Sta-1ht

[sackrace]

Hi All,

Starting this for my first build, I'm looking to do a hardtail strat. I've always loved Billy Corgan and I've also fallen in love with fender seafoam and surf green finishes, so I've thought what the hell.

Adam was kind enough to let me swap in a maple fretboard, Grovers, and I've picked City Limits pups as an upgrade for now as I'm sure as hell not springing for Lace sensors when I'm not sure I'll even be able to pull this off.

Not much action right now but I thought I'd start the thread as my first constructive action.

One piece of advice I'd like if anyone wants to weigh in is the finish. I really like the Wudtone Surfer Girl pics on their website and I've seen a tele finished in it that I loved (http://www.pitbullguitars.com/wp-con...er-2-of-16.jpg). I've also seen a strat finished in it in the galleries here (http://pitbullguitars.com/wp-content...Girl-Front.jpg) and the two look quite different to me. I'd prefer to end up with a finish like the tele if possible, anyone have tips?

I've also looked at the rattle can fender style paints from sydney guitar setups but I can't go past the Surfer girl for now if I can get it right.

Cheers!

[FrankenWashie]

Hi Sackrace, welcome aboard!

[Simon Barden]

Hi and welcome.

A lot will depend on the body wood as to how the finish turns out. Even with the same stain/finish kit, two different bodies can end up looking very different. And also the lighting present and white balance setting of the camera used willa ffect the colour displayed in the photos.

The Tele looks like an ash body with some deep dark figuring, whilst the Strat looks like a far less figured example. The colour of the wood is also going to have an effect on the final finish colour. If you do a Google for "Wudtone Surfer Girl", and look at the images it finds, you do get a whole range of hues from green to blue. Different batches of Wudtone may also give you slightly different colours as well.

Wudtone list various finish options with no highlights, or gold or silver highlights. Satin and gloss options are also going to look a bit different. So you can start to understand why pics of different guitars show substantial colour variations. Unless you do spray the guitar a solid colour (using the same spray colour and supplier as someone else) with many coats so the underlying wood colour has no affect on the final paint colour, you'll never get exactly the same finish as someone else got.

[sackrace]

Thanks for the replies gents. I'll start with sanding and worry about the finish when I've got that done.

[Fretworn]

Welcome Sackrace. I would warn you that Surfer Girl was a bit notorious for being a bit inconsistent in how it stained. Some parts of the wood will become green and some other parts of the wood may resist the stain. If you are after the classic Jeff Beck Strat look you may need to go for a rattle can finish.

[sackrace]

I've gone damn the torpedos and have ordered surfer girl. Hopefully I don't run into the issue you're warning me about, didn't read Fretworn's post till after I'd bought it.

Progress to date is that the body and the neck have been sanded, yet to cut the headstock and sand that however.

Another question, when finishing the neck do you also sand and finish the heel of the guitar?

Thanks to everyone for the guidance!

[Simon Barden]

Unless there's a problem with the neck fit in the pocket, generally leave the heel area that fits in the pocket alone. Light sanding only to remove any loose wood fibres. You can sand the transition area from curved neck to square heel if you feel you want to round the edges off a bit more for better upper fret access feel, but stop just before the point where the heel sits in the pocket.

[sackrace]

Hi all,
Been a bit quiet so but finally got around to some time with the kit and I thought I'd update.
Results are mixed, I'm not sure if I've stuffed up or am delighted yet.
Stain has gone on one coat, I mixed it heavy on the green and light on the white. I'm liking how it looks on mostly but there are definitely some areas that aren't taking the stain as well.
Which brings me to my mistake, I sanded fine, grain filled and sanded again before staining. I imagine if I can't stain it well that may well be why.
Having said that I really wanted a transparent finish rather than something closer to a solid nitro style surf green. So who knows.
Pic- https://photos.app.goo.gl/61j3GzEvUabBDWd98 forgive the URL I'm having trouble embedding the pic.
So at this point I'm going to slather it on thick and dark and then see if it comes in even and dark.

[sackrace]

Hi all,
Update, with the third coat on things are starting to look a lot better. Won't be confused with a pro job, definitely still a few thinner spots or spots where the finish is a bit caked on over the unstained wood below, but from a distance it's starting to look pretty good. I'll take some pics when I'm working on it tomorrow.
Would be a perfect candidate for a relic job given it's starting life as less than perfect from the get go.

[sackrace]

Hi all,
Been a while since I posted, but here's an update.
Body and neck finished, joined, bridge and tuners mounted, now I just have to replace the pick ups on the pickguard and then wire in the jack.
Unfortunately the jack provided broke while test fitting as it didn't quite fit, so that will hold me up replacing it but I could use a break anyway.
The neck has come up really well apart from a few witness marks from shaping the headstock. The body hasn't finished that well, parts I love but parts are a bit bare. I sealed it too soon, so total mistake on my part. One coat prior to sealing would have done the trick I reckon, lesson learned for next time.

https://imgur.com/a/kAQBBoG
https://imgur.com/5SFzGKA

Cheers!