www.KitGuitarsForum.com

Whst is best - to lay down color coats with black lacquer and finish with clear or just use black lacquer all the way?

I was thinking the clear might offer more depth.

I like to color for acoustics and use acrylic lacquer colors on electrics you need to be sure you will not have compatibility issues

My question is whether to use straight black lacquer or use black lacquer as color coat and then go over that with clear.

I thing the black lacquer would be fine without the top clear coat but you always have that option

I did 4 coats of black lacquer (tinted) and then 6-8 coats of clear. I had masked a rosette, and wanted to level without any witness lines.
Not the best photo, but you get the idea.

Ken , one of these days your going to have to show us how you did that rosette.
And by the way, how is the Maca coming?

Kevin

Well.....

Anyway, the rosette was actually very simple. I bought it that way from Andy Depaule, routed a rosette pocket as we usually do, the offset by a certain amount and routed again to get the teardrop shape. I mixed up some black epoxy with the same tint I used in the finish, and filled the pocket I just routed, then pressed the inlay into it, still glued to the cardboard. After a couple days (the black tint slows down the curing process considerably) I ran the whole thing, cardboard and all, through my thickness sander till it was flush. Actually went a little too far in one spot where shell did not dry as low down as the rest, and sanded through, but came out just gorgeous when finished.

The Maca is on hold. I have reworked three of the damaged guitars, salvaging parts for all of them from other projects. The maca had some considerable problems requireing the back to come off, braces removed, have it sawed in half, wider center strip installed, rebraced and reinstalled. Had some trouble with some maple bracing that cracked and will need to be routed off, and I am just not happy enough with it right now to keep going. I don't have the right neck for it nor the maple wood to make one. I am out of a job, and won't be spending any money on guitars for quite awhile. I do have wood for a few other guitars, and have been considering making a fresh start, just not the right combination to finish this one the way I want to. I think the constant frustration over the past two plus years working on damaged ones has me looking cross-eyed at it right now, so I am gonna leave it sit for a bit....the box is closed so it is stable. I have the other padauk OM cutaway staring at me the same way, and just can't bring myself to work on it right now either. I also have a padauk jumbo half done that I am not happy with either....top and back look fantastick, but the rim has an odd twist in it....I think my jumbo bending form is twisted....which is why I want to rebuild my bender and the forms before I start another guitar.

I still want to build, but want to start with a fresh guitar. have been tempted to make an all black 12 string like Black Beauty, only with no like the Mango. Maybe a cutaway, but the 12 string neck I have is a standard martin, so I would have to either profile the side to follow the heel, or deal with a proud corner, which I have never liked. The guitar will be zebrawood, but I am tempted to go with solid bracing over laminant....we'll see. I have enough for two zebra guitars, one more curly mango, and a flamed maple (not very clear maple, large wavy grain lines but still cool) as well as several electrics to complete. My 8 year old son did one, and finished it just after christmas with some scrap wood and old electric parts....sounds pretty darn good too!
It's got a solid mahogany back, a maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, plastic dots, the drop top is sycamore and wenge. Old pickups from some BC Rich I fixed for a guy, put new pickups in his, some knobs and pots I had lying around, and a bridge from an old guitar that has been destoryed. I think the bridge came from an SG Junior before I got it, but works great!

We also decided on another little project using the cigar box from the cigars I bought when he was born:
It's a mini 9-volt practice amp for him based on a LM386 chip. I built one for me as well, considering I had a ton of parts for this lying around. THe chip is only $1.50 at Radio Shack, and I had everything else. The speakers are old computer speakers we weren't using, and the box insides were some particle board scraps in the garage. I liked the textured surface of the back of the board, so that side went out....sprayed it with some flat black paint I had. Was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, it worked when I had the guts all layed out and wired up without the box, and now I can't get it at all, no matter how I wire it up. And I am an electrical idiot to boot. Anyway, thats whats goin on.

That amp is too cool not to work (I am also an electrical idiot). Maybe you could get an electrician to look at it.

David L

I see the problem with the amp Ken, you forgot to put a cord on it to plug into electricity!

I wasn't aware you were not working right now, that is a bummer. Sorry to hear that, been there a time or two! Hang in there buddy. Sounds like the Maca guitar is not going anywhere anytime soon, I'll stop bugging you about it. Maybe the best thing would be to start fresh on a new one.
We will all be anxiously waiting to see what you come up with. Remake that jumbo form, you can do that with your eyes closed, and then get one started.

Kevin

The cord! Now why didn't I think of that? ;)

I'll get back to the maca one of these days. I need to get my hands on a suitable peice of maple for the neck. I have one with a wenge stripe, which I would rather not use....there is no wenge anywhere else on the guitar, and the heel laminate is not as tight cosmetically as I would like....there is a dark line where they are glued. I could try cutting and regluing, but not sure I want to. I also have to route all the binding off, as I mentioned. Until then, I think you are right....best bet is to redo the form (or the whole machine, as I am thinking), and start one of the new ones.