Recent content by VibratingElectrons

COMPLETE!! Once the finishes had cured, I did the final wet-sanding/polishing and then put it all together and set it up. I am ecstatic about how it came together. I blew past my goal of it being under 7lbs (it came out to 5lbs 13.5oz!), and it plays beautifully. The pickups sound fantastic...

I thought others might find this interesting. The celluloid 'Yellow Tortoise' that Warmoth carries is a unique looking material. When I first got my pickguard and trem cover, I was a little disappointed by how dull and matte they looked. The material is also more translucent than I expected, and...

With the body and headstock curing, I turned my attention to wiring up the pickguard. I noticed that the celluloid was pretty translucent and I wanted to back it with something first. I read that a lot of people have used manila folders, but I thought copper tape might look better, and I had a...

I got the last coat on the body, and I'm really happy with how it turned out. I'm going to let it cure for a few weeks (as I mentioned earlier, I'm keeping it in a room that's at 70 degrees with low humidity, so cure-times should be pretty quick). I also burnished the back of the neck (up to...

Out of curiosity, what did you use for the decal on the headstock? It looks like you bought your neck pre-finished. Did you just burry it in more layers of nitro?

These last two regular coats (8 & 9) look nearly identical on camera, but I promise the surface is smoother when you hold it up to the light. I thinned the 10th coat 1:1 with odorless mineral spirits and applied it with a cotton rag. I think this increased the gloss significantly. I'm going to...

Thanks for the kind and helpful words! I don't know how interesting it is to see every coat, but I like seeing the progress with each one. You can see my reflection (especially the pink filters on my respirator) more clearly with each coat. 5th Coat. This was about 6 hours after the 4th coat...

Thank you! I'm glad I asked. I will avoid sanding the final coat then. Is it worth using a polishing compound at the end? I know those have micro-abrasives in them, so it may not be a good idea. How about for the nitro-coated headstock? Thanks again for any/all advice.

Here's the 4th coat of tru-oil. It's starting to look a little more glossy now, which is great. I'm planning on doing at least 7-8 more coats over the next 4 days or so. 4th Coat I also wanted to get a little more shine on the celluloid pickguard. I should have taken a before-pic, but it was...

I'm a total neophyte when it comes to finishing. I'm working my way through the coats on a body finished in tru-oil and a headstock finished in clear nitro right now, but I'm thinking about how to put the final sheen on them once done. After a long cure time (~10 days in a low humidity space)...

In the last two days, I got a second and third coat of tru-oil on the body. Both of these were base/grain-filling coats, so I wet sanded (with tru-oil as the lubricant) them in with 600-grit. There's not a ton of difference between the two pictures, but on the 3rd coat, you can see a bit more...

Well, everything you read about roasted woods darkening is true! Here's the body with one coat of Tru-Oil. I'm really happy with how it's looking.

Here's my little build journal. I ordered a ⅞ strat body in extra-light weight roasted swamp ash and a roasted maple 7/8 warhead neck The goal of this build is to hopefully end up with a strat at 7lbs or less. I had the body routed for a Wilkinson bridge and opted for the contoured heel. Other...

Thanks for the response! 1) That was my first thought. This pickguard doesn't appear to have plastic film on it - at least, not one that's easily removable. There doesn't seem to be any film lifting at the edges, and no amount of working with a thumbnail seems to raise any. This is the first...

Just arrived. I am very happy with how it looks. I'm going to be doing a Tru-Oil finish on the body and leave the neck raw (other than burnishing the back and using some clear nitro on the headstock to bury a decal). A few questions for those more knowledgable than myself: 1) How should I go...