Page 5 of 6

Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2012 12:30 am
by HNB
LOL. I leave it in my office to dry so it is out of sight. :) Helps me forget about it and leave it alone. LOL

Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:53 pm
by HNB
After sketching a Japanese demon (oni) in the pickup cavity, I went to work this morning on wetsanding. This pic shows the lower area that I sanded with 1500 and the part I hadn't done yet in case any of you are trying your first finish and want to see the difference. Don't worry about it being cloudy. That shines back up when you polish it.

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DSC06185 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

See the little flecks of shine? You don't want those. Keep going until it is all satin.
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DSC06186 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

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DSC06188 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

Once I finished with 1500 and the flecks were gone, I did 2500. (To try to minimize any sanding swirls.) When that was done, it looked like this.
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DSC06189 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

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DSC06190 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

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DSC06193 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

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DSC06194 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

Then it was polish time. (I use car polishing compound you can get from Autozone.)
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DSC06195 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

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DSC06196 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

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DSC06199 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

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DSC06201 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

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DSC06203 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

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DSC06206 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

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DSC06210 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2012 9:58 pm
by HNB
Next I installed the bridge cups (I had to slightly enlarge the holes) and then I screwed down the tremolo. (Oh I also drilled a bridge ground hole and put a ground wire in.)

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DSC06211 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

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DSC06213 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

Then I installed the Musicmaster neck. Fit great.
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DSC06214 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

Here it is with a Mustang pickguard on it. (Not using it, just to get a better idea of how it looks.)
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DSC06216 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

Here you can see where the Mustang guard's curve isn't deep enough for the body.
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DSC06217 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

I need to get my custom guard made and I also need a Mustang control plate. I think I need a input jack and a blending pot as well. Progress!

Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2012 11:34 pm
by HNB
Small update. The wife accidentally poked the bottom lower side corner of the body. My efforts to sand it out hit wood. Long story short I am having to struggle learning how to drop fill lacquer. I am not liking it. Every time I drop some on, the finish seems to sink in. Not sure how filling will happen at this rate. Been adding drops all this week...

Frustrated.

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2012 2:29 am
by cur
stumac

I had a fingerprint in my finish when it was still green. I let it dry, then sanded the print out. This went down to the paint. So I taped off the surounding area with blue painters tape. Then I sprayed the spot with paint, let that dry and then sprayed finish until it was a little higher then the other finish. I kept the painters tape on until I was done spraying (rattle can). Then I wet sanded the spot level.

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2012 4:07 am
by HNB
That is kind of what I did t first, but the deeper stuff wasn't leveling out, so I have been doing drops in to just the indented area to fill it back up. I am sure it will end up ok. Just frustrating to have a issue that I didn't have anything to do with. lol Trying not to be mad at the wife. Accidents happen.... But damn....

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2012 4:43 am
by cur
Just take your time. You got this much invested, what's a little more. Plus, I am hyper critical of my own work, but when I fix a problem like that and it works out I am overly proud of the fix. The spots noone can see bet yourself are the ones that get me.

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2012 3:35 pm
by HNB
That is my goal. :) I won't get lazy or impatient. Thanks for your support. :) I will keep at it.

Posted: Sat Oct 20, 2012 6:12 pm
by theshadowofseattle
coffeetablestang. 6/10 would bang

Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 2:40 am
by HNB
Finished the drop filling. Here it is mostly smooth.
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IMG_1099 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

Taped it back up and sprayed some more lacquer to help rebuild the surface and level it out more.
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IMG_1100 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

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IMG_1101 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 2:59 am
by cur
Lookin' good Billy Ray.

Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 3:06 am
by taylornutt
What did you use to wetsand the body? Sandpaper or microfiber mesh pads. I used my Micromesh pads on my 1969 Mustang neck when I refinished it in tinted nitro and it can out fantastic.

Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2012 3:29 am
by HNB
I use 1,500 wet sandpaper, then 2,000, then 2,500, and then polishing compound.

Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 4:14 am
by HNB
Repair completed. I am very pleased with how the repair went in the end. Would be extremely hard to tell there was anything repaired there. Now I just need to keep saving to get that pickguard made. I have all the other parts.

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IMG_1305 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

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IMG_1306 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

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IMG_1307 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

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IMG_1311 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 2:17 am
by HNB
Small update. After several months of saving money only to have a bill come up, I finally got the tort guard ordered. Tony said he will be sending me the guard tomorrow in the mail. Once it gets here, it is assembly time! I have every other part. Can't wait for this to be done. Probably the longest time I have spent on a build. LOL

By the way, it is the red nitro tort with parchment (instead of mint) layers like what WD sells. For those who like their tort, I solute you. ;)

Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 7:45 pm
by Pens
I'm almost tempted to do a walnut stain finish on my SonicStang project after seeing this. That looks really nice.

Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 8:11 pm
by HNB
Thanks! I was hoping for a sort of Costello / old coffee table look. I am pretty happy with how the stain worked. Next time I know with this minwax stuff not to put it on too thick or it takes a long time to dry.

Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 3:44 am
by HNB
Pickguard came today. It looks great!

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IMG_2225 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

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IMG_2226 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

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IMG_2227 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

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IMG_2228 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

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IMG_2229 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

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IMG_2230 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

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IMG_2232 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

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IMG_2235 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

So I went to work putting the switches on the guard and pickups. Here is a mockup. (I still need to do the wiring.)
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IMG_2241 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

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IMG_2242 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

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IMG_2243 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

I love how this guitar is shaping up. I would, however, HIGHLY encourage people not to buy bodies from this guy. The gut routes ended up also being off. I had to dremel where the switches are to get them to fit correctly. Won't be visible, but another thing wrong with (Alden?) guitars.

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IMG_2244 by Hentai No Baka, on Flickr

Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 4:12 am
by luciguci
whoa whats that pickup in the neck?

Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2013 4:40 am
by Leather Jacket
Looks nice! Really like that finish and pickguard combo.