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SBO 2022 - GMC Basses #9: Back to the beginning

#121
I finished off the fret board slots on my fretless bass. It's looking really nice. I got another few coats of wipe on poly on it this morning.
I sanded back my SBO project's top. It looks fine, so I put a 1st coat of wipe on poly on it and I can see grain pits. So I might sand it back and apply some more sanding sealer.
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#122
Again, not much to photographically show to today's effort. I've got c oats of wipe on poly applied and then did a wet sand of 400 grit. Allowed it a few hours to dry and then applied another 4 coats. The grain pores are nearly filled. I'm So temped to buy a few cans of 2K rattle can lacquer! I could have the high build top coat layered in less than an hour.
 
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#127
I put another few coats of poly on...it's a little bit soft. So I probably need to leave it for a few days to harden more.

I made a headstock drilling template, working out the correct placement for the tuner holes and straight string path over the nut. I drilled out the 4 pilot holes on the headstock. I'll drill those out tomorrow, once the poly has hardened a bit more.

I've also been investigating how to make my own Luminlay side dots. I have some green powder that I can add to an epoxy mix. I've bought some 3mm carbon fibre tube. Initially, I added the powder to some Araldite epoxy...loaded it into a syringe and it was a bit of a disaster. This stuff is way too thick to push through a syringe. So I tried shoving the mix directly into the hollow tube and this didn't work either.
Then drilled a pair of 3mm holes into a piece of scrap maple. I pushed the carbon rod into the hole as far as it would go and cut it off flush. I then packed the raw powder into the centre of the tubing and sealed it with superglue. Not bad at all! It's fidly and it needs to done in-situ but it's a lot cheaper than luninlays. Here in the UK I'm looking at £68 for 2 lengths of this stuff. Most of this is postage!
Tomorrow, I have some luminous nail polish arriving...so I'll try that as well.
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#130
I finally found some time today to drill out the tuner peg holes and fit the nut. I placed the bridge, tuners and pickups to see how they fit...and how they look. I also shaped the cavity access plate to fit too. Quite productive. The poly is still very soft and I've had a few drips...So I foresee a lot of sanding next week once this lot has hardened.
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#135
The Solarez Lacquer arrived this morning and I've been applying to the freshly sanded underside of this bass. It's unusual stuff for sure. I'm using a foam pad / brush to apply and it's a lot thicker than I'd imagined. It's the same consistency as regular poly and considering this is the brush on formula, I'd expected it to be a similar consistency as wipe on poly. The first coat went on a bit blotchy and streaky, but subsequent coats really flows out better. It actually forms quite a thick coat and the recommended 400 grit might seem a little harsh but really is perfect for taking down bumps and imperfections. It also acts as a perfect key to the next coat. UV drying / cure times...hmm the instructions say, paint on with a foam brush, let it flow out for 3-4 mins and then take out into the daylight for 3-4 mins cure time. Here in the UK...I would double or treble those times. It's certainly slower cure here. However, it's also easier to gauge when the right time for the next coat. A little like poly, there a window where the coats merge. Before this window and you mess up the previous coats, after this window and you have to let it fully harden and it effectively becomes a separate coat. For me, today in the Uk..that's about 5-10 mins cure time. I'm thinking that a final coat and full cure will probably take about 30-45mins.
What I like about this stuff is the cure time. I can get a single side done in a UK day. That's way faster than poly or Nito...and there's no noxious fumes or PPP required.

Here's some photos with about 3 coats on, drying in the UK overcast daytime.
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#136
GMC said:
The headache I'm having is cutting the 3mm carbon fibre tube cleanly. Once I get that bit right...the rest is fairly straight forwards! But right now...those luminlay dots are looking a lot easier!
Click to expand...
I wonder if you could use one of those tubing cutters for doing automotive brake lines and such -
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You just put the tube in it, put a tiny bit of pressure on it, spin it around a few times, put a tiny bit more pressure on it, keep repeating until it cuts through.

Just a thought.
 
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#138
Max Bogosity said:
That looks great. I hear wildly conflicting reports about Solarez curing quickly, or slowly, or not at all. Wonder if it's a shelf life issue.
Click to expand...


That could be part of it. Another thing that happened to me when I first tried SolarEZ, or what I think happened anyway, is it soaked too deep into the raw endgrain and the sunlight couldn't get to it and cure it. It's probably a good idea to seal at least the endgrain on a body or neck before you start with the SolarEZ.
 
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#140
Flamingo21 said:
OP, how do you like the look? On these photos, at least on my screen, it looks fantastic. Bright and deep at the same time.
Click to expand...
It seems to increase contrast slightly better than the Poly I've been using. There's no blue cast that I usually see with water-based poly. It has a slight yellow hue, but far less than nitro or poly. I'm still waiting for it to fully cure so it has a slightly rubbery feel to it at the moment. However, it's a good sign that it needs brisk sanding with a heavy grit at this stage. I'm sure it'll fully cure to 2K levels of hardness.
 
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