PitBull TL-1 Liam.

[rockmof]

I am so mad at my self for not doing what I just did about 4 weeks earlier.

Having a it's ok to gosh that is shocking love affair with the face of the tele, today I got stuck in to it with the sander.
In no time it was bare wood, so after cleaning all the dust off I mixed up some blue and presto I think I just might like it.
At least an 8 year old boy may.

I forgot to take a photo of it naked but that really don't matter. This has turned out so good I am thinking of attacking the sides, only the top side as the other isn't as bad. But if the top turns out good, who knows what I might do.

Tomorrow I'll give this a slight sand to remove the raised grain and, if required, give it another shot of color then a few coats of TO.

YEPPEE!

[wokkaboy]

that blue looks really vivid Rick, glad you are finally happy with the top !

[stan]

so glad this is moving forward, and it sure is blue, enjoy the finishing

[wazkelly]

Looking good Rick. What colour pick guard and hardware will you be using? Chrome with black pick guard would look good.

[rockmof]

Hi wazkelly it will have the standard black pick guard and chrome hardware.

I gave the face a slight sand and found that the stain wasn't affected so decided to apply the To.

I opened my bottle of TO to find that the lid was a lot harder to get off than usual, yep the dreaded skin on the top and it has started to gell. Will possibly get another 1 or 2 coats then that should put a good cover over the ink, then i will finish off with a coat or two of DingoTone top coat (should have enough of that left for that).

Tomorrow I'll put the machine heads back on the neck, and maybe another coat of TO

The end is in sight.

photos:- one coat of TO....with the headstock (yes a very different color)....back of head stock.

[wokkaboy]

looks great Rick, glad you are on the home stretch !

[wazkelly]

Hi Rick, I am sure your Grandson will love it.

[vh2580]

The blue has come up really nice, will look good with the TO on.

[rockmof]

Well! decided to sand the "clear" patches on the side today.

1st Photo....The finished striped off the parts where the stain didn't take.

2nd Photo....One wipe of ink a little darker that the top, since the photo was taken I have darkened it a little.

Tomorrow I will give it a rub with the steel-wool then, if every think is ok, I'll try to hit it with my TO (gell) and hope that it will conform with the rest of the side. I doubt very much that it will be invisible but heaps better than what it was.

About an hour later.

Have put another coat of TO on the face and the first coat on the affected side.
The patches are a different color but thats ok and the face is starting to look good as well

Discovered how to use the TO while it is in a semi "gell" state..... saturate one side of the wiping cloth then fold it in so the "dry" side id out and apply this way. The "gell" won't come out and stick to the finishing side, well it sorta works for me at this stage anyway.

two new photos.

1. the side with one coat

2. the face with the 2nd coat.

[rockmof]

Will this finish ever cure? May be not but I had nothing to do today so decided to "put it together" anyway.

Although it isn't much like how I wanted it to turn out it looks ok and I am happy with it, especially with all the trouble I have experienced.

After setting the bridge up, fixing it, and positioning the pick guard I noticed that the bridge, although aligned to the 1st and 6th string was not square to the body.
i had to take about 4 mm of the pick guard rout so the bridge could be positioned correctly (well, close enough anyway)

Will let it hang for another week to see if the finish will cure more, then the fun part starts, setting up and playing it in.
I like to play them for a few weeks then change the strings and do a final set-up then it's all ready for a gift.