Quilt top Strat build - PRS Private Stock style "Frost Bite Glow" finish

Slow progress on that one.

After attempting a gloss lacquer on the front of the neck (using StewMac's lacquer), stripping it with acetone and re-doing it twice, I think I finally gave up and going for the usual wipe-on poly satin finish I normally use.
It won't make those red/pink pearl resin dots pop anywhere as much but it's still plenty good.

I did some lightfastness tests of the Fiebing's red dye and there is definitely fading showing up after 25 days of exposure to sunlight (taped to a window); although nowhere as bad as blue which was effectively all gone.

Comparatively a 1 tsp of alcohol with two drops of Keda Red gives a pink color but it's nowhere as crazy good looking and vibrant as Fiebing's leather dyes.
Might still experiment with Keda to see how good a red to pink fade would look but it's unlikely to look as exciting as with Fiebing's
 
This build is going to take a while as I'm not sure which color to go given the fading test of Fiebing's.
I also decided to use a different neck in any case, still to be ordered:  quilt maple veneer stained to match, ebony fingerboard, stained curly maple back but with satin finish.

Here's how Fiebing's looked after 25 days of these pieces taped to a window:
S6M01TI.jpg


The pink didn't show visible fading after 9 days (not shown) but definitely faded in the most diluted area after 25 days. It's still more vibrant than what I can get with Keda though.

The blue was drastically faded even after just 9 days (bottom left), and completely faded after 25 days (top left).

I just did couple tests pieces with Keda red (bottom) and Keda black (top) and re-doing the test to settle on a final color scheme.
I can't say I like how warm that Keda red looks but it certainly has a more natural look to it than the ultra vibrant Fiebing's red in the middle.
I'll wait 3-4 weeks to see how much each piece fades:
eJTrWix.jpg


If the black one holds up I will be tempted to do a PRS-style Frostbite glow stain like this:
247569B.jpg

 
DieterDeux said:
That's super cool. I wonder if this is something Warmoth would do for you off-menu? If you made the dots and shipped them to Warmoth, might they install them for you?

No, they will not accept any parts from outside, other than bridge posts I suppose. I contacted them to ask about sending them some green pearlite inlays that would have been perfect for my current build, but they weren't able to do it. I didn't want to try to replace them myself so I went with the arizona turqiose, which does look nice.
 
While I did order a new neck end of May I'm still waiting for it but it shouldn't take too long at this point: curly maple back, modern construction, quilted maple veneer, and ebony fingerboard.

And I'll be doing a Candy Pink Strat build with the earlier neck to match its pink/red resin dot inlays:
https://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=33315.0

Here's how the dyes look after 5+weeks of exposure to sunlight+daylight:
SoVPW8X.jpg

RsDKk1D.jpg

q0qX4li.jpg

uWr54X0.jpg


Keda black and red dyes held up extremely well, unsurprisingly.

The main difference is that the wood darkened from exposure to sunlight, and I can't tell for sure if the dyes actually faded at all or if I'm just seeing the impact of the darker/yellower wood.

Can't say this helps terribly to make up my mind as I still prefer the vibrancy of Fiebing's and would be willing to case the guitar (like PRS, for the same reason) when not being played.
 
Finally dyed the body more than a year after receiving it, and ended up dyeing it like PRS Private Stock' Frost Bite Glow finish.

I'm super thrilled with how it came out. Matching neck to be dyed soon as well.

This will be finished in gloss with the back and sides in black with white grain filler, and small smooth burst to blend the edges with the top.

Here's what I got (shown dry here):
oWf0iwA.jpg


And the time-lapse of the whole process:
[youtube]https://youtu.be/Pbde-fBpm14[/youtube]
 
I did dye the neck yesterday and it was a real pita.

The main problem is that even though it was ordered with the 5A up-charge both the headstock and bass side of the neck barely had poor figuring
Those areas tend to turn blotchy as a result. The treble side looks wonderful though:

EtVOyQN.jpg

RVurvJA.jpg


wdiSpD6.jpg

iQ74xdt.jpg



Even though I started doing a fade/gradient start dark at the heel and almost natural at the headstock I had to change plans in light of the subpar figuring.
I'm showing the best looking side here.

