1st Guitar build - father/son project

[Eric Baack]

Spraymax 2k is actually a 2 part automotive urethane. There is a smaller container inside and a button on the bottom that you push to mix it. after pushing the button you have 24 hours max to use it before it hardens in the can. The stuff is HARD and quite durable. One can did my DC set neck build. Make sure you have proper ventilation and a good mask. The same rules apply as to automotive paint.

Follow the directions on the can and you should be good to go.

[Rob Ficalora]

Interesting - I'll have to check into it.

For purposes of a guitar finish, is a hard finish more desireable than a softer finish? Thought I'd read that one of the reasons lacquers are generally considered better finishes is because they are generally thinner & allow the natural vibrations in the wood to transmit to the surface. Early Poly's were thick & didn't hence people preferred lacquer. Modern poly's can be applied similarly thin yielding similar results. If all that's true, it would suggest a harder, automotive type finish might affect the sound in a negative way -- what are your thoughts on that? Also, normal finishes tend to warm the color of the wood; does the 2K do the same on wood or is it more neutral?

Lot's of questions I know, really trying to learn quickly as I'm hoping we'll get time to put the finish on this weekend.

[Eric Baack]

I think as long as you don't cake it on too thick then a urethane is fine to use. Especially on an electric guitar. If it were an acoustic I'd opt for a thinner finish to make sure not to stifle the vibrations.

I think that durable would be good here. Either way, you have a great looking guitar there and I can't wait to see it all buffed out!

[Rob Ficalora]

Finally got a chance to put the first coats of clear. Two medium light coats of sanding sealer... Will lightly sand with about 400 grit and then spray the poly. My son sprayed the back and I sprayed the front. He did great, no runs.

[Rob Ficalora]

Slow but steady progress. Clear has been done for a while, finally got some time with my son for him to sand and polish it. We got the back done today. Sanded the finish with 600 grit, then 1000, 1500, 2000, then 2500. Then switched to a polisher with rubbing compound, then polishing compound, then swirl remover and finally a light coat of wax. It came out pretty well. With luck we'll have time to do the front tomorrow.

[Rob Ficalora]

Ugh... Finally got some time with my son to polish out the front. Got it sanded and was in the middle of rubbing compound when our power went out!

Here is a picture of him sanding it. This was 2000 grit if I remember right.

[Rob Ficalora]

Power came back on and we finished polishing the top. Won't be long till it's done now.

Good thing my son is patient!

It's hard to get a picture that shows off the finish. I put the water spray and scratch remover bottles there; if the pic is big enough you can see the reflections.

[Eric Baack]

Very nice looking guitar there. What did you end up using for your clear?

[Rob Ficalora]

We went with the water based poly that I had originally bought. There are a few witness lines* but by the time it was polished out, you have to look very hard under just the right light to see them. But, given that it is difficult to get the wood perfectly smooth on the carved top, I'll use a finish that melts into previous layers (like lacquer) next time.

*For those not familiar with polyurethane, it cures chemically so subsequent layers sit on top of prior layers; they don't fuse together. When you sand the finish, any place you sand through one layer exposing the previous one you get a faint line at the separation called a witness line.

[Eric Baack]

with the poly I do all of my coats in one session. I let it tack up for about 15 minutes between coats (will vary with the product used) but since it is a 2 part that cures without exposure to air then a single thicker final coat is fine.

Anyway like I said. I let it flash off for 15 minutes and then spray the next coat for 2 or 3 coats.

[Rob Ficalora]

I'll give that a try on some scrap... Although I think it took me about six coats to get enough to sand smooth without cutting through and ruining the dye.

[Eric Baack]

the spraymax stuff can go on kind of thick if needed. I haven't sanded through it yet.

[Patrick Hanna]

It looks great from over here! Keep the pics coming. And good on ya' for working with your son on this.
Patrick

[Rob Ficalora]

OK, it's been forever since we worked on the guitar. Between my work schedule & his sports/friends we haven't had free time at the same time much. Over the past couple of months, we did manage to get the neck finished & this weekend we spent several hours. We are just about done now...

This weekend, we polished out the neck, glued it in, and assembled/wired it. We'll need to make a couple of adjustments before he can play it... The neck pickup is bottoming out before it gets low enough; just need to drill where the "feet" are a little deeper. Then, when we raise the bridge high enough, the springs rub on the back & pop out so we have to make that pocket a bit deeper - another easy fix. But, we're out of time tonight so we had to settle for playing his phone through the pickups to test our wiring. So two fixes, install the nut, string it, and adjust the truss rod to finish it up! Hopefully that'll be this coming weekend.

Here's where we are today...

[Bob Francis]

Lookin' GOOD Guys

[Rob Ficalora]

It's finally done! Almost 2yrs to the day -- it's a good thing he is patient! Here's a (very) short clip of him playing it... http://youtu.be/6FrYezkkxSk.

Thanks again for all the info and tips. It was great to get to do this with him and I couldn't have done it without the help of the great folks here!

[Jim McConkey]

Rob, your video is marked private, so no one here can watch it.

[Rob Ficalora]

Thanks Jim - didn't realize that. Just changed it to public so should work now. It's just a short clip where I walked in on him playing it to show it's done. Doesn't show him going through the scales but the intonation was excellent.