SGC Nanyo re-build

[Jimothey]

My vote would go for Honey if you wanted to have the back lighter than the top or a nice Meduim cherry........... 😀 

Edited June 2, 2019 by Jimothey

[Andyjr1515]

What I will do, for starters, is dampen the body so everyone can see how dark and what shade the body will start at.  The body will darken considerably when any finish is applied, although the neck - being white maple - will certainly need staining to match as that doesn't darken nearly as much....  

 

Edited June 2, 2019 by Andyjr1515

[Andyjr1515]

12 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

What I will do, for starters, is dampen the body so everyone can see how dark and what shade the body will start at.  The body will darken considerably when any finish is applied, although the neck - being white maple - will certainly need staining to match as that doesn't darken nearly as much....  

 

A couple of hints and tips for anyone considering stripping down and veneering:

First is that all finishes darken the wood to some extent - some (and I'm talking 'clear' finishes) even additionally tint the wood against the freshly sanded.  So how do you tell what colour it's going to end up before you commit before putting varnish or oil all over your masterpiece?

Well I just wet it with a damp cloth.  This will pretty much be the colour it's going to be with completely clear varnish or oil.

You can see the difference on @TheGreek 's Nanyo body.  I've just given this a single wipe of a wet but well squeezed out cloth:

Some stains may change the colour...but all stains and tints are going to further darken the wood.  So the trick to get particular colours and shades is knowing what parts of the colour spectrum to add to this base colour to change it.  So, for example, if I wanted to make this classic amber, I would NOT use amber stain - that would turn the wood dark orange - I would probably, instead, add pure yellow.

The added challenge is that it wholly depends on the wood.  A maple neck, for example, doesn't darken nearly as much and has a naturally yellow tinge when clear finish is applied.

So the golden rule is always do trials where it doesn't matter.

So back to my earlier comment that the body wood may not need stain to meet Mick's desired look, this is the edge just dampened with water and is representative of a clear finish being applied:

 

The other hint and tip also uses the wipe of a damp cloth...

It is essential when veneering this particular way that any stray PVA or overlap is removed before you start staining or finishing.  The PVA - invisible when dry - shows white when you apply the finish.  So how do you find any missed bits?

Same technique - just wipe with a damp cloth.  Here's some of the bits still to sand off:

 

Back to the project

My own view is that the unstained tone of the body wood compliments the top nicely and is probably a similar depth of colour to some of Mick's examples above.  But, as Mick says, we'll be kicking that around offline. 

The neck, however, will be a different matter and will definitely need staining...and for which I might have just the thing

 

 

 

[Andyjr1515]

The other reason dampening the edge is a good thing to do is that it softens the PVA ever so slightly and the fine edge of sandpaper I use to remove it tends to grab and roll off the PVA rather than dig unwanted grooves in the wood.

Here we are with most of the PVA sanded off.  Takes a bit of patience... :

The very, very edge is, of course the veneer and tissue backing feathering down to nothing...where nothing is actually PVA on top of body wood - so actually you can't completely eliminate this.  But if I get it right, it should look like a very thin light demarcation line (which I think it's starting to do)

[TheGreek]

Strangely enough this was the colour I was thinking of....

[Andyjr1515]

4 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

Strangely enough this was the colour I was thinking of....

I can read minds

 

[Andyjr1515]

I've started the first sealing coats of tru-oil.  Nowadays, I do a basic slurry-and-buff whatever the final finish.  I find it an excellent grain-fill and preparatory surface.  Having said that, this may well have the full silky slurry-and-buff treatment in any case as a final finish to preserve the feel of real wood - I'll see what Mick's preference is.

The finish will smooth out, but this will basically be the final colour there or thereabouts:

There's some nice figuring on the back.  Again, the dark lines at the top of the main bout and across the upper horn aren't joins - they're natural stains in the grain itself.

[TheGreek]

Nice...

