previous coat (2nd and 3rd sets of pics).

I think the process is kind of going well, but I won't really know until I get onto the Base coats. The plug repairs will probably need a bit of a rub with steel wool to smooth out the colour blending a bit, which I'll probably do once this coat is dry. After that it will be a third Deep Colour coat, and then some time to dry before starting on the Base coats and the Goldenrod burst.

[keloooe]

Looks great there Scott!!!
We both have similar colour schemes going on here, except I am using Dark Onyx as the dark colour, I'm doing a REVERSE burst, and I have something kinda neat up my sleeves that should wow everyone....

[WeirdBits]

Originally I was only going to do 3 Deep Colour coats, but after giving the worm hole repairs a bit of a steel wool after the second coat and applying the third coat I wasn't really happy with the results. So, I did a dap/touch-up on the repairs with a bit more deep colour the next day (Sat) and then today did the 4th and what I hope will be the final Deep Colour coat. I'm much happier with the way the repairs are blending, and think they'll blend even more once I start the Base Coats (plan is for next weekend).

First set of pics show the nice overall deep colour forming. Second set of pics show how two of the repair areas are blending, with the arrows pointing to roughly where the repair plugs are.

[glenno3228]

Hi Scott. Condolences for your loss.

Regarding your first build, fantastic stuff. Given the circumstances, maybe the name "perseverance" is fitting for this particular tele!

Cheers
Glenn

[Brendan]

Scott - nice job - just noticed - one of the spots will be obscured by your strap. Should be a beaut of a guitar!

[WeirdBits]

Well, the last deep colour coat has been drying for a week, so at last, finally, it's time for the base colours and some 'bursty goodness… hopefully.

Again, I started by feathering the edge of the last deep colour coat with 400 grit and then gave it all a light rub with 0000 steel wool. To make it a little easier to manage the body while applying the colour, I gave it a prostate exam with a piece of broom handle (see first set of pics). I then applied the Black Magic Woman base colour to the sides and a dryish band about 1cm in on the top and back, then switched to the Goldenrod base colour and ran that up to the BMW band. Next, I started blending the edge, first with Goldenrod and then some BMW. The colours are starting to come up ok, but it's going to take a bit of work to get the feathered edges to blend into a nice burst transition (2nd and 3rd sets of pics). The feathering on the edge still looks a little 'scratchy' at the moment, but I think it will improve with more coats and as my blending technique gets better. Not sure if I'm happy with the result as yet, will have to wait to see after a few more coats.

[dingobass]

Keep at it Weirdy, it will get better with every coat.

I like the way you are approaching this Sunburst, it is nice and subtle

[keloooe]

Oh wow, that is a great burst!!! Noice and subtle, makes it different from other bursts!

[WeirdBits]

Base coats 2, 3 and 4 of 'bursty goodness went on this week (base coat 4 today), shown in the image sets below, respectively. Apologies for the flash glare in the images, but it's indoors with mainly artificial light and the flash is necessary to get something close to the actual colour of the body to appear (each set were taken just after I finished the coat). You may not really see it in the images, there is a distinct improvement with each coat for both colours. The Black Magic Woman is starting to even out and deepen, which is what I wanted, and the 'burst transition is just starting to blend the way I want it to. But, it's been a real struggle.

The BMW and Goldenrod really don't play nicely together when it comes to applying them, they're just so different both in colour and how they physically mix (or don't mix). Actually, if you try to mix small amounts of them in a container they'll start to separate again pretty much as soon as you stop stirring. A bit like trying to paint thin black ink (BMW) in on a wax surface (Goldenrod). But, I'm starting to get the hang of it.

The last image set (base coat 4) also shows a pic of the wormhole repair on the upper section of the body, and I'm actually reasonably pleased with it. It's the repair that's most visible, being on the top of the body and with the translucency of the Goldenrod, but I think it looks ok. How much it blends in depends on your viewing angle, but it never really looks bad imo.

Anyway, I'm aiming at maybe two more base coats and then some curing time before the gloss top coats. But, I may do some extra coats of the BMW on the sides/edges depending on how it develops over the next two coats.