Refin

[fretless]

I love this ss Pine body . Crazy light and sounds fantastic but I was never wild about the 1/2 ass'd fade finish I put on it so off it came . I shot the primer this weekend and  Reranch Surf green & Clear.. it's a the slow ride to Surf city .

before

primer

Surfs up

 

[SlartiBartfast]

Nice work! What all is involved in removing a finish? I have a J-Bass with a tobacco burst finish that I regret getting... Warmoth did a great job with the finish, but it ended up distracting too much from the awesomeness on the streaky black korina top.

 

[bagman67]

If you want to remove a Warmoth finish, start with Tonar's usual excellent recommendations and demonstrations:


http://unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=20663.msg305977#msg305977

 

[fretless]

Thanks , I finished it originally with Nitro also and with a palm sander it took like 5 min to take it all off . Then I hand sanded and filled and primered actually I hit it with BIN primer and noticed some areas that needed fixing , probably from the palm sander  :confused4: so I hand sanded that off , filled it with Stew mac filler , primered again with reranch primer then started the color coats . This went very quickly but  about 3 days solid work from the red fade to the finished green . We had perfect weather here and I was able to get a coat on about every hr. I'm no pro and I'm sure I rushed it but it went really well . Now I'm just waiting for it to cure , 30 days is the norm but I'm think xmas break I'll try to polish it out  :glasses9: or if in doubt send it to Pat Wilkins for a pro refin , runs about 300 bucks give or take . I've had a lot of work done by Pat and it's worth it .

 

[SlartiBartfast]

Right on! I appreciate the info. I live in Portland, so it'll be wet and rainy here until June. I don't think it would be wise for me to even attempt to finish a guitar here. I'll think about hiring out the work of/when I decide to do it.

 

[fretless]

it's hard to capture this subtle minty color but here are a few as it is now , still waiting a couple more weeks before the polish .

the pg is mint but the color looks more blue in this light

I also did a faker Fender style neck pocket  :laughing7:

 

[fretless]

this is going together today

 

[fretless]

Done

 

[bagman67]

Very nice.  I like that semi-matte sheen you've achieved there.  Goes well with the dull-finish hardware.


Bagman

 

[fretless]

Very nice.  I like that semi-matte sheen you've achieved there.  Goes well with the dull-finish hardware.


Bagman

Thank you Sir ! Yes , I hit it with scotch pads and what not to knock it down after wet sanding , though just a little  satin vibe would be enough for now without going to nuts doing a relic. The  bridge does have that matte sheen to it , it's a http://www.kts-america.com/
and the neck plate is a Glendale
http://www.glendaleguitars.com/glendale3.htm

 

[fretless]

I swapped some necks around to day . Qsawn Padouk and Ebony is now on the 32" P

 

[NovasScootYa]

Thanks , I finished it originally with Nitro also and with a palm sander it took like 5 min to take it all off . Then I hand sanded and filled and primered actually I hit it with BIN primer and noticed some areas that needed fixing , probably from the palm sander  :confused4: so I hand sanded that off , filled it with Stew mac filler , primered again with reranch primer then started the color coats . This went very quickly but  about 3 days solid work from the red fade to the finished green . We had perfect weather here and I was able to get a coat on about every hr. I'm no pro and I'm sure I rushed it but it went really well . Now I'm just waiting for it to cure , 30 days is the norm but I'm think xmas break I'll try to polish it out  :glasses9: or if in doubt send it to Pat Wilkins for a pro refin , runs about 300 bucks give or take . I've had a lot of work done by Pat and it's worth it .

I also use and recommend ReRanch products. Without clear coats the semi-gloss solid colors look great, get the job done and save time and money. Actual cure time for nitro is way down the road when the color beneath the pick-guard no longer matches the body. The downside of a Nitro finished body is it resists bumps and bruises like Styrofoam. Because of easy to damage bodies, finishes, etc. Fender eventually made bodies tougher with FullerPlast and harder finishes. A lot of their Nitro finishes were applied over FullerPlasted bodies. In other words your basic rattle can ReRanch finish is closer to true vintage than most Fenders.
Unless plans are to sell or lock your build in a vault there is no need to spend another dime for paint on an instrument that's subjected to the pitfalls of being played. IMO...Building an instrument does not stop with finished photos or when it leaves the maker's hands. Instrument building is an ongoing process. Every bump, scratch, pluck and strum is part of the process. This does not mean it's alright to throw a fresh build in the bed of a work truck. It simply means such things as years of playing, unintentional bumps, season changes, storage/case time, etc. are ingredients that generally help performance. It's why some people pay big bucks for vintage components. Fender guitar bodies loaded with instant vibe are hard to find 1970 to mid 1976 bodies weighing around 4.5 lbs. and the much harder to find and afford Fender bodies throughout the 1960s and most of the 1950s.
Your build shows nice clean, detailed work...Board edges appear equally spaced from the center of each outer string.

 

[fretless]

Cool thanks  :glasses9: