Flamed Starcaster: Side Finish

With the burst looking great on the front and back of the Starcaster build, the more I looked at it, the less pleased I was with how the dyed sides looked. It was time to make a tough decision. If you remember from my last update on this project, the dye didn't take on the sides in a number of places where the craftsmanship was exceedingly average. Looking at it again, I decided to apply a solid colour to the sides to cover over these patches. I re-filled the entire surface with Timbermate, applied some primer, and sprayed two coats of MTN94 "RV-99 Marron Glace" over it all. Thankfully my masking was good and none of the primer or colour made it onto the front or back.

Stain would have been better, but MTN94 has covered the bad workmanship.

I'm really glad that I made the decision. The end result is pretty damn good I reckon - much better than the stain over those shoddy patches. I'm really liking how this baby is now shaping up. I'm in a bit of a quandry about what colour to stain the neck, as I usually go with a colour to match the sides. That's not going to happen in this case - there's no way I'm going to spray the neck a solid colour as well. Maybe Amber with a bit of a dirty Tobacco burst, but I'm still thinking.

Jazz Bass: Surf Green it is

Well, another basswood build, another dye attempt, and another clear-coat fail. There seems to be a curse on the Holgate man-cave. This build has now become the second (or is it third?) dyed basswood body to receive dye and then end up being a solid colour. The black was looking good for a while, but in my haste pre-coffee one morning I didn't look too closely at the can and sprayed a jet of white primer over the body instead of clear vinyl. Complete noob mistake and a bloody shame.

Anyway, after a few tears I threw my hands up in the air, sanded what I had flat again, and set about covering the whole thing in primer. Looking at what MTN94 colours I had in the cupboard, I decided on a surf-green finish (a bit of a default for me it must be said). The MTN94 Bali Green was dutifully extracted and a couple of coats applied. This is how she ended up.

Bass gets two coats of MTN94 Bali Green

I must say, I do like the colour, and it'll look great under some gloss clear. Once the colour has had tie to cure I'll start back on the clean vinyl in earnest. Fingers crossed.