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Lefty Fretless Jazz Bass
- Thread starter Brett Zeppelin
- Start date
Hopkins
Commercial User
It works well with urethane, but on nitro it seemed like the CA would always show itself through the finish.
OK, great. One more coat it is.
I did a little YouTubing on this process in general. In order to get the finish into a "drop" medium where I could drop it on there or brush it on, I would have to spray some into a cup or something like that — right? I've done similar things before with other projects (not guitar-related), so if that's what you do I am familiar with that process. Is there any sense in trying to actually fix this nick? Here it is again (before my most recent coat last night), to give you an idea for the scale of it:
There's also one on the neck pickup (you can kinda see it above), but it seems to be blending away at this point. Here's that one, though (again, before last night's painting):
Hopkins
Commercial User
Exactly, spray some of it in the cap and use a tooth pick or something to place a single drop in the bad spot. Give it a few days to dry before you sand it out.
Where did you say these nicks came from? Is it something people should know about when ordering from that vendor?
This was from manufacturing; I got it this way. Considering my experience in milling and the type of things that happen when one mills wood, my best guess is that it happened when it was on his machine. I don't know if this is typical of a manufacturer to let them go out in this fashion, as this is my first-ever build. It was disclosed upfront that I would need to perform finishing work to get it to where it needed to be before painting, but this might be a stretch on that definition.
In my extensive grain filling and body prep work, this somehow did not get detected. I'm not sure how because I was/am unrelenting in my attentiveness to detail. I think what happened (in terms of why it's still there) is that I filled it way back in the beginning, but throughout the multiple sanding steps I did between now and then, the filler may have just become sanded-out or something. In either case, it bugs me and I need to get it fixed. I really can't have that showing in the final product.
Interesting. I remember being quite interested in the seller you got those parts from, but now, I'm not so sure. I got a body from Warmoth with a smaller nick than that in it, and I sent it back for an upgraded exchange (they let me pick the top for free on the new body).
There's a lot going into my experience here, so I wouldn't unequivocally rule this guy out for future projects. This is my first rodeo and I'm sure there's a bit of that factor at play with all of this. That said, he's definitely a small outfit and as such probably can't really afford to offer replacements for customers at this point in his operation (I'm pretty sure he's new to the industry) for something that he would likely deem "no big deal" or "that's part of the 'finishing work required' caveat that I mentioned prior to your purchase." I'm not excusing anything, but I do understand it.
There's also certainly a level of "you get what you pay for," and I think that with any milled — as opposed to hand-carved — body you might have something like this happen pretty regularly. Milling wood is a real pain in the butt, even with the best equipment.
I have confirmed with my local luthier that he does good work on necks, so for my next build I will be using him to make me a neck blank (I'll be shaping my own headstock design).
After settling down a little bit (both me and the paint 
), the nick has definitely mellowed-out considerably since last night's coat. It's still visible, but not as bad as it's been. I'm going to shoot her again tonight anyway because the cutaways need a little bit of work, so we will see how the nick looks after that. Here's how it looks as of a few minutes ago (last night's coat, no sanding today yet):
), the nick has definitely mellowed-out considerably since last night's coat. It's still visible, but not as bad as it's been. I'm going to shoot her again tonight anyway because the cutaways need a little bit of work, so we will see how the nick looks after that. Here's how it looks as of a few minutes ago (last night's coat, no sanding today yet):
All right, so tonight I really "went for it" and I finally got myself to apply the paint thick enough that it started to sag and run in some places. I feel like I'm part of the club now. For the most part the coat looks really, really, really good; it's just those sags that I'll obviously need to sand-out when the paint dries. After fixing those areas do I move on to clear-coating or do I try to get "one last perfect coat" of color?
Also, I've got only one 16oz can of clear for the body. I have a feeling I'll need more than that, but I could be wrong — and actually I hope I am — but I'll buy more if needed. I used a lot of paint tonight so I could stand to purchase yet another can of Olympic White from Reranch, as I still need to paint the headstock!
Also, I've got only one 16oz can of clear for the body. I have a feeling I'll need more than that, but I could be wrong — and actually I hope I am — but I'll buy more if needed. I used a lot of paint tonight so I could stand to purchase yet another can of Olympic White from Reranch, as I still need to paint the headstock!
Thanks. It feels good to get the affirmation from the luthiers out there! I'm still just starting with all this stuff and hopefully will catch up with you guys soon. I have learned so much about prep and paint during this project it's ridiculous. I still have all the wiring and that to do after I get this stuff done, which is yet another new endeavor for me.
That looks really good! Any issues with paint plugging up the wire chases for the bridge ground wire, etc.? I'm brand spankin new at this so just trying to look out for issues.
Not as far as I know, but I suppose we will find out. I'd have to think that the guy who made the body accounted for a little wiggle room in those holes so that the paint wouldn't restrict/prevent wires from being run through them.
By the way, I'm brand new at this, too. I'm learning as I go, but of course also trying to ask as many questions and read as much information on these subjects as possible before doing anything. There've been a lot of people helping me out along the way.
Hopkins
Commercial User
There you go, I think you got it figured out now. I think you are good on color coats, you should have enough finish to be able to completely block sand it flat and start with the clear. If you get it level and lay down a couple coats like that with the clear you can probably get buy with one can.
Sweet. That makes me pretty stoked to hear/read. Just so I understand this correctly: I am to start sanding now to prep for the first clear coat, which will make then take this nice shine out and make the color coat dull — correct?
