Thread: Tasmanian Blackwood Superstrat (SS6)

Originally Posted by Wongo

Can't wait to see it with a coat of oil on.

Oil? OIL ?? - You're banned from this thread! hahahaha

I don't oil guitars. It's my personal belief oiling guitars is for those too lazy or unskilled enough to learn how to paint. Also - it makes a guitar look cheap and unfinished. Again - just my opinions.

This guitar will be recieving Automotive 2k clear.

Sorry sir, I was talking as a furniture make. My bad.

Originally Posted by Wongo

Sorry sir, I was talking as a furniture make. My bad.

No probs. I was just stirring. Theres a whole trend at the moment of oiled guitars - it anoys the hell out of me.

Originally Posted by demonx

No probs. I was just stirring. Theres a whole trend at the moment of oiled guitars - it anoys the hell out of me.

An oiled neck on the other hand! I cannot play painted necks. Especially gloss ones. My two going in my thread will prob be tru oil or Danish oil on the necks.

Quick question for you. With your 2k, can I take a colour code from my Holden and go into auto pro or something and have the colour matched in 2k or do they not sell it?

Originally Posted by floody_85

An oiled neck on the other hand! I cannot play painted necks. Especially gloss ones. My two going in my thread will prob be tru oil or Danish oil on the necks.

Most "cheapo" guitars with a gloss finish the necks are shyte, I agree. My ealier necks I oiled (by choice). Since then I've learned a lot about painting and finishing. I paint all my necks now.

I sand my gloss finishes back to 3000. They are smoother than an oiled neck. I have behind me oiled necks and my painted necks. The painted necks (mine) are WAY smoother. It's all in the finish details and how far someone is prepared to go and how much time they put in.

If you just paint one and dont spend the time making it good, of course its going to be shyte. Since most mass produced guitars are made to a budget and production line limitations, they dont spend the time on finishing.

One common thing I hear about my guitars from people is "that neck" and "amazing"...

Its all in the finish and knowing how to finish.

Originally Posted by floody_85

Quick question for you. With your 2k, can I take a colour code from my Holden and go into auto pro or something and have the colour matched in 2k or do they not sell it?

Yes. A good automotive paint shop can color match anything and since your car has a color code you can quote to them its extra easy. If you find the plate (usually inside engine bay or door jam) it'll have the color codes on it.

Originally Posted by floody_85

Especially gloss ones

With 2k - theres no difference in gloss or matt or satin - they will all feel exactly the same, as they are the same product, the exact same clear. To achieve the satin or gloss you just add some matting agent into the clear and spray the exact same way. So to compare one to the other and say they feel different is a non educated comparison. They are the same and will feel the same. (with 2k) What makes it matt or satin is the amount of agent added into the clear effecting the way it reflects the light (by making a cloud in the clear), nothing more nothing less. It's a trick of the eye.

I know my local auto pro will colour match as I've done it before. That was normal acrylic though. Would they normally sell both?

I understand what your saying, but without knowing what finish was used, I've played painted necks in gloss and satin and you most definitely can feel the difference. The gloss necks seem to gum up after a while. Perhaps they're nc lacquer though?
I have heard that the new petrucci models from music man have painted necks that feel amazing though.

Factory guitar finishes won't be 2k so it's not a fair comparison. 2k is too time consuming for them to use. Too expensive.

As far as auto pro, I can only comment based on our local one and it only carries a few rattle cans, so you'd really have to see what's local to yourself. Maybe see if you have a local PPG dealer?

Yea ill have a look around. I've got some polyurethane from where my works paint Shop closed. I managed to get satin white, hardner and satin clear. I couldn't get any primer though

The radius.

You want it to be straight before radiusing, otherwise your fret mill is going to be extreme.

First I gently clamp the headstock with the neck resting in a caul and check with a straight edge that the neck is straight under downward pressure. Moving the caul up or down the neck will adjust the straightness under pressure.

Assuming the neck is straight before being clamped. If not you may need to adjust the truss rod, but at this stage in building it should be straight or you've done something wrong.



I sand with 80 grit, then 120 and 320. You can see the aluminium radius block inthis pic:



I should also note that before I radius I mark the board, so I can see whan its completely flat. When the greylead is all gone, the board is radiused:



Then I check with a guage in multiple spots - see how the guage sits flat all the way across the board. You dont want drop offs at the edges - if you have these your technique is bad:



After all this I'll blow out all the dust with an air compressor to see what I have.

Fretwork.

I start by angling the tops of the fret slots with a file. Only just slightly.

Where the fret tang and crown meet isnt always a perfect right angle, so this helps the frets seat flat against the board.



A quick scuff with 320 grit and then razor blade out the edges where the glue from the binding has seeped into the slots. Then clean it all out with the airhose.



Bend the fretwire, making sure it's over bent. By trial and error I've adjusted the fret bender to what I feel is the perfect radius and I leave it. I only ever radius to 16" so I dont have to adjust it.



Cut to



You can see here how I've used a grinder to make the ends of the pincers relatively flush, meaning that I can cut flatter to the board after the fret is seated

I then trim the tang so it'll clear the binding:



I then crimp the ends of the fret with these special "fret tang expanders"
As its a maple board, its a bit softer than ebony and rosewood and this ensures in softer timbers the fret stays where it's put. Also very handy for refrets or over wide fret slots:



A bit of superglue at either end of the slot and a couple drops across the
For years I've used PVA for this, but a half dozen guitars ago I tried super glue and much prefer it.



Gently tap in both ends: DO NOT TOUCH THE MIDDLE OF THE FRET



Work in from the ends tapping a few times either side - still not touching the middle:



As you work in from the sides, the middle will seat itself. There is no need to tap the middle until the whole fret appears to be seated. If you do tap the middle too early the fret ends may lift causing issues.

This is a bad pic as the shadows make it look like these frets are not seated flush, fut they are flush enough I wouldnt even be able to slide a piece of paper under them:



Another tip: I cut this fret tang too short, so rather than tapping it in the slot, I moved it down to a slot where it would be the right tang width. Saves fretwire:

Then repeat:

That's a great looking fretboard/neck.
Loving this thread.

Roscoe

Todays mission was to fix up all the floyd route and carve the top.

Flap disk - freehand lines to guide me where to carve. I really need to make a template for that!



After sanding back with random orbital and 40 grit: