NGD or the birthin' of a ratter-caster

[beachbum]

Looks amazing!

 

[Bob Savage]

Fantastic thread, Mike! Three thumbs up.

 

[Digital Jams]

No pussy pad under the steel plate

 

[ratter]

No pussy pad under the steel plate

I don't think there'd be any room. It's thickass steel. I can't remember where I got it from...maybe Callaham.

 

[Mr. Willy]

Great, great thread! Very clean work. I love the rolled edges on the fret board. Sooo comfortable!

 

[kasperjensen]

Wow!

That's really really cool!

 

[Digital Jams]

No pussy pad under the steel plate

I don't think there'd be any room. It's thickass steel. I can't remember where I got it from...maybe Callaham.

I grabbed a re-issue 62 plate for the summers, not putting the pad on.

 

[Rogue]

Speaking of body finish...the body finish was so incredibly thin I figured I ran a real risk of burning right through it at cut and buff time. So I made a strategic decision to avoid that. I wet-sanded up through the grits to 1000 grit and stopped. This left a nice satin finish. It probably would not have worked on a dark color but the light blonde took to it well...

Did you do anything after sanding to 1000 grit to the finish?

 

[mikehickey]

great thread, and cool tele!

 

[Zap]

Dude, that is one badass Tele! Really really well done!

 

[ratter]

Speaking of body finish...the body finish was so incredibly thin I figured I ran a real risk of burning right through it at cut and buff time. So I made a strategic decision to avoid that. I wet-sanded up through the grits to 1000 grit and stopped. This left a nice satin finish. It probably would not have worked on a dark color but the light blonde took to it well...

Did you do anything after sanding to 1000 grit to the finish?

Nope that was it.

Glad everybody enjoyed the build...I'll work up another one soon...

 

[Rogue]

Nope that was it.

Glad everybody enjoyed the build...I'll work up another one soon...

Interesting. How do you get it not look scratchy? I did one recently and even at 2000 grit, it had that sandpaper look, or like a poor, dull polish job. It didn't look like a "finish" until I buffed it.

I'd like to know because I'd like to do a matte finished guitar some day.

 

[ratter]

Nope that was it.

Glad everybody enjoyed the build...I'll work up another one soon...

Interesting. How do you get it not look scratchy? I did one recently and even at 2000 grit, it had that sandpaper look, or like a poor, dull polish job. It didn't look like a "finish" until I buffed it.

I'd like to know because I'd like to do a matte finished guitar some day.

What color were you working on? It seems like the blonde was very forgiving. The reason I did it was that the finish was so thin I was wet sanding and already into the color coat. If you look at the pics from when I had just sprayed it, it was more amber. That was the ambered clear coat that is now gone.

I have a feeling that the scratches might be more visible on a non-white color. I tried 0000 steel wool and it left visible scratches. So I went back to 800 and then 1000 and I could no longer see a scratch pattern. With a darker color maybe 1500 pr 2000 would do it The pictures are forgiving too. I could point out the flaws in person. And it already has a couple of dings courtesy of my 1 yr old.

The other problem with this method is that it will eventually gloss up where it gets rubbed. And normal fingerprints and scratches are very visible against the matte. My gut feeling is that to get a satin that stays satin and is more durable you would have to get your finish pretty much perfect, almost to the point where you'd buff it and then shoot a perfect wet coat or two of flattened lacquer.

I love the satin look and feel though. I have had luck doing a good sealer coat and then just urethane color over it. Pretty dry passes. And no clear coat. It leaves a nice satin finish and very thin. The color would probably wear off quickly which I don't think is necessarily a bad thing. But of course that would be of no use for a trans finish.

 

[Rogue]

What color were you working on? It seems like the blonde was very forgiving. The reason I did it was that the finish was so thin I was wet sanding and already into the color coat. If you look at the pics from when I had just sprayed it, it was more amber. That was the ambered clear coat that is now gone.

I have a feeling that the scratches might be more visible on a non-white color. I tried 0000 steel wool and it left visible scratches. So I went back to 800 and then 1000 and I could no longer see a scratch pattern. With a darker color maybe 1500 pr 2000 would do it The pictures are forgiving too. I could point out the flaws in person. And it already has a couple of dings courtesy of my 1 yr old.

