Marzocchi705 Posted August 17, 2005 Report Share Posted August 17, 2005 Oh my sweet jesus! That looks sweeeeet. Thats a really good job youve done there. Great work, or if im going to be a tiger GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREAAAAT work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n8rofwyo Posted August 17, 2005 Report Share Posted August 17, 2005 I can litterally count the leaves on your trees with that reflection! Beautiful job, man, just beautiful. Nate Robinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlGeeEater Posted August 17, 2005 Report Share Posted August 17, 2005 Stunning! You buffed that ALL by hand, or with polishing pads? Again, stunning job on it man. Just can't wait to see it assembled Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemleggat Posted August 17, 2005 Report Share Posted August 17, 2005 Thats amazing dave! Show the big companies how to get nitro flat and gleaming. Watch your pic count there btw 1 pic per post rule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted August 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 Thats amazing dave! Show the big companies how to get nitro flat and gleaming. Watch your pic count there btw 1 pic per post rule. ← Oop! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted August 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 I used a cordless drill for the Finesse It and Perfect It. I did the Glaze by hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay5 Posted August 18, 2005 Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 Damn man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jehle Posted August 18, 2005 Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 Dang, now this is a lesson in patience. Keep leveling and polishing until it's perfect. I'm mighty impressed with this one. It shines like a mirror. This is very inspiring! I'm looking forward to the finished build, but don't rush it. This one deserves to be done the right way it's so good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jer7440 Posted August 18, 2005 Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 Love that shine. Nice work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gun Posted August 18, 2005 Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 Amazing man... amazing You did a great job, that's a mirror, not a guitar top So you used nitro 50% thinned. A way too much also for me from what I did read. On labels it says 10% thinner but yours looks so awesome. I have to try it. 25 coats of lacquer, I guess that so thinned you needed a lot of coats on. The key is patience, you sprayed 10 coats, then you waited 20 days before the first level then the other coats and another 2 weeks?!?! for final polishing. A great self control man, but I see that it's worth the time. Whan you polished with 1000, you sanded down all shiny spots, when you switched to 1200 and other grits, what was the signal to change them? If you have no more shiny spots and the surface is all dull, when do you change from 1200 to 1500 and then 2000? This always perplex me!!! I haven't done so much polishing jobs and they turned good but not so great!!! Cheers again man!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted August 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 gun, As far as thinning goes, I've gotten mixed info here. The first 15 coats were thinned 2:1. Two parts laqcuer, one part thinner. That one part of thinner was actually 50% thinner and 50% retarder. Still, you can thin with retarder only if you wanted to. The last 10 coats were was 1:1 with the same split of thinner/retarder. Coming out of the gun, the thinner still had plenty of body and in all of those coats, I had two small runs. The runs were almost invisible and all but disappeared when that coat dried. As for the sanding and polishing goes... 1) The body MUST be leveled before even the sealer coats. Then level after the sealer. 2) I sprayed about 15 coats before sanding the clear. Nitro melts into the previous coat so I don't see the point in sanding after EVERY coat. 3) I did all my leveling (before the final sand and polish) with 400 grit paper and mineral spirits. Wet the paper with spirits and begin sanding. Use a block on the top and back. Every 15 - 20 strokes, I'd wipe the slurry off the guitar with a paper towel and examine the body. You're done when the shiny spots are gone and the entire surface looks absolutely uniform. Remember, if you can see any inconsistency in the body at this point, it will only be magnified later. 4) After the final clear coats were ready, I wet sanded/leveled starting with 1000 grit. Anything coarser has too much cut and is really unnecessary if you've leveled properly before. Again, you're looking for uniformity in the surface before moving on to 1200, 1500 and 2000. If you still see any scratches after sanding with a particular grit, go back to the previous grit. This is the key. If you don't have the discipline to do it over when necessary, you'll have problems later. 5) Lastly, I can't stress enough, how important it is that you have clean cotton rags to work with. I trapped some debris under my rag while buffing off the compound and created scratches. I had to go back to 2000 grit paper to take them out. These are all points that became important to me during this process. I'm sure I have alot to learn yet and others have had different experiences but this is what works for me. Good luck! Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ByronBlack Posted August 18, 2005 Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 Cud, this is a very inspirational thread, and I thank you for taking the time to explain the finishing process, its extremely useful to guy's like me. The finish you have got is wonderful, but to me the best part isn't the shine or mirror effect, but is the quality of the staining, to me the grain looks really sweet and the colour is a superb choice. It just goes to show that results come from patience and diligence - something i'll have to be disciplined to do, but nonetheless your guitar is going to be a very professional and inspirational looking instrument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gun Posted August 18, 2005 Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 (edited) Nitro melts into the previous coat so I don't see the point in sanding after EVERY coat. It is simple what I asked myself a lot of time For my current job I have to use poly. I don't know if I should sand after each coat or not. Any experience here guys? I seen you applyed sanding sealer, a lot of folks don't. They say the finish doesn't look deep so. But I see your is really deep!!! (Where's Drak ) Thanks for the clear reply. Edited August 18, 2005 by gun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammy Posted August 18, 2005 Report Share Posted August 18, 2005 Cud, please PLEASE put it together! I need to see it finished Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Sorbera Posted August 20, 2005 Report Share Posted August 20, 2005 Ar you having problems putting it together? If you are post with questions. We wanna see it done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gun Posted August 20, 2005 Report Share Posted August 20, 2005 Give him the time to fight versus the wiring scheme Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted August 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2005 I think I got the wiring scheme all figured out. It will be done this weekend. As it stands, the neck is on, the strap end pins are on (with little felt washers I made) and the volume and tone pots are in. Gonna wire up the pups next but I have to get 4 screws to direct mount them to the body with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted August 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2005 It's done folks. Here are some new pics. Please see the "Assembly" and "Complete" pages I just added. Thanks to all of you for following along, supporting me, providing valuable answers to my many questions and helping to build my confidence. I owe a debt of gratitude to you all. Thank you. Dave Frattaroli http://www.downinfrontht.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemleggat Posted August 23, 2005 Report Share Posted August 23, 2005 I am so glad you have completed her dave, whats it like to play? Did you do a good job of the fret leveling? I know what ill be voting for in GOTM. Watch the pic posting rules before a big bad mods comes and does it for ya?!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay5 Posted August 23, 2005 Report Share Posted August 23, 2005 Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!!! Thats awesome man, great job. Let me thank YOU for all the pics and the great webpage, Ive learned a lot. This thread is as good a tutorial as Ive ever seen, lets move it there and leave the pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n8rofwyo Posted August 23, 2005 Report Share Posted August 23, 2005 Great job Dave, I'd be lying if I said I didn't get any inspiration from this guitar. Absolutely beautiful work, and thank you for taking the time to document it all. Nate Robinson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
!!METAL MATT!! Posted August 23, 2005 Report Share Posted August 23, 2005 You know Man This Is So Cool!! Im really glade you took your time and did it right You worked hard on that guitar and It shows This Is The Kinda stuff that PG is About !!METAL MATT!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted August 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2005 Thanks all! The fret levelling seems to be pretty good. I haven't had any fretting out issues yet. The nut needs to be tweaked though. I may have cut the slots too deep but I can always shim or just cut a new one. Sorry about the pics. I keep forgetting. http://www.downinfrontht.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted August 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2005 http://www.downinfrontht.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted August 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2005 http://www.downinfrontht.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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