demonx

I can tell you, yours is not USA made. It's Japanese, but the best years of the imports. They were closely based on the USA models and super high quality as opposed to the cheap **** imports of the later years. See how it says "Rich" down the headstock? Only even appeared on the very early imports. Heres a link with more info: http://mcs.acidpit.org/showthread.php?18323-BCR-Bible-Import-Guitars-%28non-USA%29

Since we're discussing paint etc, I've been working on a couple customer guitars, basically just a repair and respray. First one is a vintage BC Rich Warlock, Japan made. Has been stripped and resprayed before but they'd made a mess. The bevels had been made wonky and rounded, there ws some dodgy repair work. The neck had some splits in it where the grain had opened up. It gennerally needs some TLC. This is how it arrived to me. Owner tried to start a resto and put it in the too hard basket: Same owner also wants this vintage Mockingbird fixed and sprayed. He's had this one since the 80's and has tried to mod it in the past. THis is how it arrived to me: First of all I stripped both of them back. The warlock I filled the splits with west systems epoxy and also used the same epoxy all over the whole guitar as a grain filler. Its been sanded back and is waiting for a day when I'm spraying clear coats. The Mockingbird I stripped back and used a polly stopper to get some shape back into the body and to fill the didgy repairs that had been done in cheapo fibreglass bondo. The poly stopper is a product I had laying around from doing body work on a Corvette. Its a bondo, but its made different so it has an element of flex to work with the fibreglass car. So unlike normal car bondo which will move, crack, fall out etc, this poly stopper should work and move with the wood and stay in place forever undesturbed. I then sealed the entire body with the west systems epoxy in hope that all the repairs will be invisable in the long run. Mockingbird currently looks like this after a few coats of Autothane (PPG's trade range) high solids automotive primer.:

I'm liking the binding on only one side. Could be a good idea to use as a frame where theres colored grain highlights on only one side of the board or something like that.

As far as norton paper. I have used lots of the stuff and the best thing about it is I don't use it anymore! I found the norton (compared to a professional type paper) gave a crap finished surface, didn't last as long on my sander, as in the grip was wearing out before the grit did. So it's just not very good value for money. I was buying norton from bunnings (basically australias junk shop for tools) but swapped over to Makita paper from a decent tool shop and since then have swapped over to even better paper from a specialist place. Can't remember the make. That's for my random orbital paper. My rolls I buy from an automotive paint store.

I always have an airhose close by doing that type of sanding to blow out both the sandpaper and the surface. Also use it when wet sanding to quickly dry the surface as wiping it off just smears. If I airhose it dry then wipe the dry mess off it's much quicker and easier to see what I'm working with

For me the decision was a close call between Crow and sdshirtman In the end I have to say I voted sdshirtman, even though you nearly lost me on the body and headstock cuts, the finish, colors and overall execution were enough to pull it over the line for my vote. Love the coloring, very very classy.

I was using 120 and 320, I dont bother to buy anything in the 200 range anymore. I was also dry sanding. I can understand wet sanding it would be neater as it removes the waste and helps reduce clogging, but for the purpose of hacking it back I'd rather keep to dry than wet sanding. Especially as this is only as grain fill and sealing stage, so theres a high change of sandthru, where I would not want anything touching the timber. Caruth scraper is what I've been told to buy. I just searched the stewmac site and its the same thing as the ultimate scraper you mentioned.

A decent scraper would have been quite handy. I'll be adding one to my next stewmac order. In the past I've never needed a scraper larger than a razor blade for anything so I've never bothered to buy one. I can tell you that the epoxy really clogs up the sandpaper. I went through plenty whilst block sanding this one flat.

