First guitar - TLA-1F

[Phoenix]

G'day guys,

I've finally gotten around to starting a build diary, despite not having done much thus far.

It's a TLA-1F kit and I will be finishing the top in wudtone surfer girl Green, while leaving the sides and back unstained and simply clear coated with wudtone. I've burned a Paisley type pattern around the edges that include some symbols of my travels, Aussie plants, and even some musical inspiration. I've also got a plan in mind for the head that mixes tele and strat shapes. Hard to describe so I guess I'll have to show you all once done.

The kit is a great fit, but arrived without a pick guard. So I'm waiting on that until I finalise measurements and do my drilling. That's also holding up the staining at this stage.

I also have some new inlay dots coming, and although I'm going to do my initial build with pitbull hardware, I think I'll trade out most of it for upgrades should the build come together as expected.

Has anyone here worked with wudtone before, if so any tips? Especially for the clear coating over the unstained sanded wood and burned sections?

Cheers

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[Fretworn]

Wudtone is pretty easy to use. And fairly intuitive. Follow the instructions and you won’t have issues. Surfer Girl can be a bit patchy though. Green and blues stains can be a bit unforgiving. The top coat will yellow the wood slightly, but not as much as Tru-oil.

Love what you’ve done with sides.

[jugglindan]

I have never used Wudtone so can't help with that. I just wanted to say that your artwork is amazing. It should look quite unique when the guitar is finished.

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[Phoenix]

Thanks fretworm. I figured it would be fairly simple, I've done a bit of reading up on it
Hopefully with enough coats I can get an even covering into the face of it. Hoping for a slight yellowing to give it a bit of age, as the wood is much whiter than the pictures show.

It doesn't say it explicitly in the instructions, but to do the clear coat on the back and sides, can I just apply the top coat that comes in the finishing kit directly to the wood? No other prep is needed?

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[Phoenix]

I have never used Wudtone so can't help with that. I just wanted to say that your artwork is amazing. It should look quite unique when the guitar is finished.

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Thanks mate. Had a fairly clear picture in my head. It's nice when it starts to come out as you planned. Still a long way to go though. I've got a custom white on cream Paisley pick guard on the way to tie it together, so fingers crossed it goes well.

To think that I never liked teles until about 3 months ago,now it's all I can think of!

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[Simon Barden]

Tasteful work.

[Phoenix]

Update, custom pick guard arrived, and I've just finished shaping it to fit the neck. Drilling and then staining to come later this week.

Also have green nz paua coming to replace those black fret dots.

While I'm waiting, I'm working on the head, following the mock up picture I attached below as a rough guide of what I hope to achieve.

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[JimC]

That's kinda cool... For a couple minutes I wondered if I should get a Paisley scratch plate like that for my Paisley JV tele, but it would be too much... This is going to be an interesting and different bit of kit.

[Phoenix]

That's kinda cool... For a couple minutes I wondered if I should get a Paisley scratch plate like that for my Paisley JV tele, but it would be too much... This is going to be an interesting and different bit of kit.

Thanks man. Yeah I'm hoping that once the paint is on and the hardware is all finished that it will all balance out. I want it to stand out and be unique. Won't be to everyone's taste though I wouldn't think, but I think it's funky. Which kit were you thinking to to put a Paisley guard on? In the flesh it's much more subtle, with a gold/cream design over white.

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[JimC]

This one. Think it would be too much of a good thing!