Dream Catcher LP

[Brendan]

In terms of switching - bit of feel - bit of look - make sure you can't see any grooves in the wood you didn't create - the basswood bodies I've worked on tend to have a lot of tool marks around the body. These can take some work to get them out but will come out with time. Once you think it's done, get a damp rag and run it over the body against the grain - that will make any "fluff" stand up and you can knock that on the head as well. By the time you get to the higher grits (240+) it's more a once over to clean up any sanding marks that you have created. Don't go too far over 240, depending on wood as you'll start to polish the wood and it'll reject stain.

With spraying I'm not sure you need to go that hard with sanding as you will be using a sealing spray that will even out a lot of the imperfections. I'd still get rid of tool marks / dings / etc, but in terms of going beyond 180 odd - not so sure (that said - never sprayed a guitar).

[gavinturner]

If you are spraying then you can go to higher grits if you like without issue. I usually go up to 800 grit before i spray the undercoat, and then lightly sand the undercoat itself between coats with 800. Depends on the number of colour coats you are going to do etc. etc. It's hard to go wrong though after about 360 grit (IMO).

cheers,
Gav.

[stevierayvannabe]

Hi all,

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. Had to work for a bit. I have for the most part been sanding furiously. I believe the guitar is ready for staining and painting. I have decided to do some practicing to hopefully iron out the process and make some rookie mistakes before tackling the actual guitar.

I have also been toying around with the headstock design. I made some preliminary templates up just to get a feel for it. Take a look and tell me what you think. My current favourites are template A and B. I don't want to go traditional Les Paul style. I would like to add a little individuality here. I'm trying not to make the design too complex. Less chance of mucking it up that way I figure.

Cheers,

Brian

[wokkaboy]

Hey Brian, good to see an update and you are making good progress, I like your sample headstock shapes, B to E are quite original, I tend to prefer symmetrical shapes but nothing wrong with B and E. If I had to choose think I prefer C or D. Or 'D' with a little Les Paul centre dip. Entirely up to you. A good tip I've had is tape the cardboard shape on the headstock and see which shape you grow to like the most.
Look forward to next installment, Can't wait to see stain on that beautiful flame cap

[Analyst69]

I like D. Like Wokka, I like symmetry, but I also think D has a particularly classy look about it. And its unique.

Cheers

Darren

[Brendan]

Read somewhere on the forum that a headstock should reflect the body... That said - I'd go E or something like that...

[stevierayvannabe]

Well, some progress has been made. I took the dive and started working on the front of my lp1. I started by staining it black with ink. That was a little nerve racking. Then after is was dry I sanded it down and wow, did the grain ever come out.

After a wipe down and clean up I started with the Marine Blue for the centre main colour. I'm really happy with the colour choice. It was just what I was looking for.

I attempted a little bit of a burst on the edges with Ultramarine Blue to provide a little transition. That was fun. Next step is to carefully clean it up with some 0000 steel wool.

Here are some pictures of points along the way.

[stevierayvannabe]

It seems the blue around the edges doesn't come through the pic as blue as it actually is. Must be a camera thing.

Here's a picture of the transition I was working on.

[stevierayvannabe]

Well started to paint the back and sides. Using a metal fleck paint. I know, into the naughty corner, but I really like metallic blues. I put a primer on and gave it a nice sanding then wiped it down and cleaned the back and sides with an oil remover. I have put two coats on in the pics and so far it seems to be coming along. I'm definitely not the best painter in the land but you have to start somewhere eh. I only have one area where it seems to not take the paint very well and I'm not sure why. I'm going to try to give it a light scuff up before the next couple of coats. Here are some pics so far.

[stevierayvannabe]

Got 5 coats of metallic blue on dream catcher. I'm so happy with the colour. Next it's time for clear.