new life to this old strat... my next project

[DangerousR6]

 

[Vallhagen]

Brother, when you restart this project, I'll be here waiting to see how it turns out.

Still patiently waiting ?

Well i'm back. Sort of! And the progress is rolling. The neck all finnished: Burnished and oiled (it is "boiled lind-seed" in english, right), and the peghead is yellow, as the guitar body. I also had a good friend with luthier skills to do some necessary fretwork, so its all brand-new feel. Good thing to have the fairly small area of the peghead to play with, when getting into the spray-painting-n-wetsanding-n-polishing thing. It turned out pretty much as expected/hoped for.

Right now i am wetsanding the body with 400 grit, to follow is sanding in some steps down to 4000 (maybe its overkill, 2000 is enough(?), but the store carried 4000 so i thought "why not"...), and then polishing. Hopefully i will be happy with how it turns out, trying to aim for some "good enough" result.

It was hard to get here, i've seen comments about swamp ash being a bit of a challenge to work with, and i do agree. First i used grain filler on bare wood (i think i followed the instructions from stewmac correctly, though some might recommend a layer of paint/primer first?),  then level sand. repeat. I actually used the whole can of grainfiller. then i started the spray-painting process. A few layers of white first, and more level sanding (which turned out necessary). Then layers of yellow, more levelsanding, and then finally a few layers of clearcoat. And... now im here wet-sanding, as said

I also got a new cool red pick-guard, and two single coils (from oil city pickups), which together with the old OBL 900XL will make a HSS setup. And to match the tremolo system, i found some anodized blue tuning machines (Sperzel)... I gave it a thought; when all this is done, the only original remaining part will be the neck plate and screws. And maybe the input jack (if i dont replace that too) and the tone pots...

As always: excuse the poor picture quality!

Cheers!

 

[fdesalvo]

I forgot about this.  Really cool updates!

 

[stratamania]

Good progress. Finishing is / can be a slow process.

 

[BigSteve22]

I forgot about this thread too. Looking good, keep us posted.

 

[DocNrock]

Looking great!

 

[Vallhagen]

Thanx guys!

...not much has happened since the last post, but some more sanding. At this working pace - an hour yesterday, an hour today - I think the body will be finished during upcoming weekend. And then only assembly and adjustment remains

Lesson learned: It was a good thing to start sanding on the body backside... if something goes wrong it is - after all - just the backside. And at one sport I accidently sanded through the clear coat. I will leave it as is and live with it, but for the body top I didn't start sanding with 400, but with 600 grit. It took a little longer time, but gave better results after the first round.

Cheerio!

 

[Vallhagen]

Ha! Too many colors, and more to come

Cheers

 

[Cagey]

Lesson learned: It was a good thing to start sanding on the body backside... if something goes wrong it is - after all - just the backside. And at one sport I accidently sanded through the clear coat. I will leave it as is and live with it, but for the body top I didn't start sanding with 400, but with 600 grit. It took a little longer time, but gave better results after the first round.

One of the lessons I learned about finish sanding is to stay away from the edges. Oddly enough, as hard as you try, you'll still get near them and that's enough to level them out. If you find that they're not quite done as much as you'd like when it seems like it's time to start buffing/polishing, a little hand work - and I mean very little - takes care of it. Even if it doesn't feel like it, there's a helluva lot more pressure at the edges so the paper cuts a lot faster. You chances of burning through the clear coat go way up.

Also, before you even get to the finish sanding phase, realize you need about twice as many clear coats as seems sensible. Guys try to get away with 3 or 4 coats of clear, and that'll never work out. Try 8 or 10. The stuff is wicked thin. The best tutorial I've ever read is at the LMII site. Follow that recipe, and you should get very good results.

 

[Vallhagen]

Thanx for good advice, Cagey.

And yes, the edges are a bit of a dilemma. I don't know if this strat shape is harder or easier to finnish than - say - an SG, because of its rounded contours. I mean, there is really no sharp edges at all, except for the neck joint and tremolo routing.

About painting/clearcoat; it should be said that this is not Nitrocellulose laquer, though I guess the finishing process is similar. I don't know the chemistry in the spray cans (I've tried to read up on the subject but is still a bit confuzed), but the brand/name is Belton Spectral (if it says something?) for the yellow. The clear coat spray is in a harder "2K" quality (and shall be "polishable"). I don't remember how many layers of clear I put on; I simply kept spraying til I had emptied the bottle. More layers on the top than the back, and definitely more than 4 layers . 

Cheers

 

[Cagey]

I don't know if any shape, Strat or otherwise, is easier to finish sand. They all make me say things those with sensitive ears shouldn't be around to hear. I do know I hate carved tops. Those things are enough to piss off a saint.

That Belton Spectral stuff is lacquer. I don't have any experience with their product. But, in general, lacquer goes on very thin. Most of it is vehicle/reducer and maybe some retarder that boils off pretty fast - almost as you shoot it. Then, if you're shooting the stuff out of rattle cans, you've got a goodly amount of propellant in there as well. So, while it looks like you bought 24 ounces of paint, what you actually bought is probably only 3 or 4 ounces of covering. The rest of the contents are there just to get the solids on with the balance dissipated to the atmosphere where it can terrorize the nefarious and overly-sensitive tree huggers. So, a can of clear is nothing. You need 4 or 5 at least, probably more. Makes you wanna buy a compressor and spray gun, as that tool will pay for itself pretty fast.

 

[Vallhagen]

That Belton Spectral stuff is lacquer.