To bring things up to speed, after letting it hang and harden right up for a week I sanded the first epoxy coat back to wood with 120 grit with a random orbital and by hand in the tricky bits, then smoothed it somewhat with 320 grit again with the random orbital. Then I re epoxied using my hands again with nitrile gloves on. After hanging for yet another week I hand sanded the entire thing with 320 grit. As its epoxy I've used as a sealer and primer on this one I am leaving it at 320 to allow the clear coat more sdhesion. I'm still experimenting with this epoxy product and seeing what it is and isnt capable of, but I have a gut feeling that if I level it much more than 320 then de lamination of the clear coat risk is increased. Besides, the clear coat fills the 320 scratches quite nicely. After the sanding and before the spraying, I Prepsol'd the entire guitar. Prepsol is a special wax and grease remover by PPG for use during the paint process. For anyone who has never used prepsol, its important to use, yet if you dont wipe it all off, then your paint can delaminate, as if you leave an invisable film of prepsol on the surface then your clear coat adhesion is hindered. I once spoke to a spray painter who was painting a commercial aircraft where the apprentice prep guy didnt wipe any of the prepsol off properly. An entire aircraft had to be sanded and resprayed! This is a clear coat I started trialling last year and I've been using it since. It's meant to be a top shelf European product as opposed to the USA and Australian brands I usually use. Once I adjusted to the different way it sprays I've been getting great results from it. The first of the final session of two clear coats:

If we are then I'm out cause I cannot afford ****!

I know everyone here is a builder and if you are anything like me simply do not buy guitars anymore as you would just make something similar, however: If you were not a builder and knowing everything you know now would buy a guitar, what would you get? For me, I'd probably look at - DAEMONESS RAN Years ago I'd have simply said BC Rich or MCS, but my tastes have changed a fair bit since being influenced by those brands. Daemoness seems to be building some great looking instruments and every time I see one of the new Ran "Crusher" builds it blows me away.

A lot of the time a blow with an air hose at high pressure can fix this. Clean out the grain. Usually it's just the saw dust in the grains from the other woods (if its what I'm imagining).

Bugger...

Sounds like our Australian prices.

You keep buying them and then in a few years when you find an awesome one the rest of us will go with it!

Well I love working with QLD maple, so it definitely shouldn't be an issue then. Cheers

Scott: it'll be clear only. The customer wanted a burst on it, I said NO! With grits, it depends on the timbers and how they react. I just work with it according to how it's treating me on the day, but most if the time I'll go 40 or 80, 120, 320, then through the first paint stages 320, then 600 then after final clears straight to wet sanding with 2000 and 3000

Looking good Shad. I'm liking the back better than the front, but I've always like Black Limba

Now that this guitar is all said and done, how do you feel about the use of the Celery Top in the neck? Do you feel it was too soft or do you fell it was hard enough? By the book it should be ok, but its at the lower scale of ok not the higher scale of definite. My reason for asking is I've just bought a plank of it with intent on making a 3 piece Celery top neck with some Tassy Black wings.

I wont be changing the frets any time soon. Started the paint process today. Sanded the whole guitar down with 80 grit to smooth outy any file marks or rough carving marks etc. Basically just a tidy up. Followed this with a 120 and then 320 sand to remove the previous grit scratches. Followed by an intensive airhose to remove all dust. I then hung the guitar on a rack and mixed up some west System Epoxy which I rubbed all over the entire guitar by hand whilst wearing Nitrile gloves. I'll leave it for a few days, sand and repeat this process to fill all the pores in these African timbers.

Great work so far!

Guitar looks great. The Blackhawks just sound like EMG 81's but a tad better, so if you dont like EMG's, well... But if you do like EMG's, then the blackhawks will appeal.

This is Don, a friend of mine (and fellow project guitar member) who I'll be teaching everything I know so he can help me out - if he sticks at it. Here he is sanding the first carve top he's ever attempted. Turned out great. While he was working on that and the next top he carved, I was doing fiddly stuff like drilling holes for "glow in the dark" side dots:

It's not just the trem thats blue!

Sounds good, but then would also require a change over of all templates! Even more work!