This project has been on the back burner for a while, but I've recently had a chance to pore fill with timbermate, and set the neck. It's a much better fit now.
This project has been on the back burner for a while, but I've recently had a chance to pore fill with timbermate, and set the neck. It's a much better fit now.
+1 lk;sadjfklsjdf sdfkjsd'lkfj'SF jfDFLdfOriginally Posted by Bakersdozen
Making the world a better place; one guitar at a time...
I've been slowly making progress on this build, but it has been a great opportunity to learn from mistakes. It was on the back burner for a while as I learnt how to spray paint on some loudspeakers (they actually came out OK, at least from a distance.)
I filled the pores with timbermate slurry, and sanded back to get the body nice and flat. Then I sprayed a coat of primer/filler, and sanded that back. At this point I realised that I hadn't got the timbermate as flat as I thought, but hey, it was nice and flat after the primer. I sprayed another coat of primer just to make sure, and sanded that back, at which point I realised that the first coat of primer wasn't as flat as I thought. Anyway, having sanded the second coat back it was nice and flat, so I sprayed a coat of black (actually a few coats - I'm using phrozin's method.) At this point, I realised that the second coat of primer wasn't as flat as I thought. I also found I had quite a few "inclusions" in the black, so I need to up my cleaning game, and make sure I filter the paint into the gun.
Anyway, I have sanded the black back now, and it's pretty good, though not perfect. I'm going to shoot another coat of black before I start with the clear.
In the meantime, I watched the Stew Mac binding scraping video, and armed with my newfound skill, took a blade to the binding. That's another reason why I need to shoot another coat of black. I have also made a binding scraper and bought some pin striping tape - it seems that regular (blue) masking tape shrinks when it gets lacquer on it, which is OK on the bouts, but not so much on the waist and cutaway.
I don't know I have a "perfect" finish job in me. I've only been spraying with a gun for couple of years (3 or 4 guitars-worth) and whilst I have gotten more confident, I've yet to achieve perfection. However I've been vastly more satisfied with the results than I used to get with rattle cans.Anyway, I have sanded the black back now, and it's pretty good, though not perfect.
Did you do the split wooden dowel & bolt trick???...I have also made a binding scraper...
Making the world a better place; one guitar at a time...
There's obviously a great deal of skill involved in a really good finish, and that's largely a skill that I'm yet to acquire! I'm working on the basis that sandpaper is my friend, and even if the finish goes on rough, if I can sand it flat, I'm in reasonably good shape. I think getting the binding looking nice and clean will be the big challenge with this build.
Having the speakers to practice on was a great help - just to get into a routine with setup and cleanup got me comfortable with spray sessions. They're quite big speakers as well, so there was plenty of coverage required, and opportunity to practice my technique. My poor old (new) rather undersized compressor could hardly keep up, even with my mini gun @ 20 psi.
I did, having read a few threads on here about peoples' struggles with binding. It's funny how the Stew Mac video makes it look so trivially easy. The first time I tried it (without tool) I got a nice clean line, but completely overshot the binding and had a couple of mm of clean wood showing. I am finding that it's very difficult to get the binding clean - sanding it seems to make it "smeary".
More progress on this, even if it is two steps forward, and very nearly two steps back. I have the binding scraped well enough, so I've moved onto the clear coat. Unfortunately the lacquer went on very powdery yesterday, presumably because it was too warm (mid 20s?) so I've given that a light sand back. Is there a way to deal with warmer temperatures, i.e. can I just think the lacquer more?
IME, mid-20's isn't too warm (unless it's also stupid humidity - in which the result would be cloudiness). Most lacquers I've used recommend between 18-25° C with max 50% humidity. I find 20-24° just about perfect with reasonably low humidity.
I would suggest (with a disclaimer that I am NOT an expert spray painter here) that your fluid flow is too low, or your air mix is too high. Maybe a more experienced sprayer will have better input.
Making the world a better place; one guitar at a time...
Without knowing exactly how you've set things up, its very hard to say what to do.
The spray needs to go on wet, so the gun shouldn't be too far from the surface. The further away you are, the more time the solvent in the finish has to dry on the way from the gun to the surface.
The lacquer may need to be thinned more, as if it's too viscous, it won't flow well and so you end up with less lacquer being sprayed, so it doesn't go on wet.
I tend to drop the air pressure until I've got just enough to give a decent spray. More pressure gives a stronger spray, but you also waste a lot more lacquer as it bounces off and doesn't stick. I'd turn it up a bit if doing a sunburst edge, as I'd want the gun further away and want to encourage a lot of fine particles at the edge of the spray cone, bit otherwise I find a lower pressure works best for me.
What sized nozzle have you got on your spray gun?
Good point about spray distance Simon. I had that same problem when I was spraying with rattle cans. I think it was for fear of laying it on too wet.
Making the world a better place; one guitar at a time...
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