The other problem with this method is that it will eventually gloss up where it gets rubbed. And normal fingerprints and scratches are very visible against the matte. My gut feeling is that to get a satin that stays satin and is more durable you would have to get your finish pretty much perfect, almost to the point where you'd buff it and then shoot a perfect wet coat or two of flattened lacquer.

I love the satin look and feel though. I have had luck doing a good sealer coat and then just urethane color over it. Pretty dry passes. And no clear coat. It leaves a nice satin finish and very thin. The color would probably wear off quickly which I don't think is necessarily a bad thing. But of course that would be of no use for a trans finish.

It is a solid color. Vanilla Gorilla from reranch. A vanilla-ish color. I used Reranch nitro lacquer for the clear.

I sanded and sanded and sanded. It never did look like a good finish until I polished and buffed it. Man, what an amazing difference. It's very glossy which is fine cause I was going for that on this one (and my first). I'd like to go a matte finish, but I'm at a loss as how to do it and make it look like anything without buffing it out. The buffing removed all the sandpaper roughness. I mean, it was smooth to the touch and you could see mild reflection at the 2000 grit level, but I never got it to look "finished" without buffing. At best, it looked like a really bad buff job.

I guess a flattened lacquer would be the way to accomplish it and get a nice finish but still be a matte look. The deep gloss is cool, but my favorite finishes on a guitar has that satin look to them.

I know what you mean, I can point out every flaw in my paint job. It looks great from a distance though. Since I've done this, I've taken notice to paint jobs on guitars in stores. I've been amazed at how poor Gibson's finishes are when you look closely. The PRS's and Gretsch's I've seen have an unbelievable finish. Just flawless and looks a mile deep.

 

[ratter]

It is a solid color. Vanilla Gorilla from reranch. A vanilla-ish color. I used Reranch nitro lacquer for the clear.

I sanded and sanded and sanded. It never did look like a good finish until I polished and buffed it. Man, what an amazing difference. It's very glossy which is fine cause I was going for that on this one (and my first). I'd like to go a matte finish, but I'm at a loss as how to do it and make it look like anything without buffing it out. The buffing removed all the sandpaper roughness. I mean, it was smooth to the touch and you could see mild reflection at the 2000 grit level, but I never got it to look "finished" without buffing. At best, it looked like a really bad buff job.

I guess a flattened lacquer would be the way to accomplish it and get a nice finish but still be a matte look. The deep gloss is cool, but my favorite finishes on a guitar has that satin look to them.

I know what you mean, I can point out every flaw in my paint job. It looks great from a distance though. Since I've done this, I've taken notice to paint jobs on guitars in stores. I've been amazed at how poor Gibson's finishes are when you look closely. The PRS's and Gretsch's I've seen have an unbelievable finish. Just flawless and looks a mile deep.

I hear you loud and clear. I would love to know how PRS does their satin finish. I've got much more experimenting to do...

 

[soundscapes]

Absolutely incredible! Awesome build!

 

[Digital Jams]

Paint done the right way is a bitch period, there are no shortcuts and one wrong move could turn your hard work into a kindergarden project.

Remember gibson and their LP Standard faded series? I bet any amount of money those were paint and buffing rejects and challenge anyone to debate that with me. That brand name has to be worth 8 solid figures due to the fan base that company has. Orange peal are us is gibson.

I just paid $500 for a burst from a guy that works on cs fender stuff and the finish is incredible, took 2 1/2 weeks to complete.


Hey Mike, welcome to the family

 

[Juggernaut]

Hell Yeah!!! That looks AWESOME, GREAT WORK!!!

 

[Ventura]

Um...

I think this oughta be awarded some kind of 'Top5 Posts on RT' award or something!! This is just awesome. I mean it, incredible. Excellent info - thanks for taking the time to post with all the detail and shots. The end result looks killer.

Mo

 

[Hard&Heavy]

I got to play this guitar today and it was very well built,felt very solid and played very nice. When Mike's ready to sell them I will buy one.