Christodav's MM-1Q

[OliSam]

Beautiful. Hard to imagine it is the same guitar! Well done.


Sent from outta space using MartianTalk

[CascadiaGuitarGeek]

Nicely done. Talk about turning lemons into lemonade. She's looking beautiful.

[christodav]

So, it might just work?!?!
It is certainly not exactly the way I imagined it to look, but it's not too shabby. After all the sanding back etc I did manage to lose the black around the edges, but I am lucky to have managed what I have after the disaster of laying way too much dye in the first place.
The binding isn't great, as it ended up with red stain on it in parts. I might be able to fix some of it if i'm lucky?


The photo was taken today after the last coats laid about 24 hours before.


I now have a question for the experts out there......
I have lost count of how many clear nitro coats I have on the top. I have got to the stage where it is now nice and flat, smooth and a sheen. I have at least 6 medium passes on it and I have only sanded it back lightly twice. Also, I have quite a few dust layers of sanding sealer on there as well. I still have a few coats left in the can, but I am tempted to wait a week and start the wet sand and polish process. None of the coats I would consider as heavy coats. this last session was laid in two coats 40mins apart after a very light 400grit dry sand to flatten the surface and it worked.
How many clear coats would you normally expect to lay on a guitar?

Chris

[Andy40]

Chris, I would PM Phrozin if no-one gets back to you on your Nitro question. I haven't used Nitro in ages

[phrozin]

Chris, I would PM Phrozin if no-one gets back to you on your Nitro question. I haven't used Nitro in ages

Andy have talk to Chris hes on the right track, will look pretty good when hes finished....

[christodav]

Thanks Andy.

[Kick]

I really love that color! Well done job sir

[Andy40]

Thanks Phroz

[Spychocyco]

Oh, man. Now you've got me scared. I'm about to start an MM1 build shortly (my first), and finish is what I've been most worried about. I've got some keda dyes that I plan to work with, and hadn't decided yet if I was going to do a Tru-Oil or rattle can clearcoat.

Glad it worked out, even if it wasn't exactly what you wanted. I've got a small pile of scrap wood to work with before I start in on the guitar, but I'm definitely taking some learnings from this.

[christodav]

Oh, man. Now you've got me scared. I'm about to start an MM1 build shortly (my first), and finish is what I've been most worried about. I've got some keda dyes that I plan to work with, and hadn't decided yet if I was going to do a Tru-Oil or rattle can clearcoat.

Glad it worked out, even if it wasn't exactly what you wanted. I've got a small pile of scrap wood to work with before I start in on the guitar, but I'm definitely taking some learnings from this.

Thanks for your input.

Let's make things clear up-front. I am very inexperienced as a guitar kit builder. I have completed 1 guitar and this is my second. What I am about to write is based on my little experience, reading this fine forum and watching Youtube.

The biggest thing that has to be worked around with these kits is the extremely thin laminate cap. If it was a proper thick cap, it would be a pretty easy process in my mind. The fact of the matter is that when working with dyes, you really need to be able to sand back to get an easy outcome especially when you have more than one color, or when you are doing bursts and the like. You can't do that with a thin laminate.

The things that I have learnt

Check for glue marks and any holes that might be needed to to be filled and fix these things first. Sand as lightly as required. I wouldn't sand the top fully at this stage, but the back and sides of course.
Check out people's build diaries. Almost every first page or two talks about glue marks and holes. fill holes with Timbermate and get rid of glue with Goof-off.
Apply the dye(s) thinly to the raw top and then lightly sand it back to obtain a flat surface and required colours. Do not add more than 2 applications of dye on the top. You run the risk of the dye 'swimming' in the clear coats. The less dye the better, but enough to survive the light sand after the application. Also, allow time for the dye to fully dry before the next step.
When you are happy with the colours, use a sanding sealer and dust spray it in several very light coats to seal in the dye and then you can go with a clear. Most clear will add a yellow hue and this includes Tru-oil and lacquer. Wipe on Poly and more modern clear spays will be clearer. If you use tru-oil over a blue dye fore example, you may end up with green tones. This must be considered. It will depend on what you prefer to work with and the look and finish you are after. In my mind, there is no right or wrong, as long as you get the results you wanted.

Good Luck

Chris