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Thread: Tele build countdown...

  1. #31
    Moderator fender3x's Avatar
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    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    My first tool of this type so I don't have much to compare to...but for the price they seen great.

  2. #32
    Moderator fender3x's Avatar
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    I don't know if this really counts as work on the guitar, since most of the work has been on my test board... Maybe more of a new coaster for my desk. I have pretty much decided to go with fairly traditional Tele colors. The neck will be just off natural with some blonde shellac for color under the clear coat. Body as in the paulownia board I have been experimenting with.

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    Since the neck and body colors are more or less traditional, and my plan is to use some nice, but normal Tele pickups and electronics, I decided to dress it up with not-very-standard pickguard. I think it will work. Sort of inspired by Prince's Mad-Cat tele, but with more blue ;-)

    The finish is new for me, but so far it seems the most idiot proof of anything I have tried. Famous last words. There are just three ingredients: General Finishes High Performance Top Coat (HPTC), garnet shellac, and PC Petrifier wood hardener. HPTC and PC Petrifier are both water based.

    HPTC is not particularly cheap, but the other two products are. An 8oz bottle of PC Petrifier is US$10 and will go for two or three guitars using it wastefully. Shellac from flakes is the cheapest finish I know. I applied the PC Petrifier with a 3M maroon sanding pad, it took about 6 coats to get the grain flat, but I figure that each coat was also making the surface harder. I don't think it's as good as epoxy wood hardeners, but it's cheaper, non-toxic and has very little odor. Using it with a sanding pad worked great for grain filling. I have not seen this done with either PC Petrifier or with a sanding sponge, but so far it is the best grain filling method I have used. And much cheaper than the Aqua Coat Clear that I have used up to now. It left the wood looking like it had a colorless finish.

    The shellac worked well over the top of the PC Petrifier. I tried shellac on bare wood and over the PC Petrifier, and got pretty much the same color result. Dye stain can get blotchy easily on paulownia, and it's hard to get a deep color when over a sealer. By contrast, the shellac was super easy to get a nice deep amber with. I usually use all water based finishes. You have to be careful, particularly if they are not fully cured, because the "next" product can reactivate the "last" product. That is particularly true when you apply both with a brush as I do. I didn't have to worry about that with shellac between the water-based hardener/sealer/grain filler and the water based top coat.

    I am sure that I can find a way to mess it up, but so far so good.


    Once I got the clear on I sanded flat with 220, but I did not spend a lot of time with the finer grits or polishing. Mostly this was a test of the finish and whether The grain fill worked well enough to get the finish flat...and to see how much the color would change. I am reasonably happy with how it came out.

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  4. #33
    Moderator Trevor Davies's Avatar
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    Preparation work for the guitar build definitely counts!

    The colour on the board looks great. And I love the pick guard. They should look very cool!
    Last edited by Trevor Davies; 15-05-2024 at 05:51 PM.
    PitBull Builds: FVB-4, LP-1SS, FBM-1, AG-2, TB-4, SSCM-1, TLA-1, TL-1TB, STA-1HT, DSCM-1 Truckster, ST-1, STA-1, MBM-1, MBM custom, GHR-1.

    Scratch Builds: Pine Explorer, Axe Bass, Mr Scary, Scratchy Tele's.

    The little voices in my head keep telling me "build more guitars"

  5. #34
    Moderator fender3x's Avatar
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    Thanks Trevor. Amazing what you can find on ebay ;-)

  6. #35
    Moderator fender3x's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Trevor Davies View Post
    Preparation work for the guitar build definitely counts!
    Click image for larger version. 

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    Ain't that the truth. My PC Petrifier-grain-fill approach is not a total bust. It got the grain mostly filled after 7 coats. After the first few coats there is a definite improvement. But the difference between coats 5 and 6 was minimal. I did one more coat, and added some paulownia saw dust to the last coat. I have another body and am planning a similar approach with it, but I will add saw dust with every coat on the next one. I do think it helped. But to get that last little bit of flatness, I decided to add a 4th ingredient to my the finish: AquaCoat. After the first coat I can see quite a bit of difference. I'll use at least one more full coat and report. I was hoping to get away from AquaCoat because it's pretty expensive. Still, whenever I do use it, I understand why people are willing to pay so much for it. Too soon to tell, but staring with PC-Petrifier to seal, harden, and at least partially fill, then use AquaCoat, may be a more cost effective way to use the AquaCoat. Both PC Petrifier and AquaCoat work well with shellac.... but then, what doesn't work well with shellac?

  7. #36
    Moderator fender3x's Avatar
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    I totally botched my first attempt at a garnet shellac finish. I have had very good luck with platina shellac, and my tests went well with scrap wood. I have heard that a shellac finish can be turned into a gooey mess. Now I understand what they mean. I got it very think in some places. Not nearly thick enough in others. All attempts to fix it made it worse... Finishing remains my nemesis. But I have mostly impatience to blame. I kept applying when I should have waited. Got the coats too thick. Didn't wait long enough between coats. I knew I was courting disaster... Fortunately, it's still shellac, so I was able to strip most of it easily just by using an old 3M sanding pad and some denatured alcohol. Now that it's back to a more or less even color, I will attempt a more careful application.

  8. #37
    Moderator Trevor Davies's Avatar
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    Bugger! I have not heard of shellac turning gooey. Good luck for you next attempt.
    PitBull Builds: FVB-4, LP-1SS, FBM-1, AG-2, TB-4, SSCM-1, TLA-1, TL-1TB, STA-1HT, DSCM-1 Truckster, ST-1, STA-1, MBM-1, MBM custom, GHR-1.

    Scratch Builds: Pine Explorer, Axe Bass, Mr Scary, Scratchy Tele's.

    The little voices in my head keep telling me "build more guitars"

  9. #38
    Moderator fender3x's Avatar
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    Never had a problem with it before, myself either. It may be that because the garnet is so much more pigmented you notice both unevenness and blotchiness more. I don't know that this is "garnet's" fault. I think the fault may be in my impatient attempt to fix it.

  10. #39
    Moderator fender3x's Avatar
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    Click image for larger version. 

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    2nd attempt at a garnet shellac finish. I think I have reached the point of diminishing returns, and will now move to clear coating.

    I don't think I'll use garnet shellac again for color. It's harder than I expected to get an even coat. When too thick it is not all that transparent. I don't hate it, but I think my next experiments will be with tinted platina.

    Still, this I am starting to feel that this could one day be a guitar ;-)

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    Last edited by fender3x; 11-07-2024 at 05:20 AM.

  11. #40
    Moderator Trevor Davies's Avatar
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    It looks great in the pictures.
    PitBull Builds: FVB-4, LP-1SS, FBM-1, AG-2, TB-4, SSCM-1, TLA-1, TL-1TB, STA-1HT, DSCM-1 Truckster, ST-1, STA-1, MBM-1, MBM custom, GHR-1.

    Scratch Builds: Pine Explorer, Axe Bass, Mr Scary, Scratchy Tele's.

    The little voices in my head keep telling me "build more guitars"

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