Funny, I had no idea... And here I have been searching allover the (web-)shops to find a YELLOW nitro lacquer spray-can without success. ... while having it at the store just a block from home all the time. I thought I was compromising. I have used this brand - Belton - quite a lot spraying my aluminium stompboxes. But I haven't bothered to wetsand and polish them, just clear coat and that's it.  An example:

... as you say it, I guess the idea of getting that spray gun can be backed up with economy arguments too... though this time I had to try rattle cans.

Cheers

 

[Cagey]

Well, rattle cans are certainly convenient. But, they are pricey and you don't get much material for the money.

You may want to consider getting an HVLP spray rig. They don't have much overspray so you don't waste much material, and the material itself ends up costing you a helluva lot less. I use a unit from Earlex...

You can get that one for less than $300 at Home Depot. If you're going to shoot lacquer, you'll probably want to buy a finer needle valve - the 1mm part works well. I think the thing comes with a 2mm valve, which is good for shooting latex, oil-based paints or gorilla snot.

It's a fun toy. You can get excellent results from it, and it's small enough that you can stash it just about anywhere. Very easy to clean, and no need for a massive compressor or anything. If you figure the average nitro paint job runs $300+, it'll pay for itself on the first job, less materials.

 

[Vallhagen]

Looks like a sweet tool indeed.

I had to check around a bit; The local hardware store sells the Bosch PFS series. Actually even cheaper, but looks more "plastic". Any experience? Bosch tools are generally good stuff.

 

[Cagey]

Hmmm. Dunno. I'm a huge fan of Bosch tools, too, but wIthout having used one of those units I can't really say much about them. My first impression is that it looks cheap, but appearances can be deceiving. I also wonder about the weight of thing, but that may not be an issue when painting something as small as a guitar body. I gotta think it would wear you out if you were doing walls/ceilings/etc. Of course, the Earlex unit isn't exactly flyweight, either.

From the videos and reviews I read, it seems most people are using it to do construction-type work such as walls/ceilings/etc., with some doing a bit of rough furniture/cabinetry. I didn't get anything about shooting fine finishes. Nobody finish sands/buffs/polishes walls and whatnot, so it's tough to say how good a finish it puts down. If it's too orange peeled, you could end up having to apply a half gallon of lacquer to get a couple ounces of finish, what with all the sanding between coats.

 

[Vallhagen]

Right. Seems like we shared similar first impressions. And i'm not all sure what specification is important to look for. Flow-rate, power, etc. You mentioned the 2 mm vs the 1 mm valve. Might be worth checking if it is replaceable on the Bosch.

Also ... maybe ... : All those fence-ceiling-walls-painting videos might be caused by marketing purposes. I see advertising flyers all aimed at the hobby-home-constructor marketing segment... just as electrified screwdrivers became the Christmas gift of the year(!) here in Sweden, back in 1996.

 

[Cagey]

The valve is replaceable on the Bosch, but they don't tell you precise sizing. They use relative words like "fine" and "medium". Doesn't really tell you anything. But, I know when you're shooting lacquer, the stuff is really thin (low viscosity) so you don't want to blow too much at once. That's a recipe for sags and runs, which will ruin your day. Even the 1mm part I use has to be handled with care.

As for other specs, I'm not sure how to quantify them. HVLP is an acronym for High Volume, Low Pressure, so when you try to compare the numbers to a typical spray rig, they look outrageous. For instance, a typical spray rig you might run at 3 or 4 CFM @ 35psi or so. With an HVLP unit, those number are sorta inverted. For instance, the Earlex unit blows roughly 40 CFM at about 4 psi. In use, it's very much like shop vac running in reverse. There's no compressor, per se, it's a turbine blower running non-stop. No storage tank.

Just as an aside, that's an argument for using a traditional spray rig - the need for a compressor. That's a handy thing to have around. You can run air tools, inflate tires, blow dirt around, scare the cat, etc. Problem is, you need one of a respectable size to get the flow rates you need, and you need some good air conditioning parts to make sure you don't blow oil/water/kukka into your finish. I'd recommend at least a 2hp unit with at least a 20 gallon tank, and that's the bottom of the list. Bigger is better.

 

[Cagey]

Also ... maybe ... : All those fence-ceiling-walls-painting videos might be caused by marketing purposes. I see advertising flyers all aimed at the hobby-home-constructor marketing segment... just as electrified screwdrivers became the Christmas gift of the year(!) here in Sweden, back in 1996.

Could be. I know one of my buddies bought a big HVLP unit for just that sort of thing, and it works like a champ. We painted the basement ceiling in the woodshop in no time flat, where the only other option would have been to do it with a brush and would've taken forever plus two weeks due to all the nooks and crannies and pipes and wires and ductwork and light fixtures and, and, and. With the sprayer, you just hosed it all down with paint and called it a love story.

Word of warning, though - wear protective clothing, and lots of it, including facemasks, eyewear, hair covering, etc. Poor Ernie looked like Frosty the Snowman for several days after that job because he didn't consider that even with low overspray, there's still a lotta paint in the air looking for a new home  :laughing7:

 

[Vallhagen]

... i visited the hardware store, and they did recommend me to NOT buy a Bosch. Say, they confirmed above thoughts^^, the mentioned Bosch stuff is mainly for fast painting of walls etc. And also - not for lacquer.

I am however a bit cought by the HVLP idea now... call it GAS maybe. And i got your Earlex recommendation. I am tempted to buy something from a closer source than overseas (US, Canada) though... it shouldnt be impossible. Ill keep searching

Cheers

 

[bagman67]

Harbor Freight makes an HVLP setup analogous in features to the Earlex at a third the price, if you want to roll the dice:


http://www.harborfreight.com/high-volume-low-pressure-spray-gun-kit-44677.html