DTL-1SB First build

[DeanCraig]

Thanks for you comments.

I made a move forward over the last few days.

Side and rear grain filled with timbermate slurry and sanded back to 240 grit. There are 1 or 2 spots need additional fill and sand then I should be good to stain the rear.

After a practice run on scrap wood the headstock has been cut to a "fenderesque" shape using a coping saw followed by sanding to 400 grit including the entire neck (excluding the fret board). I am reasonably happy with the shape vs the template I downloaded.

On the loose bone nut PB will credit me for it - seems weird that the nuts they supply for a Fender build dont fit the nut slot

[Simon Barden]

The kits PB sell come from several different factories. Some must use wider nuts than standard, whereas the bone nuts the provide are a standard Fender width. It is a PITA, but there are bigger issues with some of the kits that I'd prefer to see tackled first.

[DeanCraig]

More progress today - first coat of Tru Oil on the front and neck

The maple spalt looks really nice with the 1st coat of TO applied. My issue at the moment is that the pickguard holes that have been filled are not taking the oil as per pictures. I filled with timbermate natural - will they colour as I put more coats on OR do I need to clean them out and use a maple filler or other substance?

(reason the holes do not line up is that the body is drilled for the new red pickguard design whereas I am choosign to use the old white pickguard design)

Thanks

[McCreed]

The hole by the neck pocket is the most noticeable. I had to look twice to see the other one, but it may be more visible IRL. The "natural" Timbermate is anything but a natural timber colour IMO. I think they should call it "neutral".
FWIW, it can be tinted with stain or dye, but possibly a different colour Timbermate would also be less obvious if it's easier. I don't think any of the fillers are going absorb any colour from the Tru Oil, and even if you used tiny wooden dowels to plug the holes, they would have their end grain exposed and not necessarily blend in any better.

You might try staining the filler that's in place with a very small artists paint brush and a highly diluted stain of your desired colour (so you can build up the colour gradually). You'll need to sand back the Tru Oil from over the hole first to do this, but it shouldn't take any effort to remove just one coat. I would use the strip sanding method to sand just over the holes.

edit:
Actually I just had another idea that also involves a tiny brush. Maybe you paint over them with artists' acrylic paint. You could mix a custom colour to match the spalted maple and possibly blend it in to nearly invisible. Like camouflage! You'd just need to do a very thin coat so the Tru Oil would build over it without creating a hump.

I'm sure someone else may have other solutions that could work for you too.

[Simon Barden]

I'd also try using a light-brown coloured Sharpie if you have one, though I also mix up acrylics and use those if a Sharpie doesn't work. The eye/brain is good at picking up regular shaped objects like circles, even if only a slightly different colour, so you'll need to try and soften the outline of the plug and maybe elongate it so it looks more like a grain line. Quite difficult as it's on a fairly plain background.

But how much of that dot will be covered up by the pickguard? No point spending too much effort on the areas you won't see.

[DeanCraig]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.

In the end I masked off the filled drill holes and strip sanded to remove the 1st Tru Oil coat. Then diluted Japan Brown to 50% and "painted" the filler with a small brush. This gave a bit of background colour. Then to help blend this to the spalt I used a fine tip brown sharpie to "dot" some grain on. You can see it if you know what to look at on the lower horn pic below. (the 3 redundant bridge holes will be covered by the bridge)



I now have 4 coats of TO on the front along with the neck and fret board below. My plan now:

1. Body - remove masking and re mask to protect front when I apply Japan Brown to the rear/sides of the body followed by 4 coats of TO same as the front. Then once that has dried for a few days light sand only at 1200 grit before the next 4 coats of TO front and back.
2. Neck and fret board - there are a couple of dusty bits that will need a very light sand especially on the fretboard so light sand with 1200 or higher grit before 4x coats of TO

Questions:

• There are a few spots on the spalt top that are roughter than the rest of the body - is this just the way it is with a spalt top? On this when I angle the body to the light the rougher parts are not as glossy as the rest of the spalt top.
• How long do I need to leave it before a light sand. It feels slightly sticky to the touch on Sunday after 2 coats applied Friday and Saturday?
• Should I be be recoating TO if 24 hours latter it is still sticky to the touch. Not sure its wet just not smooth?
• For the nut slot should I be putting TO in the slot (the nut is removed?
  

Thanks in advance

[DeanCraig]

Onwards we go ..