I might clear coat it myself but I'm also tempted to send it to Pat Wilkins for a pro finishing so he can burst a bit the sides of the neck and headstock/heel to mask the lack of figuring even further:
4UQvRRB.jpg

7hzIzrZ.jpg


 
Final tweak as I decided to brighten up the headstock again as originally planned, I think I'm to touching it further:
0PJHV1b.jpg
 
I dunno man.  I think it looks great both before and after the headstock tweak.  I would not be touching it any more.  Or yourself for that matter... :eek:
 
Mayfly said:
I dunno man.  I think it looks great both before and after the headstock tweak.  I would not be touching it any more.  Or yourself for that matter... :eek:
No promise about the latter but I'm definitely leaving the neck alone.
I'll probably let Pat Wilkins finish both.
 
Took a while as I had to have the body re-done  (burst missing the first time around and a few other minor issues) but it's now exactly what I was hoping for:
IKhJbEB.jpg

fqWbb9w.jpg


The neck is the one that ended up with a severe backbow, corrected after a few baking sessions, but still with a minor twist left from the trauma:
https://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=34066.0

It seemed perfectly playable when I quickly tried it after its 4th baking session so I'll give it a try first before ordering a new neck. The figuring is disappointing anyways on the treble side given the 5A up-charge:
XyA8nip.jpg

www0Qhp.jpg



I'd expect working on that one the next few weeks, still debating whether to use flat black or cosmo black for the parts.

 
BroccoliRob said:
lol the figure on THAT neck is disappointing????? how much mo' flame could it possibly have?

Yes, when you pay over $750 (no finish) for such a neck, and there is no strong figuring left on the treble side, it is in fact disappointing. That said what I'm seeing in the showcase as 'very high grade' flame maple tends to be far more disappointing.
 
Lmao, i think u and i are gonna have to agree to disagree on what 'strong figuring' means. imo if that thing had any more flame it would have self immolated before reaching u. i've seen worse nexks on $5k+ (short for five thousand us dollars or more) prs guitars

but #again, agree to disagree like when my friend todd said the earth was flat and i said "then why do we call it the atmosphere instead of the atmoflat?" and he decided to keep being an adorable dummy anyway

 
As always, spectacular work. That's a beautiful burst you have working there. You continue to lead the pack in beautiful finish work @Seb :)
 
BroccoliRob said:
Lmao, i think u and i are gonna have to agree to disagree on what 'strong figuring' means. imo if that thing had any more flame it would have self immolated before reaching u. i've seen worse nexks on $5k+ (short for five thousand us dollars or more) prs guitars

I appreciate your effort to make me more upbeat/cheerful about this one. I'd likely be doing the same if the roles were reversed.

It's as nice of a figuring as it gets, but on half the neck.

I too have seen worse figuring on some of those PRS, and yet I've also seen better figuring on just as many of them as well. Just as I've seen and owned much better figuring on other 5A necks from Warmoth and others.

By the way, your comparison isn't as unfair as you may think it was.
Those $5K PRS Core/Wood Library models are $3k once you remove the dealer's cut; since Warmoth sells direct $3k is a good comparison point.
A Warmoth build like this one, i.e. an easy flat top + thin laminate + bolt on design, is $2-2.5k for just the base parts w/o any cost for any assembly/fretwork/case/...
Add a 30-40% margin if someone wanted to make a business selling those and that PRS is looking incredibly appealing.

Ultimately the neck has sadly a high chance not to be usable anyways, if so figuring will be irrelevant.
 
DrSeb said:
BroccoliRob said:
Lmao, i think u and i are gonna have to agree to disagree on what 'strong figuring' means. imo if that thing had any more flame it would have self immolated before reaching u. i've seen worse nexks on $5k+ (short for five thousand us dollars or more) prs guitars

I appreciate your effort to make me more upbeat/cheerful about this one. I'd likely be doing the same if the roles were reversed.

It's as nice of a figuring as it gets, but on half the neck.
...
Ultimately the neck has sadly a high chance not to be usable anyways, if so figuring will be irrelevant.

It must be the photos, I read the e side as marginally better than the E side.
 
Sadie-f said:
It must be the photos, I read the e side as marginally better than the E side.

Have you taken into account we are looking from the rear so it is opposite to when looking from the front, the e side has less figure than the E side or is less uniform.
 
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