Kit guitar flying-V

[deeaa]

Well, the kit is set to arrive next week, and I have a bunch of parts waiting for it. Pickups and tuners from a Gibson and good quality pots and such, a saddle - and not shown new frets already bent to correct radius. Plus dyes and tung-and tru oil and the usual tools and such.

[deeaa]

Finally here! First night progress in pictures. The wood looks surprisingly pretty so see thru burst it will be. Took me a while to find and verify where exactly the neck needs to sit. I think I'm happy with it now.

Frets need at least a proper polish as well. Now that basic dye is in, I sealed the top, and now let it dry...tomorrow will have to sand the sides and paint them, then it's on to final sanding and color.

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[deeaa]

Coloring progress

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[AnotherJim]

Looks really good so far!

[deeaa]

Thanks AJ...here's some neck progress. Because it's mahogany, Tung oil makes it a gorgeous reddish orange color.

The frets were pretty well done and rather level, but dull and coarse. I gave it a quick leveling and recrown, then checked and did it again and then used a felt wheel to polish them real slicky.

I believe frets will be just great now, but of course it remains to be seen how soft pot metal they may turn out to be. In which case I'll refret it with Dunlop, if it otherwise turns out nice.



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[deeaa]

Some pics of the neck.

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[Partscaster]

I would sand back the blue area close around and/or under bridge pickup cavity, to make it look more offset, and seem like the fire under a rocket between the blue wings. But thats just me. I like the way its coming along. Nice work.
I really like the feel of smooth tru-oil on neck backs. I bet tung oil is similar, never used it, myself.

[deeaa]

I would sand back the blue area close around and/or under bridge pickup cavity, to make it look more offset, and seem like the fire under a rocket between the blue wings. But thats just me. I like the way its coming along. Nice work.
I really like the feel of smooth tru-oil on neck backs. I bet tung oil is similar, never used it, myself.

Yeah, that's sort of what I was aiming at, but it's really hard not to cover it with the black burst edge...it got a lot darker when I sprayed the edges. It had more of that before the burst...but now it's too far along to redo. Am covering it with layers of tru oil and sanding with 800 grit between coats. It's gonna take hours and hours this way, but seems like it's getting pretty nice and flat.

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[Mossman]

I would sand back the blue area close around and/or under bridge pickup cavity, to make it look more offset, and seem like the fire under a rocket between the blue wings. But thats just me. I like the way its coming along. Nice work.
I really like the feel of smooth tru-oil on neck backs. I bet tung oil is similar, never used it, myself.

Yeah, that's sort of what I was aiming at, but it's really hard not to cover it with the black burst edge...it got a lot darker when I sprayed the edges. It had more of that before the burst...but now it's too far along to redo. Am covering it with layers of tru oil and sanding with 800 grit between coats. It's gonna take hours and hours this way, but seems like it's getting pretty nice and flat.

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Looking good so far! But save yourself some time... You don't have to sand Tru-Oil between coats. In fact, you may make yourself crazy, because Tru-Oi is a scratch magnifyer. Any sanding scratches left on the surface will be highlighted by the next coat of TO. Also, the coats are very thin, and at 800 grit, you'll just end up sanding through the previous coat, leaving witness lines... and you'll still have scratches on the surface. I learned this from finishing about a dozen necks in Tru-Oil, and trying to do a glossy, lacquer-like finish over a decal on the headstock (which requires sanding), and it nearly drove me mad. After several agonizing and time-consuming attempts to perfect the technique, I realized I was fighting a losing battle, and swore I'd never finish another headstock in Tru-Oil again. Believe me, any sanding at all between coats always ends in heartache.

Below are some pics of a Mahogany Tele that I finished in Tru-Oil. It's about 30 or 40 coats or so per side, and I doubled down on the edges, because the end-grain really drank up the TO. I wanted to work it up to a semi-gloss, but I also wanted to still be able to see and feel the grain. To that end, I did not use any grain/pore filler. I just used wood conditioner (after carefully sanding away all visible scratches). It prevents blotches when staining open-pore wood. After staining, I just applied one coat of TO after another, with no sanding in between, and it came out better than I expected. The hard part was knowing when to stop!

