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Six string spalted maple, fretless, and first build ... kit

#161
I'm not sure whether you want to give this a go, but try lazertran paper. This does not require turp or anything like that.
Print your logo
wait a minute or two
slide the logo in the water (it will come off like a clear sticker)
stick it on your FB, pet it dry with paper towel (it will dry with white bg, but as soon as you spray your clear coat on it, it will become transparent)
spay the clear coat on top of it and no offense, you will get 100x better result than the picture you posted.

Here is an amazon link to get it.

I used it for my logo before

Invalid Link Removed

I hope it helps. All the best.
 
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#162
michaelwayneharwood said:
How disappointing! I love your tenacity - great job man!
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Thanks!
Dash Lashes said:
hi. cool thread. are these kits made in the ESP/LTD factory, or are they copies? weird, i thought the ltd version is a 35" scale. good luck!
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I think the ESP/LTD factory is in South Korea, because my Brice HXB-405 (seen in my avatar) is a 35" scale ESP/LTD-looking model. The kit I'm building now is 34" scale and "made" in China.

Harry Cahyadi said:
I'm not sure whether you want to give this a go, but try lazertran paper.
Click to expand...

It's not the application that disappoints me, I just don't think the logo on the fingerboard looks quite like I envisioned it to appear. The rosewood fingerboard is much darker than your headstock.

I ended up taking off the smaller logo and placed the larger one down last night. It looks better, to me, but I'm still not sure I want to keep it.

image.jpg


It's amazing how dark the label gets when I lay it on the fretboard. This particular label was printed almost sky blue. I'm not sure that the label is 100% centered properly, but if I decide I want to keep it, I can live with the placement.

So, do I keep it?
 
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#163
eightyearsapril said:
So, do I keep it?
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Are you 10000% happy with it? if you are not sure, I suggest you to take it off. It is easier to do it now rather than later.

I'm not sure why your paper does not retain the original colour.
The paper that I used will give the exact colour I see when it comes out of the printer, irrespective of the wood colour.

It looks like your paper absorbed the turp and changed its colour.

Have you tried spaying the clear coat on top of it? In a test piece of course :smug:
 
#164
Harry Cahyadi said:
It looks like your paper absorbed the turp and changed its colour.

Have you tried spaying the clear coat on top of it? In a test piece of course :smug:
Click to expand...
There was no turpentine used on this; my tests were not good with this paper, sealing with clear coat (answering your question), and using turpentine.

For this, I just sprayed the printed label sheet with clear coat, let it dry, cut to shape, wet it, and slid the label onto the rosewood. I let it dry in place overnight.

Harry Cahyadi said:
Are you 10000% happy with it? if you are not sure, I suggest you to take it off. It is easier to do it now rather than later.
Click to expand...
Maybe not 10,000% happy, but about 99%. I think it'll look good once sealed.

My plan is to now wait for the winds to die down, and then spray 2-3 coats of clear coat on the fingerboard, and then seal it more with CA glue. I have all of the materials I need for it, I've tested it plenty times ;), and I'm excited to get it done this weekend. If the winds will calm down, here, I can get to work.
 
#167
Three coats of clear are on, and I'm very happy with it. I wonder, if I can skip the CA glue (and its fumes, which gave me a horrible allergic reaction during my last test), and just put lots (10-15?) of coats of clear to finish and protect the fingerboard. I'm using this Rustoleum:

image.jpg


I'm probably not going to use rounds too much on this bass, mostly flats or ground/compression wound strings. I tried searching for anyone coating a fretless fingerboard with this without success.
 
#168
If I were you I would avoid enamel on the fingerboard as it does not cure as hard as other clear finishes. Even though you may not be using rounds the strings will still dig into the finish and leave grooves behind eventually. If this were a fretted bass it would be less of a concern, but being fretless means you are going to be on the finish all the time. Worst case scenario is that you do it, don't like it, and have to redo it so it's not a show stopper by any means.

EDIT: I just realized you are more than three coats into it! I am a dumb dude sometimes. ;) My unasked for and non-expert advice is to wait for the enamel to fully cure and see what you have with the bass strung up. If you like it, you are golden, and as I said before if long term it doesn't work out you can always redo the coating with something else.
 
#171
michaelwayneharwood said:
Be aware that drying time and curing time are two totally different hings. Enamel can take up to 7 days to cure.

EDIT: Oil based enamel takes up to 7 days, water based can take much longer.
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Okay, this jives well with my upcoming work trip next week. I'll do a few more coats tomorrow and let it cure all week while I'm gone.

BTW, the logo is looking really good now. I'm glad I kep it.
 
#173
I only had a chance to put one more, a seventh, coat of clear on the fingerboard yesterday, so now it will sit and cure all week while I'm gone. I will need to put more on, either of the clear, or my original plan of the CA glue, because the dimples from the too-deep abalone dot inlays, as well as the nicks from fret removal, aren't quite filled evenly. But, it looks and feels fantastic.

2015-04-06 09.34.23.jpg
 
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#174
Back from my trip and the clear coat is mostly cured. It looks and feels fantastic. The blue lines are subtle, and the green on 12 and 24 more dynamic, which is exactly what I wanted. There's also a nice sheen.

It's not going to be hard enough to just use that to seal the board, so I'll start with CA glue next. The weather finally improved while I was gone and spring has arrived, so I can work out on the balcony. That will help with the allergies I've had while using CA.

I also received the proper concentric knob from BBG while I was away. The first one I ordered, from Carvin, was too small for the Pope, and I ordered the wrong style from BBG last time. So, now I have plenty of spare knobs.
 
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#176
I've lost count of how many coats of glue I've done this week, but I'm getting close to finishing. It isn't smooth and polished yet, but the inconsistencies are getting smaller and smaller, and I'm now sanding with 1000 and 1500 grit paper, rather than 400 and 600 (I was using 600 and 1000) before the last round of sanding.

Here are some in progress pictures from this afternoon. It's a pleasure being able to work outside again.

image.jpg


image.jpg
 
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#178
I did a few more coats Thursday night and yesterday morning, and then started wet sanding. I started at 400, then 600, then 1000, 2000, 2400, 3200, 3600, and finished with 4000 (the highest grit I have).

I just finished after spending about three hours today with the 2000-4000 grits. I'm very happy, and I believe he fingerboard is now done.



Pictures soon...
 
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