Got some basswood squares to mess with.
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Got some basswood squares to mess with.
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Did a bunch of test panels with keda black dye (water), and a water based green, blue, and red. We'll see tomorrow. Doing the colors in a couple hours.
So, about masking the binding. What do I use for that? Do people mask it with something, or scrape it clean after the dye is applied? Mask it for the clearcoat? I'm having trouble finding info on this. TIA.
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Last edited by Gunut75; 22-12-2021 at 05:36 AM.
re: masking, the short answer is yes. You can get "fine line masking tape" (a 3M product) that comes as narrow as 3 & 6mm, up to 24mm. There are other brands with different widths as well. Check autobody suppliers. Another alternative is cutting your own narrow strips from a standard 24mm painters tape if you have the patience. (I don'tSo, about masking the binding. What do I use for that? Do people mask it with something, or scrape it clean after the dye is applied? Mask it for the clearcoat? I'm having trouble finding info on this. TIA.)
Masking the top edge of the binding can be very tedious as it's quite narrow, so what I have done is just roll the edge of the tape over from the side as much as the tape width will allow. Scraping will need to be done regardless of masking anyway, so I'm just looking to minimise the bleed as much as possible.
I've read of people applying poly (or whatever clear is going to be used) over the binding by hand with a small paint brush to seal it, but that sounds more laborious than scraping to me. Plus you run the risk of sealing places you want the stain to go.
Clear coat will be applied over the binding, after it has been scraped clean of the colour bleed.
Just be aware that with the plastic binding on these kits, have a tendency to have microfissures where the binding bends, and the stain/dye can bleed in. Some of it will scrape or sand off, some you'll have to decide if you can live with. Simon B has talked about painting over the binding with white paint to get it perfectly clean before clear coating.
Making the world a better place; one guitar at a time...
You'll find the binding has hairline cracks in it where it bends round the body. The tighter the radius, the more cracks you get.
Stain tends to get in the cracks, spirit based more so than water based, and can be almost impossible to get out. So masking is strongly advised. You can use pinstriping tape (3M do good 3mm and 6mm wide vinyl tapes) or you can paint on rubber masking compound. There are other methods that people here use that I've forgotten.
Just be aware that the stretchy vinyl tape tends to pull away in concave curves, so I tend to use vinyl tape on the top (as it follows curves so well) and a paper tape on the sides.
You may need to sand or scape the binding to clean things up afterwards, but that's fairly easy to do.
It is normal to clear coat over the binding, but some people leave it as it is. I always clear coat it.
I had to paint all the binding on my ES1 as the stain in the cracks was so bad. It wasn't just a case of touching a few bits up. That's why I now mask the binding.
I buy modeller's masking tape that comes in a set of different widths, from thin to fairly thick. I use this for masking the side binding and also for masking fretboards between frets. Far easier than cutting down wide masking tape.
Got this sitting around. Going to take some time, but no prob there. Off work until next week. Spose I'll start taping. Lol
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Did these too. Oooooooo that green........The red came out more brown than anything. (No pic for that one). I like the blue, but the black dye didn't accentuate the grain like I'd hoped. It might be the sample board grain. All of them are basswood ply. Got as close to the body material as I could. I'll try some clearcoats next. See how they react to the water-base dye. Having some fun here.
Ooooooooooo....... that green!
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Whoa! Dry fit is a bit rough there. Suppose I should dryfit the bridge and see how to adjust the pocket. The bottom is VERY rough. I think the burred up grain needs to be smoothed out, but need to make sure the neck angle is good for the action. I'll start by smooooothing out the bottom of the pocket.
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Think I'm going to flatten that surface on the nect to match the body. It has about .05" material that needs to be removed, moving the neck closer to the bridge. Not much I can do about the depth of the pocket. Maybe glue a shim in there? The gap is about .05". That's a lot of glue.
I don't see any inlays like mine on here anywhere........
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I keep solving my own problems here. Lol. Turns out, the action would be about correct with the neck right in the middle of the overall play. What would I fill the gaps with after the neck gets glued? It still has the huge gap in the bottom of the pocket.
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