[Andyjr1515]

OK - body finished.  I'll wax it once the tru-oil is fully hard, but this is now silky smooth:

The neck is going to have to wait a week - some family stuff coming up this next week, linked to 40th wedding anniversary - and after 40 years, I know that when MrsAndyjr1515 says, "And all THAT STUFF OF YOURS has got to be cleared away too!" my answer has to be simply, "Yes, Dear."  

 

[Happy Jack]

Lovely. Just lovely.

[MoonBassAlpha]

Any idea what the body wood is? Apologies if I missed it earlier in the thread.

[AndyTravis]

39 minutes ago, MoonBassAlpha said:

Any idea what the body wood is? Apologies if I missed it earlier in the thread.

Looks very Alder-esque.

[Andyjr1515]

36 minutes ago, MoonBassAlpha said:

Any idea what the body wood is? Apologies if I missed it earlier in the thread.

I'm not certain...but would have thought it's Alder

[Andyjr1515]

1 minute ago, AndyTravis said:

Looks very Alder-esque.

You beat me to it!

[TheGreek]

Love what you've done to this...far beyond what I would have achieved. 

Hope the 40th anniversary celebrations go well.

[SpondonBassed]

I like it in its new, aldered state.

Splendid repair job with credit to Mick for a positive start and a great choice of veneer.

[TheGreek]

15 hours ago, SpondonBassed said:

I like it in its new, aldered state.

Splendid repair job with credit to Mick for a positive start and a great choice of veneer.

It was quite a big bit - probably enough for another body - so somebody will be able to benefit from Andy not using all of it.

Place your order while it's still there...

[Andyjr1515]

22 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

It was quite a big bit - probably enough for another body - so somebody will be able to benefit from Andy not using all of it.

Place your order while it's still there...

Definitely enough for another body

 

A couple more bits of progress prior to the temporary halt.  I found a reasonably matching piece of offcut to veneer the neck end:

 

And then found a reasonable stain for the maple neck to coordinate with the natural body wood.  When the anniversary shenanigans are done, I'll re-sand and get this a bit less blotchy but I think the colour tone is about right:

 

[BassTool]

He's done it once again 😎 Awesome work from the maestro 😍

[ezbass]

I really like the veneer insert on the front of the neck where it meets the body, very discreet. That body has a very Ibanez Prestige 1200 series look to it. 

[Andyjr1515]

41 minutes ago, ezbass said:

I really like the veneer insert on the front of the neck where it meets the body, very discreet. That body has a very Ibanez Prestige 1200 series look to it. 

Again - one of @TheGreek 's suggestions.  He has good taste, that guy

[AndyTravis]

Flub flub flub. Wooh!

[Andyjr1515]

Back from a week in the Scottish Highlands.  7 hour drive back but the first thing that I saw, despite being completely kn******d, when I opened the door was @TheGreek 's bass and it made me smile

Today, I've been stripping back the test stain and doing the full stain on the neck, followed by a couple of coats of Danish Oil.  It'll take a couple more to fully seal the wood and the stain and then I will 'satin' it with a very light slurry-and-buff.

Then it should be just a case of transferring the electrics, polishing up the frets and reassemble.

The plan was to stain the neck to a similar depth of colour of the unstained wood body with a colour tone different but complimentary to the top and back. 

 

In that the final finishing will soften everything a touch and the neck will end up the same satin look as the body, I'm quite chuffed with this.

What I'm particularly pleased with is that - certainly in real life - it looks more like a well cared-for original rather than a full blown contemporary makeover. 

Excepting last minute surprises, ETA is that it should be all sorted before the end of this coming week.

 

 

[pete.young]

This looks great. It's a very similar colour to my SB465, both the top and the staining.

 

[Andyjr1515]

The neck is drying after its penultimate light-slurry-and-buff.

In the meantime, I have copper shielded the control chamber ahead of transferring the electronics:

 

The electronics and cover are planned to come from the donor body.  And there was a little surprise waiting:

 

Pity in a way because this one has the SGC Nanyo stuff on it but, I have a number of wood plates in my bag of bits that I can thickness and cut to shape.  I'll consult with Mick what wood he wants - including maybe this nice piece of (I think) cocobolo that would explode with colour depth once it was sanded and buffed up: