Jeremy's Mahogany Les Paul: Headstock & Body Colour

Well my run of luck continued today with Jeremy's Les Paul build. Maybe rather then luck it's care and attention to detail? Hmm, doesn't sound like me. Whatever it is, Jeremy's axe is shaping up to be one of the nicest builds I've ever done touch wood. When all this is over I may have to go back and make myself one!

With the flame maple cap dyed a couple of days ago, it was time to get on and colour the rest of the guitar. Before I could dye the neck, however, I had to spray the headstock black. The reason I wanted to do this before dying the rest of the neck was so that I could use sand paper to clean up the side of the headstock where the paint meets the wood. If the dye was already on there, then sanding the edge clean would have easily ruined the dye job.

Anyway, I filled the pores of the headstock face with a Timbermate slurry and sanded it off flat with 400 grit. Straight on to this went 4 coats of black auto paint. I forwent the obligatory primer coats because I didn't want a white line around the edge where the paint meets the wood. It really wasn't necessary. After 2 coats I cleaned up the sides and then wet sanded with 600 grit. After the 4th coat I did the same this time wet sanding with 1500. What I ended up with was a nice flat paint job ready for clear coats.

Ready for clear after 4 coats of paint and two rounds of wet sanding

With the sides nice and tidy, the painters tape went back on and I laid down 4 coats of acrylic clear. The main purpose for doing this now (I reasoned) was to get a protective coat on there so that I could manhandle the neck during subsequent finishing without taking colour off.

Four coats of acrylic clear. Now I can get back to the dye.

The acrylic went on very easily, and after 4 coats I was satisfied that the face was adequately protected. I left it to cure overnight and then cleaned up the side of the headstock with 600 grit. At last I was ready to get the dye out again!

To colour the neck and body I used a 4:1 ratio of Colortone Vintage Amber and Red Mahogany. In the last stages of the burst I actually used a 1:1 mix of same, but with the mahogany neck and body being a naturally darker wood than the maple cap, considerably less red was needed to match the colour. I actually had to guess at this ratio, but managed to fluke a good match between burst and body on the first try.

The dye itself went on smoothly (preparation pays off kids!), although I do wish I had protected the dyed veneer before starting - juggling the body with a mind to not damaging the burst wasn't much fun. I made about 4 passes of dye on both pieces and hung them up to dry. The grain in both the body and the neck is pretty damn nice on this kit I must say!

Some amazing grain in this body. Tru-Oil will get it to pop.

The colour match between the body and burst is great.

Once the body was completed I went on to do the neck. Getting the stain on to the sides of the headstock without damaging (or even disturbing) the black was a little stressful, but I got there in the end. I'm really happy with the results and, as with the body, the grain on the mahogany neck has become a thing of beauty!

Neck is now all dyed. More amazing figure.

I hung the body and neck to dry a few hours in the patented Turner drying room (our shower recess ;) to make sure the wood was completely dry. I then applied my first coat of Tru-Oil to both the neck and body. The neck is going to be finished in Tru-Oil so this is the first coat of many for it. The body on the other hand will be clear coated with acrylic. The Tru-Oil on the body is only there to help pop the grain which it does sooo well. Lacquer on its own just can't hope to emulate what the oil does in the figure. When mixing TruOil and lacquer, you just have to make sure that you don't make the surface shiny at all. For this body there will be only a few coats, and I definitely won't be sanding between coats.

First coat of Tru-Oil on the body has really popped the grain.

As the Tru-Oil went on, the grain really started to leap out from these pieces, and I'm really pleased with how the body is looking. I'd like to do the same (Tru-Oil) for the front face of the guitar as well, but I'm worried that the oil will drag some of the colour out from the glue spots I fixed earlier in the week. It definitely isn't worth the risk IMO. A couple more coats of Tru-Oil on the body, and a week or two for the smell to go completely, and the body will be ready for final clear coats. In the meantime I'll get start on the Tru-Oil coats for the neck!

