Simon, thanks for the sage advice (no, not that Sage haha),
I will endeavor to do as you suggest.
McCreed, nice fretboard grain.....yes, noticed that today as I spent
some hours fiddling with the neck.
I have some Crimson Guitars Finishing Oil, a bit like Dingotone I suppose.
Might use that....anyone any other ideas ?
I know nothing about the Crimson Finishing Oil apart from what their website says. As for suggestions, it all depends on what look and feel you wish to achieve. Glossy, satin, natural? Any of those can be achieved with either poly or Tru Oil (and apparently the Crimson stuff).I have some Crimson Guitars Finishing Oil, a bit like Dingotone I suppose.
Might use that....anyone any other ideas ?
Making the world a better place; one guitar at a time...
Shuffling along slowly, I do like the top so that's a start haha.
Shaped the neck/heel join which looks better and belongs to the guitar.
Biggest issue was changing lacquer mid-stream.
The new one reacted with the old when I sprayed the neck. Bugger !
Had to scrape the neck back and re-do the staining, then re-lacquer.
Had a bit on the back as well but managed to get that sorted.
Lots of lacquer coats, sanding off etc.
Took the plunge today and glued the neck on.
No going back now.........
Bummer about the lacquer reaction.
I'm probably telling what you already know but, it's never a good idea to mix products without knowing their compatibility or at least doing thorough testing.
That said, a couple of years ago I had a full-on crinkle incident using two products from the same manufacturer that were allegedly compatible.
Nice clean lines on your binding all around. Looks sharp!
Making the world a better place; one guitar at a time...
Frustrating but fixable.
Not too much left to do now.
Thanks chaps for your comments.
Yes, I knew better than to change horses but I have found that the new lacquer is better, dries faster and harder.
Bought some replacement Pup mounts in metal but managed to bugger up the retaining screws.
The ones for my pups are 2.5mm x 30mm, all the others I have are 3mm - sighs.
The other thing I want a steer on is how to fill the small gap between the heel and body.
My idea was to use a mix of mahogany dust, some lightweight filler and mix it with stain and maybe a dibble of PVA.
Anyone any other ideas ?
Cheers and thanks for your help and encouragement.
If you have a 3mm tap, you can always tap it out for 3mm screws. Having two 'standard' screw sizes is a real PITA and it's caught me out before.
I often use a fine interior filler, and colour it with acrylic paint to match the stain as best I can, then fill the gap with that and wipe off the excess. It's never totally invisible, but you have to look hard to notice it. I find that slightly darker, rather than lighter, is better if you cant get it exactly right. Note that it will dry a slightly different colour than when wet, so worth mixing a small batch, letting a small test piece dry, whilst keeping the rest covered and wet, and see how well it matches when dry and adjust accordingly.
But basically anything that fills the gap and is the right colour should do. The clear coat will help keep it in place.
Thanks Simon for your advice.
I did have a 3mm tap from my aero-modelling days at Greenham Common (as was) but
blowed if I can find it.
Found some 2.5 mm brass screws on ebay but they don't fit very well.
Only a fiver but more money down the drain (grits teeth again).
Mixed some lightweight filler and crimson stain for the neck joint, reasonably happy with that.
Put it all to one side to concentrate on the finish.
Several coats of lacquer, leave for a few days then worked through the grits.
Got to 10000 grit today but only because I had some haha.
I can smell the solvent again slightly after sanding so I will leave it to cure
for a few days before the rubbing compound and polishing nonsense.
Then it will be tackle the hardware time.
I really like this guitar, the shape and feel in the hands is rather a joy.
Pics attached..the top colour is more like the close-up image, the full guitar image is rather orange
and not representative of the colour.
Once polished I will do some proper colour corrected images on a camera, not a bloody mobile phone haha.
It's looking very good.
The longer you can hold off the polishing, the better it will be. Also best not to do it in the hottest part of the day, as the warmer it is, the softer the finish will be and won't polish as well.
I'd suggest an early morning session, after enough cups of tea/coffee to get you fully with it.
Simon, thanks for your comments again, it is what I had in mind.
Leave for a few days until it gets cooler and then have a go.
Some years ago we had a 60 foot narrowboat which I repainted by hand.
I did it in a floating dock under a large plastic cloche affair, rather how they grow veg these days.
I had a 90 minute window from about 7 am until it got too hot and then the paint went off so
quickly that it was difficult to lay off adjoining edges.
Most of each day was spent prepping for that window the following morning.
Looked good when I had finished though.
Many thanks, FB.
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