I stained the back with Jap Brown in the last few days. Once it dried I noticed the grain was cloudy (below) so I resanded and restained (after pic) and that seemed to sort it out - A bit too much grain filler left on I suspect!



There were also a few of what I think were light glue spots around the bind on the sides - sanded and restained.

Next step to Tru Oil 4x coats over the stain.



If you have any thougths on these questions I would appreciate it:

• There are a few spots on the spalt top that are roughter than the rest of the body - is this just the way it is with a spalt top? On this when I angle the body to the light the rougher parts are not as glossy as the rest of the spalt top.
• How long do I need to leave it before a light sand. It feels slightly sticky to the touch on Sunday after 2 coats applied Friday and Saturday?
• Should I be be recoating TO if 24 hours latter it is still sticky to the touch. Not sure its wet just not smooth?
• For the nut slot should I be putting TO in the slot (the nut is removed)?

Thanks in advance!

[McCreed]

There are a few spots on the spalt top that are roughter than the rest of the body - is this just the way it is with a spalt top? On this when I angle the body to the light the rougher parts are not as glossy as the rest of the spalt top.

I have not finished a spalted top myself, but my inclination is to say that is indeed a symptom of the spalted veneer. Spalting is a result of defects in the the timber caused by fungus when it was still a tree, so it would surprise me that there will texture and grain that is not uniform like a maple veneer. I would also hazard a guess that the veneer may have required some filling prior to applying a clear coat. Since you're past that point now, it may just require lots of coats to get it level. This partly speculation on my part, but I do have a bit of experience with finishing in general.

How long do I need to leave it before a light sand. It feels slightly sticky to the touch on Sunday after 2 coats applied Friday and Saturday?

I meant to comment on this earlier in your earlier post. I suspect you're putting way too much Tru Oil at one time, and this is causing issues with it setting up. In your previous photos showing "4 coats" on the body, that is not an appearance I would expect to see until at least 8-10 coats. It's looks quite glossy for only 4 coats IMO. I may be wrong but that is my first thought.

As for sanding, there are as many philosophies as there are people applying Tru Oil, but I typically don't sand (btw I don't use sandpaper) until I've applied enough coats to just begin to get a bit of a sheen. And then I don't do anything more than just "smoothing out" unless it is required to fix something like a drip, run or debris.

Should I be be recoating TO if 24 hours latter it is still sticky to the touch. Not sure its wet just not smooth?

IMO, no. See above.

For the nut slot should I be putting TO in the slot (the nut is removed)?

No. If you get finish in there, you will need to remove to fit your nut again.
I usually get the new nut sorted before applying finish but even if I'm going to replace the nut later, I will leave it. If finish is applied whilst the nut is in place, it's easy to just score the finish and remove the nut at any time.

[Simon Barden]

The spalt pattern is created by a fungus that gets into the wood after it's dead, so occurs on trees that have blown over and died before being discovered and cut up, or have been felled and left for a while in order to get the spalt effect.

So as it's basically rot (drying the wood kills the fungus), spalt can be pretty rough around the dark spalt pattern areas. You just have to put enough finish on to fill those areas, allowing you to sand back flat. This may require more local applications than your initial plan allowed for. Tru-Oil is quite viscous and will follow the surface of the wood; it doesn't just fill in dips like water would. So you'll still feel the surface as rough, even though it's got quite a thick coat on, until you sand it back flat. But you do need enough coats of TO on to do that without sanding back to the wood.

McCreed has previously mentioned using thin CA as a quick method to fill in the rough areas, allowing you to progress more quickly with the main coats.

TO normally is touch dry within a few hours, so any tackiness after a couple of days is probably an effect of the way a slightly rough surface feels to the fingertips. If you touch some kitchen towel or a tissue on the surface, is there any sign of it sticking or TO being picked up by the paper? If not, then you should be fine to sand. High relative humility can affect drying times, so if you know it's been very humid, then it may take a lot longer to dry. Air movement helps a lot with drying, so having a fan blow air onto the body can help.

You want to avoid getting TO in the nut slot. Any finish in there will need to be sanded/filed out later. I'd probably fit the nut in before applying any finish, but then mask off the nut itself to reduce the amount of finish you'll need to scrape off it.

[McCreed]

What I forgot to mention in my last post was that you've done a good job fixing up those patchy spots on the back. That looks nice and even now. I think your assessment of leftover grain filler in those areas may have been right.