Clear to Purple Flame Strat

[croquet hoop]

Since the body is coming in this week, it's time to start working on the other parts. For reference, here is a (bad) mockup of what the thing should look like :

The neck arrived a few weeks ago (pictures are here), as did the neck inserts (from OnyxForge), so let's start with that.

My vise was not wide enough to hold the neck, so I had to do it freehand. Not the recommended way to do it, but it worked, despite the tendency of the neck to roll under the pressure of the drill bit. I practised on a cheap neck before I did this one.

Next, a bit of candle wax to lubricate the inserts.

Done, and cleaned. They were really easy to fit in (I bought the corresponding drill bit from OnyxForge to be sure the holes were the right size), so I was not afraid of cracking the inserts (they are zinc, not stainless steel), but they do not feel loose either.

A test with 9V batteries to simulate the thickness of the body; the screw heads fall right in the beveled holes of the plate, I guess that means everything is straight.

Then let's finish the neck. It was lightly sanded with 400 grit, dusted off and wiped with naphta. I'll be using thinned tru-oil wiped with coffee filters. Around 8 coats, no more than 3 coats a day.

 

[bagman67]

In re your Tru-Oil storage jar:


There's a lot of air in that container.  The stuff may start to cure in the container and form a skin.  I have had good luck using the stuff un-thinned, straight from the bottle.  I pierce the foil seal and just squirt a little on the coffee filter.  Then I store the bottle upside down when it's not in use.

 

[croquet hoop]

You are entirely right. When I opened the contained, which had not been open for a dozen days, there was a solidified film on the surface. I was not too bothered as I managed to remove it without leaving any residues in the oil, but I wondered if was remained liquid was just as good as when i mixed it, or if the quality was altered somehow...

 

[croquet hoop]

Actually, it takes no more than a few hours for the thing to begin to solidify; after I first removed the film, I put on the first coat of TO, then waited four hours; at this point, a film had already began to form again, but as it was not as solid it began to dissolve and leave goo-ey residue in the oil.

Long story short, I'll follow your advise and use oil straight from the bottle.

 

[croquet hoop]

I was wondering: the TO be rubbed with steel wool every few coats and in the end, but how so? Shall I just rub the neck lightly, or rub it until there are no shining spots left (as when levelling lacquer) ?

 

[bagman67]

I used 000 synthetic steel wool (the gray stuff, not the white), and just gave it a once-over-lightly.

 

[croquet hoop]

Got it, thanks!

 

[croquet hoop]

Small update. Still working on the neck, only 3 coats so far; I had not much time lately and I prefer not to rush the job. After the 3 coats I rubbed the neck with steel wool, but it left lots of residue along the frets — which I seated with a hammer before beginning to work with tru-oil, so the steel wool does not get under the frets, but still it's a pain in the butt to clean. Unfortunately, I don't have any synthetic steel wool around, and no shop sells it in my area. I have some polishing papers on hand, so I'll try to use that for the next scuff sanding. I don't think I'll ever use regular steel wool again, it almost always end up in a mess.

The good thing is, after three coats the neck already looks great, I think I'll go for a gloss finish; and it still feels fast, not one bit sticky, even before rubbing it with steel wool.

 

[Bullets]

Hi,

I've experienced the same problem with Steel Wool on this case, it's easy to use on the other part of the neck where there's no obstacles but the problem is the dust that stay just between the fret and the fingerboard wich oxydizes in my case after few more coats. I've to sand it back and restart to build coat, i've use 800,1200,1500 sandpaper after this experience and it work like a charm.
The result :

Nice body, these Violet Sunburst is very classy.

 

[bagman67]

I use the 3M synthetic steel wool pads  - 000 (light gray) for between coats and 0000 (white) for a final rub.  Much cleaner than real steel wool.


http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=3m+synthetic+steel+wool&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3A3m+synthetic+steel+wool

 

[croquet hoop]

Yep, that is pretty much everyone's choice, but I have had no luck finding them around here (in France). Also, I am surprised that stewmac does not sell them — maybe because they are so easy to find in the US?

Anyway, I have sanded back the fingerboard, so let's start again.

 

[bagman67]

Norton Abrasives is a subdivision of Saint-Gobain, a French company.  They manufacture some non-woven synthetic steel wool pads.


Maybe this site can provide some info that will point you to a distributor:


http://www.saint-gobain-abrasives.com/

 

[croquet hoop]

Thanks a lot, I'll look into this.

 

[croquet hoop]

I think I am nearing the end on the neck, but there are rather visible streaks on the fingerboard, because the tru-oil did not flow very well. I have switched back to using thinned TO on this area, hoping that the additional thin coats will smooth out the surface, do you think this it likely to "bury" the streaks in the finish, or to make them disappear? Or will I have to do some sanding to even out the surface?

 

[bagman67]

I suspect you have some sanding in your future if you want a truly uniform finish.  Tru-oil, unlike lacquer, does not melt when fresh coats are applied. 


However:  You may be fortunate enough to mitigate the unevenness of the finish by simply applying more coats, well thinned.  Can't hurt, and if that doesn't solve the problem, you will have built up more finish, making the sanding operation less risky.

 

[croquet hoop]

That's more or less what I expected, thanks Given the result on the back and on the headstock, I think it will be worth the extra work!

 

[croquet hoop]

Small update. I have postponed the sanding work for fear of ruining everything. But it does not look so bad. As usual, it is hard to capture the subtle figure on the fingerboard (it really pops on the back, though), and the light does not really help:

I am really pleased with the color of the maple, the oil gives it a warm tint, but it does not look yellowish, nor "aged". Here you can see the "problem" on the fingerboard (streaks in the reflections), where I wiped the oil with the finger — I had the impression that it did not quite reach the edge of the frets when I applied it with a filter, so I reverted back to the finger method, which produced the streaks. I don't know what I was thinking about, I know I should have applied the oil, and then wiped. Maybe sanding a bit to level the finish, then wiping one or two coats of thinned TO with a filter will be enough.

 

[croquet hoop]

Update! After waiting a few days for the TO to fully cure I started to sand back the neck, beginning with the most annoying — the fingerboard. Since it had time to dry properly it was not the sticky mess I dreaded.

I used 400 grit 3M sandpaper and various sizes of rubber blocks — soft enough to follow the shape of the fingerboard with little pressure, but still hard enough to avoid irregularities.

I'm not sanding the thing back to the wood (I thought I might do it when I found back these pictures of Tonar's treatment of maple neck but at this point it will be easier to carry on with the TO), but I'll try another way to apply the oil. With the hope it will yield the expected results this time 

 

[jmavl]

To make the figuring 'pop', apply tung oil-- as many coats as it takes until the wood stops absorbing-- probably 3 with maple.  Let the neck cure a few days.  Then begin applying your TO.  To keep the coats level, I LIGHTLY wet sand with 1500 after every third coat.  This is important because, as someone pointed out earlier, subsequent coats of TO do not 'melt' into previous coats-- TO is essentially boiled linseed oil with hardeners added.  So, each coat of TO is a new layer.  The most important thing to remember with TO is apply in thin layers, building the finish gradually.  You can apply a couple coats daily.  After your final TO application (I'd do 9 to 12), allow to dry a couple days, then polish with MacGuire's automotive polish-- NON-ABRASIVE.

Of course, you'd need to sand back to bare wood for the process above.  Should be beautiful either way-- you'll be more critical of your work than anyone else will be.

 

[alterbridgefan]

Love it.