Ash Les Paul: More Dying and 3 Coats of Tru-Oil

With the top burst looking pretty schmick, it was time to make a decision about a colour for the back and sides of the Ash Les Paul. With the grain already nice and dark thanks to the Walnut Timbermate, I opted for a medium shade of brown for the remainder of the body. I achieved it using an initial few coats of Vintage Amber Colortone dye, and then following this up with a few more coats of Red Mahogany (while the original dye was still wet). I've used this mix before on my 335 Semi-Hollow Bass build and I really like it - especially with the darker grain peeping through. It's warm, and it glows - without being too amber, too red or too middle of the road.

With the back dyed, it was time to move on to the Tru-Oil. After leaving the dye some hours to dry completely,  I managed to get a good soak coat of oil over the entire body before the day was done - man, this Ash body just drank the oil up! I'm always amazed just how fantastic wood looks when that first coat of Tru-Oil is on and still wet - the grain just jumps out at you. The ash grain on this top looks especially dark and wonderful now that the Tru-Oil is soaking in, almost like it's been burned. I really, really like the effect! As of this moment - now 2 days on - I have 3 coats of Tru-Oil on the top, back and sides, and the wood is finally starting to reach saturation point (it's looking a little glossy).

Third coat of Tru-Oil on the top. It's still wet in this photo.

Third coat of Tru-Oil on the back and sides. It's still wet in this photo.

Shows how nice the Ash grain is looking with the Timbermate filling combined
with Tru-Oil. Timbermate hasn't filled the grain smooth but I like it much better
this way. You can still see the grain texture.

So now it's a matter of applying coat after thin coat of Tru-Oil until the body is shiny. While that's happening, I'll be getting on to the headstock shaping and prepping the neck for dying and oiling as well. She's coming along nicely!

335 Semi-hollow Bass: Amber Burst

This morning I took the plunge and attempted my second burst using ColorTone dye - a so called "poor man's burst". The target of my ministrations was my ES335 Bass (EB-4) from Pitbull Guitars. My first attempt on my Flamed Telecaster build was moderately successful, although I would have liked more distinction between colours.

I prepared the body with a light sand down of 360, 400 and 600 grits. At 600 grit I did a single pass of grain raising using Metholated Spirits, but the maple hardly need it.

This time around I didn't perform a 'trace-dye' on the wood to check for glue spots. I was instead prepared to stop dying if any glue surfaced and perform a sand back to remove it. Amazingly, this Pitbull Guitars kit exhibited no glue spots at all around the binding or veneer join. What a great kit!

The steps to produce the burst were as follows:

Step 1: I wiped clean water over the entire top. This helps the dye take up evenly across the surface and prevents and streak or wipe marks in the dye.

Step 2: Using ColorTone Vintage Amber as a base, I applied this to the entire body.

Step 3: In an attempt to pop the flame maple further, while the first pass was still wet I proceeded to lightly wipe a 70:30 mix of Vintage Amber / Red Mahogany over the top.

Step 4: I applied Red Mahogany to the edges in successive passes, using the Vintage Amber to feather the edges. Several times I used a clean rag to help feather the edges as well.

Here's the result - I'm pretty damn pleased with it!

The edges are nice and dark with the red mahogany bleeding into the flame maple as it reaches for the centre of the guitar. The centre has retained it's bright Amber hue and has not been muddied with brown. With the masking removed from the binding, you can see what a great job the 3M 471 pin-striping tape has done to keep the stain off. I love this 471 tape!!

All in all an almost perfect result - I'm right chuffed with myself. And now for the back, which was completed with much the same technique, although the lack of flame maple veneer made it a little harder to accomplish an even burst IMO. I think it came out OK though. Almost as good as the front.

 

Those of you with a keen eye will notice a glue spot on the heel of the guitar. There are several small glue spots around the sides. After I have applied some Tru-Oil to the front and back to lock in the dye, I'll go back over the sides with the sanding block to get rid of these glue spots. It's a small price to pay for such a perfect kit on the front and back!!

Flamed Telecaster: 8th Coat of Tru-Oil

8 coats of Tru-Oil are now on the flame maple telecaster. Starting to look really nice. The colour is a little dark for me, and there isn't enough of a burst along the edge, but not bad for a first attempt. I can see now that the trace-dye coat I did was too dark using just Red Mahogany. A mix of Vintage Amber and Red Mahogany (maybe 70/30) would have been much better! The flame would have have been more subtle, but this would have allowed much more of the Amber colour to come to the fore in the centre of the burst. On the plus side, the Tru-Oil has soaked into the grain and enhanced the chatoyance nicely.

