Voodoo finish, Part Deux

[DangerousR6]

I think this looks better than the last pic... :doh:

 

[bagman67]

I think this looks better than the last pic... :doh:

I agree  - putting the color on with a rag made it hard to get it even.  And if you don't like a dark purply-blue, obviously it's not for you.  I do like the black grain fill on the ash a lot.

 

[bagman67]

There comes a time when one must simply declare victory and depart the field of battle.  I've decided to take another direction entirely with this guitar.  Rather than keep beating the dead horse of grain filling and sanding and trying to get the color right, I asked myself: 

Why should Mayfly be the only guy with flowery guitars?

So I got a really nifty piece of paper at an art store near my house.  I used some craft adhesive to stick it on, and then gave it a coat of Zinsser rattle-can shellac.  Next step is a black burst edge, then about eleventy-five kajillion coats of clear gloss lacquer. 

Feel the burn!


Behold:

I also got the pickups and stuff, and have a plan for wiring that will be a little more difficult than what I initially had in mind - the p'ups are a Phat Cat for the neck, and a Duncan Quarter Pounder tele p'up for the bridge with a tap.  The plan is to wire all this to a four-way switch, and a push-pull switching tone pot.

Theory:
I'd like the pickup switching to work as follows:
position 1:  Bridge only
2:  Bridge/Neck series
3:  Bridge/neck parallel
4:  Neck only
Tone knob pulled out:  Bridge pickup tapped.

Appointments will include a matte black pickguard, and my nifty flame maple neck with macassar ebony board (see:  http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=15331.0 )

Anyway, that's what I'm gonna amuse myself with while my spectacular carved-top tele is still in the works.  Wheee!

Bagman

 

[Cagey]

Y'know, I hit my head really hard one time and saw something like that <grin>

 

[Stew]

Well, it sure is 'different' bagman! 
I actually think it'll look pretty cool when ya get the burst on there  :icon_thumright:

 

[SustainerPlayer]

Busy looking.  :toothy11:

 

[erogenousjones17]

That's actually really cool. Looking forward to seeing it come together.  :icon_thumright:

 

[CrackedPepper]

I like it!

 

[DangerousR6]

Kinda matches bob7point7's cherry blossom plate... :icon_biggrin:

 

[bagman67]

Welp, my adhesive failed to keep the paper where I wanted it - so we're back to square one (or square three or four, really).  I have rethought what I'm doing here - the voodoo thing I originally wanted doesn't really appeal any more, and the patterned paper detour was really just that - a detour.  So I figured, screw it, let's do something completely different from what I contemplated.  I planned it out thusly:

- Let's color the thing and capitalize on the dark filler in the pores.  Something bright, but not too freaky.
- I have rattle-can Behlen black lacquer I picked up for five bucks a can that I can use for contrast.
- I'm tired of fits and starts, so let's do something that will allow substantial progress THIS WEEKEND.

So:

Tonight I fired up the Makita sander and cut the face of the guitar down to size - now we're back to uncolored ash with some ebony filler in the pores.  The back and sides still bear some purple tint, but I'll be doing the back and sides in black so no matter.  I applied a General Finishes orange water-based dye to the top, which contrasts very nicely with the ebony filled pores.  I'll need to de-whisker a little, but the orange is quite rich and dark.  Plan is to lay down a coat of shellac tomorrow and then lightly sand, then do the back and burst edge in black lacquer, then clearcoat it.  I'll put up a photo of the orange top once I can shoot it in daylight - by night in my house lighting, it looks more red than orange.

Wheee,

Bagman

 

[MedianMusic1]

Your persistence is inspiring...

 

[Cagey]

Along about this point I'd be thinking about hosing it down with some black poly and calling it a love story. You're going to develop arthritis before you get to play the damned thing <grin>

Of course, I'm no one to talk. At least you're doing something. I can spend weeks or even months just thinking about what I'm going to do.

 

[bagman67]

Photo time (imagine with a flat-black pickguard and rather narrow black burst edge, if you wanna visualize the final product):

The body, by itself:

The body, with neck:

For fun, the tele neck I bought back in early spring, tru-oil'd with about 7 coats:
Before:

After:

 

[MedianMusic1]

That's looking good. You're a fast worker...

 

[Cagey]

Much nicer than the previous finishes. Now, shoot the engineer and get on with production <grin>

 

[bagman67]

The engineer has been shot.

Production has proceeded with all deliberate haste.  Behold:

Atomization out of the rattle can sucked.  Dunno how obvious it is, but the black lacquer particles are quite visible.  But to use Cagey's turn of phrase, guess I'll call this one a love story. Over all, I'm pretty satisfied with the look. I'm probably the only one who'll notice the speckles.

Onward with the clearcoats....

Bagman

 

[OzziePete]

I like the latest finish than the others...clearcoats then you are done?

 

[bagman67]

I like it better, too.  Would have been interesting to have managed one or the other of my false starts through to a finished product, but I'd have to say there was plenty of learning that got done along the way.  And now that it's not raining every weekend in Northern California, I can finally just lay down the clearcoats like clockwork, and finally have the damn thing assembled by end of summer, assuming I have the patience to let the lacquer cure that long.  I'm held up by the pickguard, anyway - gotta order that from W. and I need to make a big enough order that the shipping cost won't be a third of the whole cost.  It's thinking like that that gives rise to new builds...

Peace, y'all.

Bagman.

 

[Cagey]

Very nice! I like this one the best of the lot. The granularity of the paint doesn't show up in the photo, but it's early to worry about it, if at all. Since you're shooting lacquer, there'll be some melting of the finish when you start putting the clear on, which may get rid of what you're seeing up close and personal. Plus, you're going to be sanding and buffing it, so it's not like it's going to feel pebbly.

 

[kboman]

Looking good - I liked it better without the burst, but then I usually do.