Also, if you were told that you have to wait 24 hours or some such between coats (like I had been), you can disregard that too. As soon as the last coat is dry to the touch, you can apply another coat.

[Partscaster]

Yes, Mossman, I agree. I dont sand between tru oil coats, and I apply next layer 30-50 minutes latter for maybe 3 or 4 coats, then wait till next day. I rarely put on more than 6-10 coats. For last few layers on a guitars' flat surface, I might dilute tru oil with thinner to 60-40 , or 50-50. I just guesstimate. The thinned tru oil really lays flat and semi-glossy, quick.

[deeaa]

That's really interesting....I've been sanding after every or every other layer basically, and it's on its way to almost mirror finish.

Here's the headstock after maybe 6 or 7 coats and sanded with 800 wet in between coats...it's almost like mirror already, but there's a couple of small imperfections visible still...but with every coat they fade away nicely.

I don't know if I have the patience to rub the whole body this nice, but that still has worse unevenness here and there and I've still used even 200 wet to iron them out between coats. Same 6 or seven coats on the body now but it will need at least twice that.

I didn't know about diluting it will try that when I'm getting closer to finish.

I've been giving it about 2 coats per day, I'll pick up the pace a bit I suppose.

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[deeaa]

The body needs a lot of TLC still, even the pores are still showing clearly.

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[Mossman]

I've been giving it about 2 coats per day, I'll pick up the pace a bit I suppose.

A few tips, if I may... Before applying any more coats, I would sand back to get rid of the scratches and pock-marks that are already on the surface of the headstock. You'll find that they won't "fill in" and disappear as they would with poly or nitro. I use a large eraser for a sanding block and sand using a circular motion (reversing direction periodically) to break up the scratch patterns. Once you have a level, scratch free surface, resume application of Tru-Oil without sanding in between. You'll achieve a smoother, more level surface.






That surface looks pretty rough, and I can see sags/runs, too. You'll never get that to level out by applying more Tru-Oil. You would need to use a sanding block and sand the surfaces level before proceeding. I would also not recommend hanging the body. I always apply Tru-Oil with the body on a flat surface and let it dry that way. This stuff self-levels fantastically, you just have to watch out for runs around the edges of the body. But if you hang it, you'll get sags on the surface. When I did the Mahogany Tele, I would do a coat on the top and sides, and when it was dry, I'd flip it over and coat the back and sides, so the end-grain got two coats for every one coat on the top and back.

[deeaa]

Yep, it does get flat when I sand in between, with 800 grit, but there are still imperfections. Every time less. Today I put in two more coats, and will sand tomorrow when it's well dried.

It's getting close. When I buff it after sanding it's pretty ready, but not quite. Now I tried applying two thicker coats while laying it flat, but it's always rather like this after application. Much better after sanding it flat again.

I added some lines onto the headstock just to give it something extra and that's almost done. Maybe one more coat and final polish. But the body is gonna take 3-4 days for sure and about 6 more coats.

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[deeaa]

No more "pores" etc but there's like air bubbles and such. Tomorrow I'll try to sand it with 800 then 2000 wet and test polish it to see the problem spots better. At this point, it seems it's best to let it cure a bit longer, or you risk separating the layers when you sand.

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[deeaa]

Wasn't working to my liking so now I've sanded it down quite a bit and changed the appearance some. Wasn't liking the way the burst was happening at the back, and there were some uneven spots that couldn't be ironed out.

So now I'm back to just a few layers for the top part, sides and back are fine. Now I'm happier with the look and this time the tru-oil should set better. I'm putting in more but thinner layers and I'll very carefully just rub sand it every 3 or so coats. Seems to work better. Also letting it lay flat while applying.

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[deeaa]

Testing how it will look like with my other Vs. Damn it's taking aeons with the tru-oil finish.

I think I'll give it one more coat tonight, just did one, then tomorrow go thru it with 800 grit, maybe one more layer, and perhaps tomorrow night or wednesday I can start polishing it with polishing compound and then buffing. It's a really good exercise for patience doing it this way.

