blue thinline

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22
here are a few pictures showing some progress that i have been making with a new thinline project.  i got the body unfinished from warmoth on the screaming deals section as sort of an impulse buy... you know the deal...

i wanted it blue... but not completely blue.  i opted to keep the back (ash) fairly natural.  I used mahogany colored grain filler from stew mac to fill the grain and tint the ash a bit.  i was determined to get a royal blue top with a wipe on dye.  i really dislike aqua/teal like colors, and i guess from what i have seen it is hard to get a nice blue (i went through 4 different dyes to finally find one i really liked)  i also like the look of natural binding, so i figured i would try that too. 

in the first pic i taped off the maple cap so that when i grain filled i didnt tint the edges that would later become the natural binding.  the second pic is the partially sanded back mahogany grain filler.  i initially wanted to keep it more brown so this is where i stopped on some applications of grain fill, but then i really got critical and wanted a more even color, so i ended up sanding all the way back to a more even tinted ash color (i will show later).  in the next pic i finished filling the ash (took me 4 times to get it done well) and have moved on to taping off what will be the natural binding.  as you can see i didnt place tape where i wanted binding, i taped off everything else so that i could spray nitro to seal it up so that any dye i would wipe on would not sink in...  at least that is what reranch suggested (i think).  it helped to some extent.  i gave it like 3 coats of nitro then like 24+ hours of relaxing before i taped off the binding itself.  finally, i chose an aniline dye soluble in alcohol.  i made a darker solution using 3 parts alcohol and 1 part acetone with the LMII aniline blue.  i would later sand this back and re-dye with a more dilute mixture to make the flame jump a bit more. 

i will post more later (i am actually a bit further than this stage)... i might also include the test maple showing the different colors of blue dye i tried out.  i know i had a hard time picking one and then when i got it i found out that it was more a teal color and i hated it... 
 
THAT's the way to make an entrance! Nice work so far, please keep us posted. Great color.
 
Welcome!

That's an awesome shade of blue!  :headbang:

All these blues guitars are making me crazy....must have one....
 
thanks for the encouraging comments...

here are more pics as promised... both are after an application of sand and sealer...  i will finish my 3rd can of nitro in the next few days with a few level coats to get that uber shine.  maybe i went overboard with that stuff.  i guess then it does the big hang and wait for like ever until the nitro sets up for good.  i guess this is a good time to order up a neck.  i was thinking ebony on wenge, no markers, 59' contour.  maybe that is too heavy?  any thoughts?  i have a warmoth indian rosewood now on an alder strat and i love it, but wow that thing is really heavy.  i would worry about the balance with the semi hollow thinline.

oh, i plan on a light colored pickguard... white at first but i am toying with the idea of making a curly maple pg myself with a bandsaw and a mill or a dremel using a warmoth pg as a template then finish it with clear nitro.  anyone ever tried that out?  i have seen other guards that are wood but the up charge is far beyond what i would pay and i havent found one for a thinline.


 
i thought i would also post some pictures of all the blue dyes i used on a test board before i went with the aniline dye from LMI.

in the first pic from left to right we have the reanch blue dye in ethanol, then the stewmac color tone blue in ethanol, then the LMI MEK dye in, obviously MEK, then the LMI aniline in 75/25 EtOH/acetone.  you can see there are actually 2 more samples after that, but those are the LMI and the stewmac again, but sanded back and redyed (hastily done).  the stewmac dye is a little flatter than the LMI one was, but was probably a more true blue.  the LMI was almost purple-ish.  the second photo is the same board, just the reverse view.  you can get a better shot of the reranch blue at the very end. 

i should also note that the dye on the thinline has ever so slightly started to green out in lighter places.  it looks very striking in person.  i have also sanded the coats of clear i have applied flat and sprayed 4 more very thin, very flat coats.  now i just have to wait............

 
Looks like you nailed the right shade of blue.  Nice planning and testing, this is going to be a great guitar!
 
halfintegerspin said:
oh, i plan on a light colored pickguard... white at first but i am toying with the idea of making a curly maple pg myself with a bandsaw and a mill or a dremel using a warmoth pg as a template then finish it with clear nitro.  anyone ever tried that out?  i have seen other guards that are wood but the up charge is far beyond what i would pay and i havent found one for a thinline.

doooo ittttt!!  That project is looking hot, and a wood pickguard would be fricken sweet.  Excellent job dude!
 
Caution about wood pickguards.

They tend to shrink over time. Make sure the wood is very seasoned to avoid radical shrinkage.
 
This guy makes some pretty guards:
http://www.woodguarden.com/Home_Page.php

(click "photos"...) He sells some on Ebay for $28 - $36, so they're not way out.
 
it is now shiny... i did sorta mess up the f-hole with the polishing compound... i guess i didnt coat that edge with nitro so well.  i need to sand that back and redye maybe?  maybe go natural?  any thoughts?  is there any easy way to sand that space anyways?  i tried the pen trick and it was so so, but still not great.
 
Very cool.... :icon_thumright:  Nitro is fun stuff, and shines like a diamond.....I'd just scuff up that inside edge with maybe some 220 and redye it .... :dontknow:
 
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