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Hand painted basses with re-shaped headstock

BTL

BTL

Commercial Seller
Commercial User
Sep 26, 2006
3,677
1
6,881
Odessa, FL
Disclosures
Brad Lowe, Lowe Custom Guitars
#1
By way of introducing myself to this sub-forum I'd like to show you a few projects I've worked on this year as well as more that should be underway shortly.

I'd be happy to talk about whatever you may be interested in.

I'll document my process with narrative and build pics as I go.

Thank you!
 
#3
#4
Sooooo...HERE WE GO!

Just over a year ago I visited the Art Institute of Chicago and was inspired to start painting again.

I wanted to combine elements of sculpture, painting, and industrial design into a single, functional piece of art.

After mulling over my options for a bit I realized that guitars and basses would be the ideal medium.

In order to “get ready” I started with a couple of studies on unfinished poplar:

DSC00203.jpg


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After some trial and error I landed on a finishing schedule that seems to work:

Nitrocellulose sanding sealer, followed by Liquitex Glossies (“art coat”), followed by more sanding sealer to level the art coat, then nitro clear.

The Glossies like to adhere to a smooth surface, hence the sanding sealer step.

From there I started on my first project, a guitar.

The pic below gives you a sense of the painting process in general, although it’s a guitar being painted:

DSC00230.jpg
 
#6
When the time came to shoot nitro, I set up a “paint booth” in my garage and got to work:

DSC00249.jpg


Shortly thereafter, Bass #1 was born:

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#7
I also worked up a rough design for a new body style:

LCGBodyDesign.jpg


I worked with a few friends to “clean up” a headstock logo I sketched out:

LCG_border2_tweak.jpg


Then I began the process of clearcoating the finished body with nitro.

You can see the "paint stick" I use is a section of electrical conduit smashed flat on one end.

I understand the is what Fender did in the old days:

DSC00330.jpg


I built a “router table” for headstock reshaping:

DSC00344.jpg


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#9
After that I modified my original headstock design a bit to accommodate a 1/2" router bit and spindle sander.

My first three were done with a coping saw and a Dremel...NO FUN!!!

I also bought one of those Rigid belt/spindle sanders, and that made quick work of the templates.

Once the templates were finished, the rough shaping only took a few minutes on the router table.

The bit is a 1/2" pattern bit with a template following bearing on the base.

I'm REALLY happy with the process and the slight redesign.

Here are more pics:

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#10
Looking at the photos, I thought the proportions of the bass headstock weren't quite right.

When compared with the prototype, the bottom didn't look right, so I tweaked the bass headstock to more closely mirror the proportions of the guitar.

I was able to set up shop, do the work, tear down and clean up in less than an hour.

A subtle change, but well worth it I think:

DSC00383.jpg
 
#11
Up to this point I’ve been too lazy to buy set-up tools, and wanted to get a little PR with a local shop, so I brought the first three in for a professional set-up.

The guys at the shop really like the work I did, and I may have made a few connections for custom neck and body work.

So, here you go, Bass #1:

DSC00384.jpg


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#12
So that's just over a year's woth of activity compressed into a few quick posts.

I've got a few things in the hopper and I will be sure to document them here going forward.

Thank you!
 
#16
Subscribed. I thought of doing something like that... my friend's father is a really famous painter here in Brazil, and I'd like to strip the poly finish off my Fretless Geddy and have him paint it... for a small fee. But I would need the help of an experienced luthier, which is something hard to find here in northeastern Brazil.
 

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