So now Happy Jack has a Mike Lull 5-string neck...

[Andyjr1515]

Using those first CA coats as 'reveal coats'. I sanded back any dints and cross-sandings I could see and then sis a general fine sanding.  Then a (probably) final CA covering.

 

**One thing worth flagging - apart from the PPE and ventilation requirements, the application cloth scraps get VERY hot.  I'm talking smoking hot!  Smoking hot while stuck to the protective gloves you are wearing!!  You have been warned!  I reckon this is not a process anyone should try unless they really know what they are doing and have all of the precautions in place...**

 

But the result is, in this instance, what I was after.  That wood surface is significantly tougher than before and the surface is smooth and ready for the first primer coats of nitro (and that's another process that no-one should try unless they are aware of the hazards and required precautions   )  :

 

[3below]

54 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said:

 

 

**One thing worth flagging - apart from the PPE and ventilation requirements, the application cloth scraps get VERY hot.  I'm talking smoking hot!  Smoking hot while stuck to the protective gloves you are wearing!!  You have been warned!  I reckon this is not a process anyone should try unless they really know what they are doing and have all of the precautions in place...**

 

^ This.  The heat and fumes are quite something even when done outside in the fresh air.  This was just using CA to stop some small cracks in a domestic repair, not a major @Andyjr1515 type process.

[Richard R]

And I thought the most dangerous thing about building basses was using a router. That just requires care, not a hazmat suit.

[velvetkevorkian]

[Andyjr1515]

So, hang on, what's this??

 

 

Is it done?????

 

Nah!   Nowhere near.

 

This is my sacrificial try-out using the extra tin of primer and shell pink that ordered for this very purpose.

 

Look closer, my preciouses...

 

Yes - it's awful at the moment:

 

 

But actually in a different way to that which I was expecting.  The missed sandings at both cutaways are amongst the sorts of things I was fully expecting  .  But the thing I was certain was going to be an issue, that the top and bottom curves were bound to be lumpy all over the place, well...they're both fine 

 

But the degree to which the grain is still showing, I wasn't expecting so much   Some, yes, but I thought that the CA had seemed to have done a reasonable job of filling most of the general grain...but clearly not reasonable enough!

 

Anyway, all of that will be easier to sort than the lumps and bumps that I was expecting - so I reckon it's a win 

 

Next step is: a full photo shoot so that I can see 'in the pink' every blemish that needs sorting; sand back to the wood (easier and quicker than you would think);  re-sand the bits that need re-sanding; grain fill with something a little bulkier;  repeat the CA treatment;  start using the cans of paint that I didn't set out to sacrifice in the first place.

 

 

[Si600]

Just spritz it with some Halfrauds rattle can lacquer and call it finished 

[Andyjr1515]

Rest of this week/weekend will be progressively filled with family stuff ("Yes dear, I will try to get that pink off the dining table before the visitors come"   )

 

But before then, I will be able to get this back to the wood and order what I will be using as the grain filler...which will be finishing epoxy.  I'll probably use Z-Poxy Finishing Resin, which I have used before in my distant past and should add a touch of further surface toughening as well as allowing me to sand down to a 'proper'  grain-free finish ready for the actual finish paint coats. 

 

 

 

[JPJ]

I was actually going to suggest a high build epoxy primer but wasn’t sure how that lives with nitro?

[Random Guitarist]

This makes me feel so lazy. I did a Tele' with a paulownia body earlier in the year. I rubbed it down a bit, stained it blue, put two coats of wipe on lacquer on it, and declared it to be a 'self-relicing' model. Your dedication and industry is making me feel so guilty.

[Andyjr1515]

4 hours ago, JPJ said:

I was actually going to suggest a high build epoxy primer but wasn’t sure how that lives with nitro?

Pretty sure it's OK.  Soon find out! 

 

I will be doing a small test on a spare block before I commit, but I think it will work OK.  That dark grain on the paulownia is turning out to be very much like the grain in ash...and we all know how hard that is to achieve a sink-free result!  I'm pretty sure that however much sanding is involved, those grain lines will continue to show unless the filler is something as hard and stable as something like epoxy.  It doesn't really matter so much with clear natural finishes because your eye sees the grain and a bit of sinkage looks OK.  But that's not the case with solid colours, as @JPJ rightly points out earlier.  Could be worse...could be gloss black (a pet hate in the the painting world, as I'm sure @JPJ would agree  )

 

[Andyjr1515]

Visitor stuff all done and so, hopefully, I can start on the home straights! 

 

Finishing Epoxy arrives tomorrow, all the 'reveal' coat aberrations are photographed and noted, including stuff that shouldn't have got through the 'pre-paint feel test' like this:

 

But mainly the grain sink like this, which is what the finishing epoxy will be used for to level it all out:

 

 

 

Also ordered is a jack plate, that will be recessed into the body - the recess also needing to be done before the final paint job.  The hatch will also be final sanded, and similarly epoxied to ensure that it is flush and grain-free before painting both the body and the hatch.  And also, the white paint on the headstock front needs to come off ready for its pink make-over.

