Rc-4

[gavinturner]

Welcome Paul. The RC-4 is looking good already. I also wondered about that neck pickup and room for the mounting screws - might be worth a look now rather than when the finish is on. I'm eagerly awaiting an RC-4 kit myself!

cheers,
Gav.

[Paul C]

Greetings people, yes i set the neck before doing any other work as i wanted the glue to go onto clean timber, the pic-up screws when fitted to the scratch plate should have plenty of clearance if not two small holes drilled into the filler will resolve that issue.
i have started the sanding, i've started with P1200 as the body and neck are in really good order, just one slight blemish in the rear of the body, that will need a little more work. i will give it a few more passes working down to P1500 or even P2000 before looking to start finishing.
Working this way setting the neck at the start makes sanding a little more awkward but not impossible, after all Rickenbacker manage it

[Paul C]

Update, okay after a couple of days rubbing down i took the plunge and applied a base colour, this being Rustins ebony, which i have used on previous projects, i just did the top of the body this highlighted an issue of where the body had been glued together during manufacture in the factory and the glue had remained on the surface and won't take the dye, also a knot in the wood has shown up, not visible previously, this again won't take dye, so i have set about rubbing it down again while i rethink, the glue issue is easy to resolve the knot issue i have the option to scar the knot with fine lines to get dye to sit in and disguise it.

[stan]

hey Paul, some good progress, time for pics mate!

As for the glue, you have the right idea, careful if it is on the top, the cap is very thin.
As for the knot, they are part and parcel of timber, there are a few options - live with it, highlight it or hide it. Staining it might prove to be difficult, and typically knots are darker and denser. Depends a bit on where it is, and with most things in our builds, only we notice the minor flaws (or even consider them flaws...)
Post up a pic, the collective brains trust will offer some solutions

[Paul C]

I will pop some pictures up when i have something worth sharing at the moment it is a small patch about the size of a little finger nail, that won't take colour, if the top rubs through while sanding i have pondered about an exotic veneer top on body and head stock.
I'll keep you posted.

[Paul C]

Greetings all, well spent the time since my last post trying various options with my project and have come to the conclusion i should have stayed with what my heart told me and opted for the natural wood finish, i did try various options of wood dyes but in the end i have opted the all black look, pretty boring i know but the ebony dye covers the imperfections in the timber, it will be a translucent finish so the wood grain will still show through.





the two photo have been taken after a base coat of Rustins Dark Oak this highlighted all problem areas so i spent most of yesterday evening rubbing them out before adding coat of Rustins Ebony wood dye, on the photo of the rear of the body are the small knots that don't take dye, there was two of these on the front but i have disguised them, so i will do the same with the back. I will rub down with P1200 and then apply a top coat of final colour before looking to seal it, not sure if i will lacquer or try tru-oil finish.

[Arzi]

Hi Paul

So far it looks pretty good. Black ain't a bad color for this kit and TO pops the grain like you would not believe.

If you are trying to mask small imperfections that are not taking color - especially like 1mm wide spots, holes etc you could do this carefully with a black permanent marker. I did that with my black RC-4. At least if your finish will be black enough. The TO will make it a lot darker so the spots will blend in the grain. Just do this carefully cause these can't be easilly undone.

I think you will be satisfied with the black cause it looks really sexy when finished. Good work so far.

[Paul C]

Cheers Arzi, yeah i'm liking the black the more i look at it, the knot issue i resolve by using a fine craft knife to cut very fine lines across the knot so it acts like wood grain and takes the dye, its worked well on the top.

[andrewdosborne]

Hello Paul, welcome! The RC-4 is coming along well and have to agree that black looks great on this style kit.

[stan]

interesting technique for hiding knots, must file that one away, thanks