Sun came out, sprayed some sealer on the Maca Dred.

[Ken C]

Kevin, I had a bit of a jump on you. I worked in a cabinet shop as a teen 30+ years ago, and I got a little experience with lacquer then. The water based stuff and hvlp took a little to get get dialed in when I shot my first guitar, and I have had a few odd issues pop up since then that I now attribute to lacquer that had been sitting around too long or contaminated air. My setup is working great now.

I shoot with the gun 8 to 12 inches from the surface and shoot a 4 to 6 inch fan. I adjust the fluid flow to lay down a thin wet film. I want the film to be heavy enough so the surface looks consistently wet. If the film is not heavy enough, you get orange peel as the lacquer can't really flow. If the lacquer is too thick it will sag or run. With em6000, heavy coats have a milky look.

I spray keeping a wet line by having each pass overlap the previous pass by 30 to 50%. I run each pass completely off the guitar. Once you get your settings dialed in, it is pretty easy. Don't be afraid to adjust your gun setting. I do tweak mine routinely. I can usually spray a heavier coat my first spray of the evening. Subsequent coats need to be lighter to avoid sags. When you get to your next git, you'll find it a lot easier.

Keep at it!

Ken

[johnnparchem]

Kevin,

That is a nice looking guitar. I am with you in that spraying is not easy yet. My daughter rolls her eyes when I give her a date for my Koa guitar as she has watched me with my previous finishes, getting close and either washing them down with lacquer thinner multiple times,her Les Paul , or spending a month touching up a small mistake on the last violin I sprayed.

It good that you are going before me, so that I can read Ken's posts. I am looking forward to see your finished guitar.

John

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Here are some pics. Shows the color and grain much better. This is after 7 coats, not yet level sanded.
I will put 3 or 4 more coats on top after leveling. More pics then!

Kevin

[tippie53]

the filling operation is the part that will do this. Sealers are not fillers and like I always say , it is all about prep. Seal , fill , seal , then add the finish. Still does look good. Don't use CA to drop fill use lacquer at this stage. I never use CA unless I absolutely have to.

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Yeah John, the lessons learned in hard knocks school, huh!
Although this wood appeared to be nearly pore free......they do show up later, so NEXT TIME, I will do a fabulous job on my pore filling so I don't have divots to deal with later. I see I will have to put more finish on - to sand off and get where I need to be. I will get there.
Next time....
Thanks for the reminder..again.

Kevin

[darren]

Kevin - those bindings are looking great - nice complementary color with the Maca.

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Yeah Darren, I think the bloodwood was the right choice with this wood, it is a nice contrast/complement, and the red in the Maca is pretty close to the bloodwood coloring too.

Kevin

[Ken C]

Kevin, the git is looking really good! I like the reddish bindings as well. Great complement to the back and sides. Have you shot any more coats?

My guitar is still sitting in the basement near the humidifier curing. The finish should be hard enough for buffing now, but I'm going to wait until the weekend. I've blocked out some time Saturday to level sand and buff. If all goes well, I may even get the bridge glued on then too!

Ken

[Kevin Sjostrand]

Ken,
I will be level sanding this Saturday. Was hoping to spray the final coats, but I don't think the weather is going to cooperate, going to be in the low 60's, so I may have to wait. I don't have enough light to spray in the evenings yet. I am anxious but not going to rush this one. I have until the middle of June to deliver it.

Kevin

[Ken C]

Kevin, 60's? Your in Visalia! Isn't it 80 degrees there?! When we lived out that way, we drove down near Visalia to pick up our Australian Shepherd.

Ken