 

And so, ready for the epoxy arriving, the body is currently being sanded back to the wood, sorting the non-grain aberrations as I go:

 

Most other stuff (screw inserts, hatch magnets, etc.) will be done after painting.

 

Assuming there is some remaining dry weather in the coming week or so, the progress should accelerate a bit from now on

[Andyjr1515]

Aberrations sanded away (leastways, I hope ); Finishing Epoxy arrived; hatch sanded curved and flush; CA hardening reapplied:

 

 

 

So nothing for it, time to brush on the finishing epoxy and see if it does the business!  It's quite quick curing so I am hoping to get all sides covered over the day.  Rubber gloves and squeegees at the ready!!  

 

 

[Andyjr1515]

First coat for top and sides done, using a handy cottage cheese container and sponge brush.  Decent stuff to apply - just got to see how well/easily it sands down.

 

I've worked it into the grain and finished cross-grain.  Hopefully, that will maximise the grain fill and will also give me a ripple indicator of when I'm down to the level when doing the wet-sanding tomorrow.  The epoxy will take around 3 hours until it can be handled and then I'll flip it over and give the back the same treatment.

[Random Guitarist]

Seeing the packet of zap zpoxy reminds me of building model airplanes. 

It was common (and probably still is) used to use that epoxy in combination with a very light woven glass cloth.

By applying top layer of epoxy and micro balloons it was possible to get a superlight but very smooth and tough finish.

(I wonder if that would be any good for a bass?)

Edited September 8, 2022 by Random Guitarist

[velvetkevorkian]

11 minutes ago, Random Guitarist said:

It was common (and probably still is) used to use that epoxy in combination with a very light woven glass cloth.

By applying top layer of epoxy and micro balloons it was possible to get a superlight but very smooth and tough finish.

This sounds pretty similar to how some graphite/carbon fiber basses are made, I think?

[Andyjr1515]

27 minutes ago, Random Guitarist said:

Seeing the packet of zap zpoxy reminds me of building model airplanes. 

It was common (and probably still is) used to use that epoxy in combination with a very light woven glass cloth.

By applying top layer of epoxy and micro balloons it was possible to get a superlight but very smooth and tough finish.

(I wonder if that would be any good for a bass?)

Yes - any major filling, they recommend micro-balloons.  

 

[Richard R]

I'll ask first:

What, in this context, are micro-balloons?

[Andyjr1515]

49 minutes ago, Richard R said:

I'll ask first:

What, in this context, are micro-balloons?

Teeny, teeny (we're talking dust-like) spheres of plastic that you mix into the epoxy as a very lightweight filler.  The advantage is that they sand extremely easily and smoothly in addition to being very light weight.  The disadvantage is that I suspect they are within the group of micro-plastics that the world is realising could become a significant ecological problem...

[Richard R]

Thanks Andy.

We need a way to make the equivalent from something organic, that breaks down rapidly in water. Not just for bass makers and model aeroplanes. 

[Andyjr1515]

This is 3/4 through sanding:

 

Basically, anything shiny means the sandpaper hasn't got to that level yet:

 

So most of the grain is clearly filled, but here are some dints that either need sanding down to or filling more.

 

Once all the shiny bits are gone all over, I'm reapplying finishing epoxy, albeit thinner...wiped on with a lint-free cloth:

 

Later this evening, when the top is handleable, I'll wipe a coat onto the back too and leave it overnight for, hopefully, a final filling-sand tomorrow.

[Andyjr1515]

Well, no cigar yet...but close

 

Final pre-paint carve work was to inset the jack plate:

 

 

Then trial 2 with the primer and pink:

 

 

The back is completely grain-free now.  At first glance, the top looks OK too:

 

But there's still a bit of grain showing:

 

But that's it    I will be able to fill and sand that back and then start on the final coats.  Oh, and headstock

 

Edited September 11, 2022 by Andyjr1515

[JGTay]

That is looking very good, don't like the pink but it does what you need and highlights any low spots nicely. 👍

[Andyjr1515]

2 hours ago, JGTay said:

That is looking very good, don't like the pink but it does what you need and highlights any low spots nicely. 👍

The clear coat will actually determine the final depth and tone of colour but shell pink is certainly the plan.  I've got a good feeling about it too 

Edited September 11, 2022 by Andyjr1515

[JGTay]

Lol, I went off pink when doing my daughters guitar, she wouldn't/couldn't show me the exact shade of pink she wanted and I ended up having to redo it several times until she was happy with the colour... roll on a few years and she now wants everything black, go figure. 🤣

[Jakester]

I bet you’ll be steering clear of Pawlonia in the future though!