ES-1F First Build

[PastaCaster]

Just recieved the kit and everything was packaged really well, I decided to do a dry run build.
The first thing I noticed was a couple of small gaps in the neck pocket.
Decided to start by sealing the wood and will move forward with finishing the neck and body before I glue the neck on.

Sanding Sealer:
https://imgur.com/a/gqwJuxD


I'll be doing a turqoise sparkle finish on this and did a test run on some scrap wood. I laid down a few coats of primer and then put down a thick coat of clear coat and sprinkled the metal flake down on top. Then just went over it with 9 more coats of the clear.

Sparkle Finish Test:
https://imgur.com/a/SveS0S4


The neck fits nice and tight but there's some very small gaps around the edges. Should I try and sand these out to get the neck to sit flush?

Photos of the test build and neck gaps:
https://imgur.com/a/7iBfUwE

[Guitar_Cory]

hey, how you planning on tackling the gaps around the neckjoin? i have the same issues with my es kit

[McCreed]

Those gaps at the heel/pocket are quite small IMO.
If the neck fit is snug, but not so much that you have to force it into the pocket, that's fine. You'll need a tiny bit of movement to be able to align the strings properly before permanently setting the neck.

As for the gaps, I'm presuming you will have a contiguous base and/or top coat that extends from the body to the back/sides of the neck. Those little gaps should fill in with the base and top coats when applied.

Since you're painting and not staining or going for a natural finish, and if the gaps bother you, you could rub a bit of Timbermate in there once you've set the neck and before you paint.


re: the neck pickup
You need to check your scale length and see if the neck can be to moved away from the bridge at all. If so, it might be enough to allow the pickup and mounting ring to drop into/over the existing p/u route. If not, then a little bit of extra routing may be required to get the p/u to fit properly.

Apparently this is not an uncommon issue with some of the set neck kits, but completely workable. I encountered this with my PRS-1TS kit.

[PastaCaster]

So after not having much time to work on this build for a while I finally got around to doing few things this weekend.
I started by sanding out the pick up pockets as they were just a bit too tight for the pick ups to slide in freely.


I then went ahead and threw down a coat of primer on the neck and body.


Finally I went ahead and put the metal flake finish on the neck.




This will still need a lot of coats of clear as you can see where it's sinking into the gaps of the metal flake as it cures.
Not sure if I should wait for it to completely cure then sand and spray again or if I should just go over it with more coats of clear. Any advice on this?

[FrankenWashie]

oooooo Sparkle Sparkle! that's going to be a pig to get flat, but it's looking seriously cool! Nice job!

[Sonic Mountain]

If it's acrylic lacquer I'd probably just keep going with clears for while, if you sand back into the flake you'll get dull bits.

Once you have enough coverage, cut it back flat and then do a couple of finishing coats.

[JimC]

Can you spray a test piece and try different treatments on that? Id worry about sandi g sparkle too, but not based on any experience.

[Andy40]

I have never seen a sparkle like that!

[PastaCaster]

The neck has finally cured enough that I can handle it. It'll probably still need a couple of month before its completely hard and I am able to wet sand and polish which I hope will bring it to life a bit more as there's a couple of dull spots.

https://imgur.com/a/mdRMCbC

Will be starting the body this weekend and hopefully in a few months I can start assembly.

[Asphaltwings]

Very nice sparkle, mate. I was thinking of doing a sparkly purple bass for my next build, so I'm interested to see how this turns out when it's fully finished!

Did you just sprinkle the flake on by hand, or did you use something to get a more even spread of it?