First build - TL-1TH

[jugglindan]

So I have an early 90s MIA G&L Climax that I love (apart from the floyd rose that I have totally blocked). The goal with this guitar is to build something sonically very different to the G&L. Hence humbuckers instead of single coils (OK, the G&L has a Dimarzio PAF in the bridge, but I rarely use it), semi-hollow, and rosewood instead of maple fingerboard.

I haven't had time to do a full mock build yet, but have checked for obvious flaws, missing parts, and the fit of the neck into the body.

Based on my reading here, I plan on a solid body colour using Duplicolor Sky Blue (picked up 2 cans today from Repco for just $5.95 on clearance), and will finish that with either SCA or Septone clear coat. I think the white pearloid pickguard will be great with the blue.

My first question is about what goes under the duplicolor. Is a grain filler recommended? I have read somewhere here that Timbermate may not work well under this type of finish. Does anyone have any experience with something that does work well under acrylic lacquer like Duplicolor? I have read of Duplicolor Filler Primer being used, which makes sense from a compatibility perspective, and the specs say it is suitable for wood. Thoughts? Experiences?

For the neck, I haven't decided between raw wood, wipe-on poly satin over a stain, or Tru-oil. I am going for a classic look somewhere in the region of a lake placid blue thinline deluxe. I plan on keeping things simple with a 72 thinline headstock shape.

Finally (for now), what do people do with the binding while sanding? Should I be trying to avoid sanding the binding? Or masking it while sanding? Or does it not matter if I sand over it?

DC

[jugglindan]

Also, what is the purpose or origin of this hole under where the bridge will go? Should I just fill it and sand flat?


Neck fit looks good to me:


Neck plate holes are not quite aligned:

While I could ignore this since it is close, would it be better to fill and drill new holes to get the plate square? Maybe I will test if there is enough wiggle-room to get the plate lined up with the existing holes.

[Sonic Mountain]

That hole under the bridge is for your earth wire - pretty important it stays there. The slightly misaligned holes are on the neck plate are very common. Personally I would ream out the holes to be slightly wider and allow the screws to easily slip through. Then you can make sure the holes in the neck square everything up. It's not necessary for the screws to bite into the body wood, it's all about overall clamping force. Normally if you just tighten the screws progressively in a cross pattern it squares up OK.

I've used Dupliclour and other Acrylic lacquer systems (septone, SCA) with a lot of success in the past. I prime, hi fill, sand then colours followed by stacks of clear to allow you to cut it back flat and polish to a mirror finish.

For natural/ stained finishes I've used Feast Watson stains and Cabots exterior ploy and also had very good results.

People will recommend sanding sealer and timber mate as pre finishing fillers, and I'm sure they work fine, but I've never bothered, especially with bass wood. The key is getting good coverage and giving what ever finish you use lots of time to properly hardern before cutting back.

[Sonic Mountain]

Oh and binding can be sanded, but I'd probably tape it to protect it. You are bound to get some finish on it and need to scrape it anyway, but some careful taping can greatly reduce how ardous this task is. Stain has a habit of getting into fine cracks where the binding goes around tight curves as well, so worth trying to keep it off as much as possible. You can scrap it with a razor blade before clearing over everything and it will look great.

[Sonic Mountain]

Here's a blue tele I did using Duplicolor and SCA primers/clear

https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...?t=8005&page=5

[jugglindan]

Earth wire, doh! When I rewired my G&L I ran the earth to the underside of the bridge since the Floyd is accessible inside the cavity. Completely overlooked the need to reach the bridge. On that basis, the hole is fine but I will drill it out a little more since it's somewhat small.

Also, your blue tele is pretty much exactly the finish I am aiming for. I will read the whole thread for tips!

I don't know hi-fill, is it likely to be similar to the duplicolor filler-primer? That's easier to obtain and promises to combine the grain fill with primer.

[Sonic Mountain]

Yep it’s a spray filler, any of those that you’d get at Supercheap or wherever are fine. Just the regular primer works well too, that’s all I used on the blue Tele. It’s mostly for imperfection filling, paint sticks pretty good to wood as it’s so porous, but the primer will give you a nice flat surface for the top coats to adhere to. The key ingredients are patience and prep. Sanding, dust removal before spraying and letting each coat dry really well before any sanding or recoating will give you the best results.

