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Thread: And So It Begins - Build Thread - Strat

  1. #61
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
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    Conway, Arkansas
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    Update:
    We decided to use what dyes and finishes we had on-hand or locally available. Just trying to keep our cost down is all.
    Chuck's guitar body is Transtint Dark Vintage Maple and his walnut laminated neck is simply clear coat. Clear finish coat is polyurethane. The finishing on his guitar has started. My neck is clear gloss poly as well but laminated with the Arkansas Black Cherry. Today I applied the color to my guitar body (no pic of it yet) and I used a Transfast Brown Mahogany dye on it. I had several different dyes on-hand and just chose something that I thought we'd both be happy with. And so....the finishing part begins.

    My guitar neck.
    20150524_213404_web.jpg

    Chuck's guitar neck.
    20150524_213339_web.jpg

    Chuck's guitar body.
    20150524_213312_web.jpg

    20150524_213252_web.jpg

    So....that's where we stand at this time.

    OH.....and BTW.....I've already ordered the hardware and electronics for the coming Telecaster build.
    Thanks & Happy Wood Chips,
    Dennis -
    Get the Benefits of Being an SMC Contributor..!
    ....DEBT is nothing more than yesterday's spending taken from tomorrow's income.

  2. #62
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    Well...call me a big dummy for even trying it.....but I tried polyurethane on the guitar bodies. When it came to wet sanding.....I found what I had always read about....ghost lines due to breaking through a single layer of finish to the next layer of finish. Sooooooooo.....I sanded it all off of my guitar body and I will recolor and then clear coat with gloss lacquer.

    This is Dennis....kicking himself...over and over and over and over........
    Thanks & Happy Wood Chips,
    Dennis -
    Get the Benefits of Being an SMC Contributor..!
    ....DEBT is nothing more than yesterday's spending taken from tomorrow's income.

  3. #63
    I don't recall specifically telling you so, but I'm sure someone else told you so...LOL. I've made worse messes than that.

  4. #64
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    The layers showing up is called gassing. Each layer has a coating of microscopic bubbles that show up when you sand through them.

    This is what is bad about polyurethane varnishes. You cannot rub them.

  5. #65
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    Quote Originally Posted by george wilson View Post
    This is what is bad about polyurethane varnishes. You cannot rub them.
    Darn, hate it when I find out that stuff I've been doing for 30 years doesn't work. Maybe I'm not rubbing hard enough.

  6. #66
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    Quote Originally Posted by roger wiegand View Post
    Darn, hate it when I find out that stuff I've been doing for 30 years doesn't work. Maybe I'm not rubbing hard enough.
    So how does one fix the ghost lines/layers that are there when previous layers are sanded through? Inquiring minds want to know.
    Thanks & Happy Wood Chips,
    Dennis -
    Get the Benefits of Being an SMC Contributor..!
    ....DEBT is nothing more than yesterday's spending taken from tomorrow's income.

  7. #67
    You can't sand through. That's why catalyzed finishes are used in production, and are applied THICK.

  8. #68
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    I didn't mean you literally can't rub poly finishes. But,if you rub through the layers,you get those "topographic" lines caused by gassing.

    Personally,I don't care for the looks of poly finishes. They just do not have the warmth and depth of nitrocellulose lacquer finishes.

    Only 30 years? You are a babe in the woods,Roger.

  9. #69
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    Not so much a babe, it took me 15 years before I tried it for the first time. Still plenty to learn though, especially when it comes to instruments.

    Yes, if I sand through I apply another coat and try again. The instruments I've built have actually all been done with nitrocellulose lacquer. I started doing rubbed out polyurethane on pieces where I needed much better protection (e.g. tabletops) but didn't want the plastic look of polyurethane off the brush. I use 0000 steel wool for relatively matte finishes (followed by wax), pumice, rottenstone and automotive buffing compounds for more sheen. Working by hand and relatively gently I haven't experienced polishing through layers. With sandpaper yes.

  10. #70
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    Quote Originally Posted by roger wiegand View Post
    Not so much a babe, it took me 15 years before I tried it for the first time. Still plenty to learn though, especially when it comes to instruments.

    Yes, if I sand through I apply another coat and try again. The instruments I've built have actually all been done with nitrocellulose lacquer. I started doing rubbed out polyurethane on pieces where I needed much better protection (e.g. tabletops) but didn't want the plastic look of polyurethane off the brush. I use 0000 steel wool for relatively matte finishes (followed by wax), pumice, rottenstone and automotive buffing compounds for more sheen. Working by hand and relatively gently I haven't experienced polishing through layers. With sandpaper yes.
    So.....If I can through....I can just apply another coat on top of that and buff that layer when dry?
    Thanks & Happy Wood Chips,
    Dennis -
    Get the Benefits of Being an SMC Contributor..!
    ....DEBT is nothing more than yesterday's spending taken from tomorrow's income.

  11. #71
    If you can lay that top coat on flat so it requires minimal to no leveling. It's not well suited to high gloss guitar finishing. Usually, when you stray from nitro lacquer or shellac you move towards a catalyzed finish that can be applied thicker to alleviate sanding through during leveling. Some idiot, a long time ago, decided that guitars should have incredible finishes that rival the best of the best custom car finish. Look at the factory finish on your automobile really closely some day. You'll see waves...you'll see orange peel. As nice as it is, it would be rejected out of hand on a guitar, even a cheap one. I have a bottom of the barrel home shopping network Estebahn acoustic here (don't ask why) that has a finish any hot rod builder would kill for.

    That makes lots of finishes poorly suited for guitar work, not because they're bad finishes, but because it's difficult to achieve that sort of perfection if you're going for a gloss look.

  12. #72
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    Do you guys know that the original Volkswagen Beetle had a rubbed finish?

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