Looks very nice.

How long do you plan to wait before you call the finish "hardened"?

best regards,
mike

mike_mccue


Looks very nice.

How long do you plan to wait before you call the finish "hardened"?

best regards,
mike

 

I said "weeks" because I think it will be at least two. A month and no doubts. I'm making other changes
to the guitar- changing pups/controls/pickguard etc. and giving thought to repainting
the body so curing time isn't an issue. The cure time could easily be different for others too-environment factors.
I keep my shop under 60% humidity at 72° F  so it could probably be buffed out in a week of so.

From what I can see in the photos it looks really nice so far Spacey.  What color is the body and what are you thinking about changing to?

I may have spotted the edge of the guitar in one of your photos...a gold finish?

That looks really fine Spacey, great job!

I'm not any type of expert but 2 weeks is how long I'd wait before any wet sand or buffing. The biggest danger is buffing through the tint coat and exposing the white wood. Finishing work takes time and patience. Patience was never my strong suit but you seem to have it.

Based on your postings I'd imagine you could start taking in work any time.

Mike it is gold. I put a couple together- one I made all silver as a "Silver Surfer" (Jeff Beck model parts)  and this one was "Goldfinger" lol.
If I do paint it I'll go back with gold.

Thanks John. I agree and wasn't planning on touching it for a couple of weeks or more.
There are many people around home that know I play...there are few that know about my building/repair capabilities and
I prefer to keep it that way. It's a relaxing, enjoyable hobby and I'd like to keep it that way.

I'm still hoping I have a place in line.

:-)

Mike I'm proud and humbled that you'd want me to build one.

I probably owe you an apology or two. I was taken off guard by
a dear friend becoming sick and after I had promised him a guitar...I know you understand
and besides...you've been buying fantastic guitars! Talk about putting me up against some
tuff competition!! Well I don't build archtops...lol....yet..:)

I do promise that I will not start another one when I complete the one I'm building without
talking with you.

:-)

Awesome.

:-)

Finally...

Played long enough after set-up to find out the fret job turned out great.
Replaced the nut and left the action a little high. This guitar has the heel truss adjustment so I wanted to
make sure I had the relief set before going low on the nut....not sure if there is difference but sure easier to cut bone away.

The tint is a little light. I thought maybe the nitro would darken it but it seems it hasn't. It's so close though I'm happy.

So it's like a new guitar. Major changes re-cap;
Changed the radius from a 7.25 to a 12. and put Evo gold jumbo frets.
Changed out the pup covers, knobs etc to white from gold.

Worth it? Yes, without a doubt. I didn't time it but it seems like I have at 24 hours in it.

After polishing the nitro fretboard I taped it off and ran a razor along side of each fret. Then I leveled the frets, crowned and polished them.
I thought if the nitro tried to chip or peel it wouldn't reach the fretboard. Don't know if it helped but there is no damage to the finish and the frets are nitro free.

I didn't install my pickups because I forgot I installed Fender Custom Shop pups in it and since it's a Custom Shop model maybe I'll remember lol.

Hope you guys enjoyed the trip.
Michael