The Telecaster

[Rob]

Thats coming up nicely.
No need to shield the wire holes.

The neck coats will settle in, it seems to take a bit longer on Rock Maple.
I think this may be due to it not being overly absorbent so it takes a bit longer for the cross linking polymerisation to happen.

Big word of the day, polymerisation

Thanks Dingobass... I'll try to be more patient with the neck.
Loving the big word of the day but I reckon I might struggle to drop it into most conversations

[Rob]

I'm about ready to tear what's left of my hair out.
I simply can Not get a decent looking finish on the guitar body using the products bought from Pitbull.
I'm an experienced wood worker and finisher but this stuff has me beat.
The product I am using, and roundly abusing, is Dingotone Coolangatta Gold.
I used the Clear Neck Finish on the neck and it is wonderful...a silky smooth finish second to none.
This other stuff unfortunately refuses to give anywhere near a professional look no matter how hard I try. It continually leaves a rash of little raised 'pimples' all over the surface when cured and the sanding required to get a smooth surface again involves pretty much removing the thin coat of finish that I have just waited a week on to cure.
I'm almost at the level of frustration where I strip it right back and just stain and varnish the thing.

[Brendan]

Rob - I've just PM'd Dingobass - he should be able to give some advice on the Dingotone and help out.

[Rob]

Thanks Brendan... your help is much appreciated.

[dingobass]

Hi Rob, sounds like you may have a kit that was old stock.
PM me your postal address and I will send you a replacement kit of the updated version.

[Rob]

PM'd you dingobass.

[Rob]

The fresh kit of Dingotone did the trick!
I ended up having to strip the body back to bare wood to remove all traces of the multiple layers of the original product.
A quick re-stain with the little bit of stain that I had left, 3 coats of Intensifier and 3 coats of Finish later gave me a result that I'm happy with.
The surface isn't flawless and the finish isn't perfect but I'm happy and so will my daughter be. If I'd wanted flawless and perfect I'd have gone and bought my daughter a finished 'shop' telecaster.
I'm about to fit the neck and hardware so I'm on track to have it finished for the kids 21st birthday on the 5th of next month.
A young bloke a Custom Music in Wagga Wagga is going to do the fine tuning for me.
Really looking forward to hearing it play for the first time.

[wokkaboy]

Looks great Rob is that coolangatta gold?

[Rob]

Looks great Rob is that coolangatta gold?

Thanks wokkaboy...
Yep, Coolangatta Gold. I only had a little bit of stain left after my first failed attempt at finishing it so the colour is a bit paler than I initially hoped for... I still like it though.
I made a custom pick guard from clear perspex with a thin sheet of copper behind it. I 'aged' the copper with a witches brew of bleach, vinegar and salt to get the colour I wanted.

[wokkaboy]

nice one Rob love the pickguard look and shape. Looks like you are on the home stretch, looks great

I've used DT CG on a few builds and love the colour. Goes really well on your tele with the maple neck