"Blue Heeler" Bondi Blue GR-SF1: Pt1 Aspirations, Procrastinations, and Consequences

[Honkenstein]

Intensification test area cont'd

Intensifier first coat. Goodbye, Blue Heeler. Hello, Silky Terrier. :{

[Honkenstein]

Looks a bit more Blue Rinse than Blue Heeler in those shots. Could darken up a bit more over time.

Hehe! Sounds like you're calling my old-man guitar an old woman with blue rinse hair!!! (gasp) You'd be justified in your assessment too.

[Honkenstein]

More Intense

Haha! Fooled myself again. Applied the second intensification (aka "bedarkening") coat the next afternoon instead of Fri/Sat. "Why would you do that, you impatient person?", you are compelled in your wisdom and experience to ask. Well, it's because ...

I had smeared such a thin layer for the first coat in order to (unsuccessfully) not destroy the Bondi Blue hue that it felt sufficiently dry/cured by midday the next day to add a second -- and I heartily propose a *final* -- intensifying coat. Needless to say, the Bondi Blue has vanished ... almost utterly. It's now certainly a *charcoal* guitar with a mysterious and barely discernable blue undertone.

Photos #20 - #24 show the 2nd intensifying coat's test and completed stages, but also a preview of some gold hardware sitting on top. I expect the finishing coats will improve the contrast with some timber gloss and depth. Have to wait and see.

Too Intense?

I don't think so. As the photos show, in indirect daylight the body's still rather grey instead of black. Indoors it will surely appear darker, and in intimate lighting of a gig maybe darker still. No, I don't do gigs. I have neither the skill nor the inclination to make a living "the hard way"!

I didn't put a second intensifier layer on the sides! It was deliberate too, in case you wondered. I'm hoping for some tonal contrast between top and sides and finisher coats to enhance this further. We'll eventually see if it turns out that way.

Subsequent to this is: Pt6 A Long Wait, First Finishings

[Guvna19]

Hi there, watching with interest. got me with your Blue Heeler hook

Take a look at my Blu Heeler JBA-4

https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...l=1#post157963


good luck with the build.
Regards
Guvna

[Honkenstein]

Hi there, watching with interest. got me with your Blue Heeler hook

Take a look at my Blu Heeler JBA-4

https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...l=1#post157963


good luck with the build.
Regards
Guvna

(exasperated gasp) Why doesn't *mine* look like that? Oh, yeah. DT blue.

Hi, Guvna

Thanks for sharing your build. Yes, I was hoping/expecting a blue such as yours. Now I know I'd need to use a different product. I don't really regret the way mine's turned out though. Black-ish was always high on my list of colours. I also feel that my first kit *should* be fraught with unknowns and whoopsies. Being a little lazy by nature, and preferring matte and natural finishes, I'll probably use DT for my next build as well. Even consider not staining it, though that'd be a hard temptation to pass up if the next is Strat or Tele based.

Your teal 'tar looks very nice, and I, like several others would like to further express my appreciation of the headstock decal. "Noice!"

Best regards
Grant

[Honkenstein]

Test areas with 2nd intensifying coat


Completed 2nd intensifying coats


Preview of gold hardware prior to clear finishing coats


Photos #25 - #29 here

[wazkelly]

The gold hardware will be your saviour on this build as that looks pretty good to me.

Not much blue colour left behind but what it has done makes it look like some aussie bush timber. I would encourage you to keep going with at least 1 more intensifier coat to build a bit more depth and shine.

Cheers, Waz

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

[wazkelly]

Builds rarely turn out the we initially plan and somtimes the end result can be a pleasant surprise.....glass half full approach.....

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

[Honkenstein]

The gold hardware will be your saviour on this build as that looks pretty good to me.

Not much blue colour left behind but what it has done makes it look like some aussie bush timber. I would encourage you to keep going with at least 1 more intensifier coat to build a bit more depth and shine.

Cheers, Waz

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

Thanks again, Waz. Talked me into it. Depth and shine are appealing. May as well use up the rest of the "squid ink in a bottle" too! I'll probably only coat the top but will likely get 2+ more coats with what's left. I'm not sure I'm prepared to go that dark though.

Still, I have to wait days between coats at this stage so there'll be plenty of time to reconsider.

Ta, mate. 8)
Grant

PS - Oh, my! Your TL-1AR GOTM entry and ES-1 Runner-up GOTM are beautiful! Some 40 TO coats on the TL. How much time did that take? (no need to tell) I used to have a Kalamazoo-made 1971(?) ES-355TD-SV. It was too beautiful and I was unworthy. My workmate and I "juggled" it between us. Basically, I bought it off him with the promise to sell it back to him when flush again. The first thing I really heard him play on it was a virtuosic rendition of Hendrix's Little Wing down at Brisbane's "Blue Note Bar" in the late 90's, still in his Blue groove prior to detouring into Jazz. I'd love to hear Ewan sing and play again. Died a couple of years back.

[Honkenstein]

Thanks again, Waz.
...
PS - Oh, my! Your TL-1AR GOTM entry and ES-1 Runner-up GOTM are beautiful! Some 40 TO coats on the TL. How much time did that take? (no need to tell) I used to have a Kalamazoo-made 1971(?) ES-355TD-SV. It was too beautiful and I was unworthy. My workmate and I "juggled" it between us. Basically, I bought it off him with the promise to sell it back to him when flush again. The first thing I really heard him play on it was a virtuosic rendition of Hendrix's Little Wing down at Brisbane's "Blue Note Bar" in the late 90's, still in his Blues groove prior to detouring into Jazz and Gypsy Swing/Jazz. I'd love to hear Ewan sing and play again. Died a couple of years back.

Here's a link to what may actually be my old guitar. Everything looks right. However, at the time it didn't have the tremolo arm, and the stereo was disabled (but a set of instructions left in the body cavity to instruct how to convert it back to stereo. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/124064205425

Another workmate borrowed it and marvelled at its unmuddied tones at higher gain. I see the price has gone up from the AUD $1700 I paid for it ...

The case's exterior condition looks right, but the interior lining looks less dark than mine. To own that guitar again ... (sigh)

... and that dark line running from the bridge pickup to the binding looks familiar! Tried to sell it on consignment at "Joe's Guitars and Retro" (or something like that) on the Sunshine Coast around about year 2000 for $3000, minus his 20% cut. Didn't sell. He gently chided me for not cleaning and shining the gold myself!