[Simon Barden]

Only dry sand filler or primer. Wet sand once you get to gloss.

[jugglindan]

Another finish prep question...

I have been reading phrozin's guide, and I will be using SCA filler-primer, Duplicolor sky blue, and SCA clear. Phrozin also mentions using a grain filler prior to the primer, specifically either epoxy or CA. I don't want to use either of those due to toxicity concerns, but I have also read here reports of Timbermate shrinking when used under duplicolor. Are there any other options to consider? Or has anyone gone straight from well-sanded basswood to filler-primer without a grain filler?

[Sonic Mountain]

Yeah as I said above, I have never used a grain filler. That response was a bit light on detail as I was on my phone.

The SCA stuff will work fine. The key is letting it fully harden before sanding back.

If you rush it a couple of months down the track you'll get 'sink back' and be able to see the grain in the paint finish. Like a lot of things in guitar building there is more than one way to skin a cat, you'll only find out what you prefer by having a go. Phrozin gets great finishes and his advice is very worthwhile.

For me I would sand up to about 320grit on the body, but start with a lower grit and make sure all the curves flow nicely. If you really look at the raw kit bodies you can see the transition between curves isn't always as nice as it could be. Once you've got it shaped nicely and sanded to 320, sand it again . For the flat areas use a big flat block and work in a cross hatch intially before finishing by sanding with the grain. This will help you get it nice and flat. If you have a look in this thread it shows how I use a guide coat to make sure everything is nice and flat:

https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...?t=9001&page=2

That's also one of my best and most flawless finishes, so worth checking out the whole thread.

Next step primer and or primer filler. I'm not sure the filler version is strictly necessary, but it won't hurt to use. The first coat will make the grain all stand up and it will look furry - don't worry , that's good, it means the pain is 'wicking' into the wood. I'd 2 two applications of 3 or four light coats and sand to 400-600 grit in between. After you've done the last application let it dry at least a week. Putting a fan on it is a good idea to evacuate the thinner vapours from the surface and speed things up. You should be able to press your nose right up to the surface and not be able to smell the paint. If you can, it's still outgassing and you should leave it. Then do a sand up to around 800 grit.

When ever you sand before you respray, wipe everything over with a Tack Cloth (available at the big green shed) to remove any dust. These days I also spray some Prepwash (available at SCA) and wipe it over with a lint free cloth before tack clothing. This gets rid of any dust or finger prints.

For your colour coats, same as above, basically follow the can instructions, but generally, 3 light coats with a few minutes in between each. One application should be enough, but I usually end up doing 2 to get it all nice and even.

Then a light knock back with 1500 and clear coats. Lots of clear coats. Build them up slowly over a period of a couple of weeks. You can do a knockback part way through if you want to flatten it a bit more or if you get drips. Any drips or sags will have a longer drying time - let them get nice and hard and they can be fixed no worries. As above, if you can smell the paint, its not cured.

I normally end up using a whole 400g can of clear (although for that black one above I just used the colour and built that up)

This one was red stain, followed by black stain followed by 2 cans of SCA clear - nothing else

https://www.buildyourownguitar.com.a...t=8121&page=10

After the clear has hardened you need to wet sand being EXTREMELY careful not to get too much water in any screw holes or other areas of unfinished wood. The wood will swell and crack the finish. I normally have a towel handy and my air compressor to sand then quickly wipe off and blow dry. You can also plug holes with tooth picks.

Use a flat block on the flat areas and wet sand up to 2000 grit. It should look evenly dull with no major scratches. Then I use machine cutting compound and an electric buffer. I normally tape any hard edges at this point as its easy to cut through in those area. the edges and corners will buff up fine in the later stages, the machine cutting compound is mainly for the flat areas. 2 or three applications usually, followed by liquid cut and polish, then something like Meguiars Scratch X to get rid of final swirls. The last Scratch X application I use those little foam application and buffing pads - they work really well.