• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Koa P

#41
GigantorTX said:
Holy crap...
This is a thing of beauty! My personal preference would be black hardware, but I can't wait to see that chrome bling when you get the finish finished!
Click to expand...

Thanks Gig!

I have all the hardware purchased already, so it looks like I'm stuck with chrome.

Wow, it been a couple weeks since I posted to this one.
It's coming along nicely. This as well as other posts are really about watching paint dry. I feel stupid in posting these, but this one is a little different. I have noticed what a great job TruOil does in exposing chatoyance in the wood. I've elected to go that route with this instrument. Pic shows 1st coat. I really took my time to sand this out down to 400 before I started putting down oil. Also, I am not wet sanding this one with oil, which is my usual tactic.

Thanks for looking

5-51P42.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: kkaarrll, ipg, superheavydeathmetal and 1 other person
#43
Update

It's been a while, but here are some updates.
Been putting a lot of Tru Oil down. I approached the back and the front a little differently. For the front, I have 4 coats of sealer down, and it has been sanded to 400. I'll be putting down coats of true oil now. Maybe about 5.
5-51P43.jpg


For the back, I didn't use the sealer. I wanted to see how many coats it would take. I found my answer. Too many. It needs to be sanded out. After I sand it out, I'll probably put down another 5 coats.
5-51P44.jpg


I'm done with the finish on the neck. 3 coats of sealer, 5 coats of oil. Hand buffed out. It's shines like a sheet of glass.
5-51P45.jpg


Thanks for watching
 
  • Like
Reactions: ipg, kkaarrll, PDX Rich and 6 others
#47
Duder said:
I decided I just needed to start following you so I don't miss any builds. You do amazing work!
Click to expand...
buzzwah said:
I concur!
Click to expand...
Triad said:
I'm not a Fender guy at all but really like this build, congrats!
Click to expand...

Thanks to all for the comps. I've been fortunate to find really nice pieces of wood, and even more fortunate to have the skills to shape them into instruments.
It's not quite BAD (Bass Assembly Day) But we are getting real close.

Since my last post I put down 5 coats of TruOil, and wet sanded and/or buffed out each coat. The top glossy coat is Formby's Tung oil. I put it on this morning, and I'll wait a few days to see how it has hardened up. Might put on one more coat. There are some minor imperfections

It's truly an amazing piece of wood
5-51P46.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: kkaarrll, Gilmourisgod, Duder and 1 other person
#49
Triad said:
How many hours of work do you have in this bass?
Click to expand...

I got about 38.5hr into this at this time.
That includes design, template build, cutting wood, sanding, finishing, and everything in between.
I'll need another 10 to 15 hours to finish it

Still need to put the side dots on the neck, polish out the FB, final assembly, and setup, and anything else that needs to be done. I really need to be patient with this, so that the 12 hours will probably happen over the next 2 weeks or so.

Raw materials are in the $675 neighborhood
 
#53
Gilmourisgod said:
Damn that's nice, an heirloom bass for sure. What's Koa like to work with? Harder or softer than mahogany? That tru oil finish is incredible, have to try that.
Click to expand...
Thanks Gilly. It's very similar to working with Mahogany. Just a tad softer, and just as porous.

PDX Rich said:
How did it go with the Tung oil atop the Tru Oil? I had a difficult time keeping the wipe marks out of the final Tru Oil coat, so I am curious about the Formby's Tung to finish it off.
Click to expand...
The Formbys adds a nice gloss. I didn't notice the wipe marks until I put on the Formby, which seemed to amplify them a bit. It's not bad at all though. They can only be seen from certain limmited angles. So I'm debating on how much more I want to wet sand, revist with another layer or 2 of Formbys.
 
#55
PDX Rich said:
How did it go with the Tung oil atop the Tru Oil? I had a difficult time keeping the wipe marks out of the final Tru Oil coat, so I am curious about the Formby's Tung to finish it off.
Click to expand...

FYI, on the side where I used the sealer, I got a real nice finish, and I won't be resurfacing. On the side where I didn't use the sealer is where I got the streaking, and I've put some time in on this and have done some significant sanding to get the streaks out.
 
#56
Update.

Been doing a lot of sanding and polishing. I really didn't like the way the back and sides turned out so I took it down to the wood and started over. The back, which is shown in the pic below has 3 coats of sealer, 7 coats of Tru Oil, and 2 coats of Formbys Tung oil. Between each coat I used a synthetic steel wool to buff it out. On the last couple of coats of True Oil I followed the steel wool with varying grits of polishing paper. The Formbys coats, I used a polishing paper only. I'll put a coat of wax on just before assembly.

This will now sit for a week or 2 before I go to assemble it

One of the problem I had with the first finish I had on the back was that there seemed to be steel wool hairs all over the place. Yes I used a tac cloth, but it just didn't get everything. Once I moved to the synthetic, that problem went away. The real steel wool is a little more effective in smoothing out the finish, but not nearly as cost effective the synthetic is.

5-51P48.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: rojo412 and Duder
#57
That looks great!

I agree on the steel wool. That crap gets everywhere and tack cloth isn't entirely effective. I may give the tung oil a shot when I do another Tru Oil finish. I didn't use the BC wax product--I used auto wax instead. I am curious how that turns out!
 
#60
Scoops said:
It is just slightly louder than the others. I lowered both pups a tad. Seemed to help a little. I'll dial in pickup height when I do the final assembly. I don't perceive this to be a big problem.

Spent some quality time with this bass. Played it a lot. I elected to shaved the neck down far enough to make it comfortable, yet still keeping it very thick. I did this all with the strings still on. I wanted to see if the neck would bow back. It didn't. No dead notes either.

Time to take it apart and start finishing it.



5-51P40.jpg
Click to expand...
What is that handy dandy little tool there? I assume you used that to shave it down?
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back