A family matter.

[ozzbike]

I have an order from a family member to build a Telecaster to play live....on stage. Now that is some pressure....phew.

I have ordered a PBG DTL-1 kit....

https://www.pitbullguitars.com/shop/...ican-ash-body/

Added to the kit....

ToneRider Vintage Plus Tele pickup set
1 x Treble bleed circuit
Upgrade to Grover Locking tuners (chrome)
1 x bone nut
1 x switchcraft jack socket
2 x CTS mini 250k pots

Real Parts:-

1 x Wilkinson Compensated 3 saddle ashtray bridge
1 x Gotoh Tele switch plate for US sized pots (chrome)
1 x Oak Grigsby 3 position lever switch
1 x Sprague Orange Drop 0.047 mfd capacitor
1 x set of 2 chrome dome top metal knobs with grub screws
1 x 3 way TOP HAT style Black Knob

E-Bay:-

1 x Navy Blue Angelus Dye
1 x Blue Angelus Dye
1 x Turquoise Angelus Dye.

Obviously a 3 colour Blue burst on the body, and seeing as the neck and fingerboard are listed as being flame maple, I think a timber mate coloured grain and natural clean finish on the neck and fingerboard.

The body will be Navy Blue on the sides and Back.....with the Blue feathered around the edges and Turquoise in the middle.

The ash grain should look great with that I think. Tru Oil does drop a little amber colour.....end result Green on Blue finishes. So maybe I will have to seal it up with Shellac first and then see if the Tru Oil can still pick up the grain....or just the Polyurethane. But the poly only really covers things...not much grain grabbing happening.

I have noticed that in my Iceman build....that wiping the Tru Oil on to the surface has completely spread the burst effect out....and it looks like it has gone.

A Blue Tele with a flame maple neck will be super cool.....maybe dribble a little Vintage Amber on the neck as well....hmmm.

EDIT:- Frankie that makes 6 underway now. It happens so quickly. Ha Ha Ha Ha....does Igor have a cousin???

[wazkelly]

Hi Ozzie,
Should look good with that colour scheme.

Suggest trying brushing 1st & 2nd coats of TO before starting with rag applications as that prevents dragging the stain finish all over the place. Wouldn't recommend TO over any blues if you want it to remain blue.

Cheers Waz

Sent from my Lenovo TB-7104F using Tapatalk

[ozzbike]

Hi Ozzie,
Should look good with that colour scheme.

Suggest trying brushing 1st & 2nd coats of TO before starting with rag applications as that prevents dragging the stain finish all over the place. Wouldn't recommend TO over any blues if you want it to remain blue.

Cheers Waz

Sent from my Lenovo TB-7104F using Tapatalk

I think the brush is a good idea. The rag has closed up the burst I had on the Iceman....it still looks great....but just not as yellow in the middle anymore.

I think with this one I will have to rely on the timbermate to pick up the grain and then the colours and a good sand back as it is solid wood not a veneer. No Tru Oil to make it green.

[XP Rider]

Can't wait to see this baby come to life.

[ozzbike]

Today I have received the three bottles of Angelus dyes, and the Real Parts order.

Nice to have the two suppliers close to me.

The PBG order has left W.A....nice time with no soaking rain...to get some others closer to finished.

I have been thinking about the neck...I think some timbermate to highlight the grain...then some vintage amber to get a pretend roasted maple finish and to provide some more depth to the flame that I won’t get this time due to no Tru-Oil.

I found two videos on You Tube about blue bursts that I like....I think the similar technique to the Nuclear Burst video will be good to use this time...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3ZYAOmA6ZI

I am looking at the Navy Blue on the back and sides. The blue around the edges on the top and Turquoise in the centre after a nice sand back....solid wood without veneer this time.

[grahamjohnston80]

I'm following this one with interest. Also about to start a Tele kit.

[Cliff Rogers]

Keen to see how the blue goes.

[jonwhitear]

Oz, I've recently built a DTL-1 as well, and it just happens to be blue. I also went with the Grovers and Wilkinson bridge, but got the Hot Classic Toneriders. This is my "go to" guitar at the moment - all the spank of a "Carry On" film, and more twang than my home-brew. I'm looking forward to following your build.

One thing to bear in mind is that they're fairly heavy - mine weighs in at about 4Kg. That doesn't bother me, as most of the time it's on my knee, but if yours is going to be played live a lot, you might want to think about weight relief.

I was really happy with the flame in the neck on mine. I used a very light/dilute Feast Watson Golden Teak stain, and finished with Tru Oil, which together brought the flame out very nicely. I wouldn't have thought Timbermate would have much effect on maple, as there's not much in the way of pores to fill. Why don't you want to use Tru Oil on yours?

The body, on the other hand, will be a great candidate for some Timbermate. The ash is really porous. I think I applied two or three coats of Ebony on mine, left to dry for a couple of days and then sanded back between coats, and still didn't end up with a completely level finish. I think it would take a lot of TO to level the finish out if you don't fill it first.

Are you doing a string through?

[ILRGuitars]

Just remember....No Tru Oil on Blue. It will turn green after a while.

[ozzbike]

I had a visit from the end user this weekend. I made her stand and play my Artist TC 59 and it was way too heavy for her.

So I have the Iceman under construction she likes it....and it is very light.

She also loved he hollow body Tele that is nearly finished. Not so keen on the big P90’s.

She is my grand daughter and we get on really well. She looked at the body of my FREE five string jazz bass...and the Iceman...and in one quick step found the issue with all my bursts finishes.

Not fixing the colours in place. I love the effect Tru Oil has on the figure in wood...but I forget that it grabs stains/dyes and moves them around....a lot.

Today we stained with water based stains an old pine chopping board....I cut it in half. She did one...I did the other. Mine had the better figure and grain...but the deeper/darker colour just took over and was pushed around over everything else when I put Tru oil on.

Hers was nearly flat with grain, but had a beautiful three colour burst that was stable and fixed by just spraying poly straight over the stain after it had dried.

I have a multi part question to you all:-

How do I grab and show the chatoyance of the grain and figure of the wood the way Tru Oil does, and keep the stains or dyes fixed in the places I have applied them? Can I spray Tru Oil? Can I get the same grain grabbing effect of Tru Oil through a spray sanding sealer like the Mohawk one from Australia Luthier Supplies and Guitar Australia? Will shellac spray on and act as a sanding sealer so I then can rub Tru Oil on to grab the grain? I want to lock up the colours without touching them....brushing would still move them around.

Because whilst my grand daughter did well with her burst....her grain was terribly flat. I still don’t find poly anything other than a liquid plastic bag....it just wraps around the wood.

I have spent a lot on cans of the cabots spray poly....and saw that the big green shed has it in 4 litre cans. I figure you can thin it with turps and I have a spray compressor etc. I love the robust nature and great finish I am getting from the poly over the Tru Oil. it just lights up like a piece of wood dipped in sparkling epoxy.

My idea is spray Tru oil to get the wood alive. The spray the poly to weatherproof and life proof the finish...both satin and gloss.

Much interest will be taken of any ideas.

P.S. No Tru Oil on this blue build...wonder if poly will also go green?