Gavins Aqua Surfer ST-1

[gavinturner]

Thanks Wokka. Actually the poly hasn't gone on yet. The gloss should deepen substantially with it on. I might make November, who knows! I have more work on the Wudtone neck kit to do, and I really should let the poly cure as well once it is on (I'll probably only last a week there too) so I shouldn't make November but probably will.

cheers,
Gavin.

[wokkaboy]

yer I'm the same Gav, don't like waiting for curing time, hence I have 5 projects on the go at once !

[Tim]

Looking good Gav another nice looking axe

[gavinturner]

Ok change of plans.
I'm going to use deluxing compound to provide an outer finish rather than poly. Has anyone tried this with Wudtone before?

Cheers,
Gavin.

[gavinturner]

Last coats of protective poly are on now and I've left it a couple of days to cure. Today I got the shielding finished in the pickup cavity and the output jack. I used copper foil to line the cavities, and it took quite a while to do that whole swimming pool the strat sports. still need to run some foil along the edges to contact the scratch plate shielding (and create the complete faraday cage), but I'll do that after I finish final polish - stewmac medium, fine and swirl remover compunds, one after the other. To make sure the cavities are electrically joined, I also ran a wire from the main cavity to the output jack and soldered it in. That's the beauty of this foil - just solder straight to it. Love it. Anyway, this baby is almost ready for assembly. Just some rubbing and a couple of sore shoulders and it will be sweet.





Cheers,
Gavin.

[stan]

looks great, that sure is some neat shielding

[MetalMatt]

Looks fantastic! So the ColorTone Polishing Compounds from Stewmac make the Wudtone finish even more shiny? Or just smooth things out?

Also with the Poly, what is it exactly and how did you apply it? I'm quite happy with the Wudtone finish but wouldn't mind that bit of extra clear/shine? Just not sure how to do it!

[gavinturner]

@Matt: yes I had good success polishing up the Wudtone gloss finish with my Colortone polishing compounds. You can get a really nice shine this way.I did, however sand to 400 grit before starting the Wudtone. This may have played a part but I can't say. I don't think you could go wrong with polishing compound. I would not recommend poly over Wudtone usually - it kinda defeats the purpose. Only doing it this time because the guitar is going to a young kid and protecting the finish was deemed more important that the tone. Having said that, the poly over the already polished Wudtone is very shiny indeed!

[MetalMatt]

CHeers!

[gavinturner]

I should have been cutting code today, but instead I started polishing at 8:30 and by 4:00 the strat was all but complete. I polished with the Stewmac Colortone compounds and then slowly added all the hardware. It's really come up nicely.







Now back in the early eighties, I was a happy go lucky high-school lad. Unfortunately, a little band called Dire Straights and their 'Money for Nothing' release cured me of ever wanting to wield a strat til the end of my dying days. However, I am pleased to say that this build has been the cathartic experience I needed to wipe away the horrors of a bygone millennium. This baby sings. It's stock from end to end (except for the perloid scratchplate) and it's a pleasure to play.

My niece will be stoked with how it's turned out. This is my second build in a row that isn't ending up on my wall and I must say I'm gutted to be giving this one away. I'm definitely going to have to build one for myself now!

cheers,
Gavin.