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[deeaa]

The neck and headstock is ready...the body is finally starting to look like it has a proper lacquer surface all around. But the surface is still rather uneven...I've been trying to follow your advice here and kept it flat when applying and haven't sanded it that often between coats..

Now I'm thinking I want to rub it through very thoroughly once again with like 2000 wet, maybe 600 at a few spots which are too thick or there is a run even...but try to be very careful and just aim for a slighy matte surface all around.

Then I'll dilute the tru-oil with 1/3 mineral spirits and give it some more layers, very thin applications, and rub the hell outta it. THEN maybe finally get to buff and polish by the end of the week.

I really don't know if I'll ever try to use Tru-oil again except for bare wood...this stuff is helluva difficult to apply compared to spray lacquer. I could achieve a better result in half an hour with spray than ten days of rubbing the tru-oil on a couple dozen times.

Next time, I'm buying a cheap tent or something to create me a dustleas space I can spray in, and use an electric heater inside it so I can spray outside. This rubbing oil is ridiculously work-intensive to apply, must have spent something like 4-5 hours minimum on doing it.

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[deeaa]

Much progress. The neck is glued and awaiting it to set.

While at it I put in the knobs and all...

And I find the controls are really odd looking, they're all clustered together so close by I'm sure they will be hard to use even, and it looks odd with them so close to the side too.

So...I have this spare white picguard...I think it would really look a lot better with that. I'd just have to cut some room for the bridge setup. But it looks better with it I think...don't you?

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[ID10t]

Much progress. The neck is glued and awaiting it to set.

While at it I put in the knobs and all...

And I find the controls are really odd looking, they're all clustered together so close by I'm sure they will be hard to use even, and it looks odd with them so close to the side too.

So...I have this spare white picguard...I think it would really look a lot better with that. I'd just have to cut some room for the bridge setup. But it looks better with it I think...don't you?

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I like the pickgaurd, I do. And I think I like the approach and agree with you on the closeness of the controls. But before I routed or drilled I would want to see how accessible everything would be if you used dice or dice sized knobs. Hope that makes sense?

[deeaa]

Yeah some very small control knobs would significantly help. But then again, they might look even more tossed aside there?

Besides, I use the volumes quite a bit these days and while singing, so I think I really want them similarly placed and easy to access like on my other guitars, sobI don't have to look at them to use them, just slide with my hand.

I suppose I'll have to put the picguard in.

Wife suggested that a black one might be even better...well it's easy to swap for a black one if it seems like a better choice later. The big task is to carefully route it nicely.

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[deeaa]

Almost ready. Just the wiring and some more setting up...just did the nut and intonation, plays great. The neck is a wee bit thicker but quite pleasant. Might sand it thinner if it will feel too thick but feels good for now.

Will need a new wall hanger.

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[Partscaster]

Looks nice.

[Partscaster]

mahogany has a big grain, so drinks up oil layers.

I am finding on my present alder strat build, that since i used straight linseed based artists paints to do all trans-color finish ( vs the paint diluted with tru oil), the paint seems to have worked better as a grain filler. So, second coat of tru oil is looking fairly smooth and glossy, likly due to paint being an ample grain filler for finer grained surface. I've got 20 minutes of tru-oil time in it, and could be done after a few more layers as I want the glossy smooth finish, so long as its a very thin finish. I dont mind if grain isnt full, but I am getting a happy surprise in this situation.
So, I'ld say, keep the tru oil in mind for varying applications.

I think your build looks great.

2 coats tru oil, already getting mirror-ish

Edit: after 3rd coat, looks very glossy and smooth. I'm done with 3 coats.

still have one more alder strat body ready to tru oil, but it has to sit a day or two more. Its a Dracula-burst. Dark trans red-woody center, black outer edges. Finished similarly with undiluted linseed based paints, so I bet grain is similarly filled and a few tru oil coats will be good enough for my aims.

[deeaa]

Yeah I used far too many oil layers. Also too thick coats, I'm sure. That looks great!

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