I am especially happy with the back of the guitar. No chatoyance here, but the pores of the mahogany filled very nicely with Timbermate and the Vintage Amber / Red Mahogany burst is more pronounced. Yes the burst could have been better, but all in all it came up nicely.

Overall I'm pretty happy with how the build is progressing. The mahogany body should sound really good with the GFS 52' professional series pickups I've bought for it, and the custom perloid pickguard also looks the business.

A couple more coats of Tru-Oil and I'll be ready to start wet sanding.

Flamed Telecaster: Bursting!

Today, with the trace dye completely dry, I sanded the Flamed Telecaster back with 360 and 400 grits on the orbital sander. I was in constant fear of sanding through the veneer, but thankfully I got it done without that particular catastrophe striking again.

After sanding it was time to apply the burst. I started with a weak mix of Vintage Amber Colortone dye and applied this over the whole top. I followed this up with a much darker strength Vintage Amber to help pop the grain even further. With the amber on. I started to create a burst around the edge with more Red Mahogany, alternating between Mahogany, clean and Amber rags until I was pretty satisfied with the results.

 And then it was the back's turn. I pore filled the mahogany body with a slurry of Walnut Timbermate and sanded back with 400 grit. I then applied a layer of Vintage Amber dye all over the back and sides (to match the front) and then proceeded to burst again with Red Mahogany. I made sure I got plenty of Red Mahogany on the sides to provide an even transition between the cap and the back burst.

What do you think? I reckon it's pretty sweet. The flame maple has come up a treat and there is a good deal of chatoyance to be seen. Will be even more once some coats of Tru-Oil go on. The edge could probably do with a little more red mahogany, but overall I'm stoked with the results. This is the first burst I have ever done, and my message to those out there considering trying it? GO FOR IT. It isn't as hard as you might think. If I can do it, then anyone can.

Flamed Telecaster: Trace Dye

As I was worried about sanding through this flamed maple cap, I decided to get the trace-dye on their as soon as physically possible to minimize the amount of material required to be taken off it. So after sanding the cap lightly with 360 grit, on went the Red Mahogany Colortone dye. The dye went on evenly, and surprisingly there doesn't appear to be any glue spots at all!

I've gotta say, I really love this Red Mahogany colour - I never knew it looked so damn good! It's going to look awesome under the Vintage Amber and on the mahogany back and sides.

Next job: sand the top down to 400 grit (thereby taking much of the trace-dye off again) and continue sanding the rest of the the mahogany body. With the body sanded to 400 grit I will be able to fill the pores with Walnut Timbermate - the next big task!

Les Paul Florentine: First Trace Dye

Today I finished raising the grain and sanding to 360 grit on the Les Paul Florentine. Time for the first trace dye to identify any areas of glue or other issues that will ruin the final dye job. Currently, I have changed my mind about the colour - at the moment I'm considering an Amber finish with brown highlighted figure. I'm still undecided and may go back to my original plan of wine red. 

In light of this indecision, I did a trace dye with Red Mahogany Colortone dye. It's reddish brown so I still should be able to go either way when I change my mind again. To do a trace dye, firstly I wipe the whole face down with a wet rag to allow the dye to be taken up evenly. Then I move to the actual colour solution and wipe it on, quickly enough so that the wood doesn't dry out before the dye hits it. Before applying anything, I generally mask off any binding that may come into contact with the dye (as best I can). For this purpose I always use 3M 6mm vinyl tape. It's the only thing that keeps a nice edge and has any chance of keeping the dye out.

Thankfully, the operation was completed without incident/ Here's how she looks with the trace dye in place..

Surprisingly, there's still a crap-load of these spots to be dealt with. So many it's a little disappointing to tell you the truth. You can see where these pesky glue spots that have been highlighted by the trace:

God damn. I really sanded the life out of this thing! That glue must be in deep. On the positive side, there is some nice quilted figure in this maple top which should look great once the glue is dealt with. I think that Vintage Amber may well be the best choice here as wine red would definitely hide a lot of this beautiful figure.

Next step is to sand the top again, paying close attention to those areas sporting glue. When I think all the glue is gone, I'll hit it with another trace dye to find out. Fun times!