A Paisley project

Had a spare body lying around, and saw this material- not the right stuff I know - but I'm colourblind - so colour is an unknown world

interesting...

(we need that popcorn eatin' icon)

Subscribed!
I love paisley (on anything, not just guitars)
I can't wait to see how this BAMF turns out :D

Left the glue to dry for 3 hours- then trimmed the top with a craft knife.
Next step is to "tack" any loose bits down and add the back

And a shot of the back, and trimming excess

interesting...

(we need that popcorn eatin' icon)

Here ya go, I'm enjoying this too!

what type of glue did you use, and is the fabric cotton or nylon,

the colour is redish with a bit of green in it, look's fine,

Yes! The more paisley the better. I love the color of your paisley fabric. Very nice. Keep it coming!

what type of glue did you use, and is the fabric cotton or nylon,

the colour is redish with a bit of green in it, look's fine,

Tyhanks - I like the pattern- and colours (I think) - to my colour blind eyes its a salmon redd colour, with a little brown and green

I am using PVA glue- just like primary schhol crafts - its easy to use, easy to clean and sets hard enough to sand

OH- and the Fabric is cotton - I have enough left for about 2-3 guitars - all for £8 on Fleabay

As an update
I went all around the edge, smearing the edge down with PVA glue on my fingertip- the aim is to stop snaggles and make the edge hard enough to sand

Then mixed a wash of PVA and water and coated both front and back

this should glaze the cloth and give a base for the lacquer, but the next job, once this dry's, is to sand the edges to a sharp edge.
The plan is for a pinkish sunburst - and gold hardware- or is that too blingy?

Too blingy...? Never!

In that case - gold it is!

I'd recommend softening the edge. A sharp edge is murder to get the finish to build on.

I'd recommend softening the edge. A sharp edge is murder to get the finish to build on.

Thats good advice- and I came to it too late!
I had a go at applying a "pink burst" to the fabric - looks good, as its sunk in to the cloth- and the pattern still shows through - but the edge is sharp - and does stand out - hmmmm - may need a bit of thought

Are you selling off the extra fabric?
That has put an idea into my head for sure.

Hi
I am keeping 1 more (strat sized piece) - but there should be enough for another guitar - once I get home tonight - I will measure up and if theres enough I will send it over (free of course) drop me a note with your address and I will send it over (Im an ex pat Lancastrian from Chorley - but now in Sunny Somerset)

Thanks for this kind gesture.
I have dropped you a message with my details.
Hopefully this will kick off my project build.

Yup...looks like a great thread....I'll be watching too!

Its a real learning process for me - so at least this will be a Thread on how not to do it - and people can avoid all my mistakes!

Looks good! I can't wait to see the pinkburst.

What are you going to do for the neck pickup and bridge?

Not gold!!!! Nickel... Gold way too much!!! (IMHO and all that)

Looks good! I can't wait to see the pinkburst.

What are you going to do for the neck pickup and bridge?

I have a chrome pickup ring- so I think that and no pickguard
I have a set of Mex tele pups somewhere-so i think I will try those

I don t know re the bridge - a std ashtray I think- but id prefer minimalist (im shrinking away from gold1)

No update for a while - well at least no pics yet - but

I have decided to paint the sides, and a front and back halo (sunburst thing) in pink - the actual Paisley pattern is more salmon - but the pink should be a contrast and a bit of shock value.
1st attempt - on the back - highlighted a few issues (so if your a 1st timer at this, like me, learn from my mistakes!)
The cloth absorbed paint like a sponge - and this makes it hard to judge when enough is enough, so
I have left the body for a few days and sanded back the pain a little - I will add pics later - but its now at the stage where its translucent - but the graduation is too stark - there is a visible line where the pink burst stops and where the untouched fabric starts.
Won't have time to touch it again until a week or so - but perhapw thats a good thing!

The cloth absorbed paint like a sponge - and this makes it hard to judge when enough is enough, so


There was someone on here who did a fabric job and layered glue over the top to seal the fabric as dried clear.

Luke.

Luke

Cheers for that - I did try that (with watered down PVA) - but I think I made it too thin - so not a good seal
I will try again with a thicker mix

A quick mock up - a set of Wilkinson vintage pups, and I think I will go with no pickguard

Too cold to spray here at the minute (in my unheated shed) - so the project is on hold until the sun arrives (if it arrives)
In the meantime I have coated the material in another layer of "glue-wash" - pva mixed with water - to stiffen it up,
Oh - and hunted down the string through holes, bridge screw holes and rear ferrule holes- as they disappeared underneath the fabric -

A quick mock up - a set of Wilkinson vintage pups, and I think I will go with no pickguard

Too cold to spray here at the minute (in my unheated shed) - so the project is on hold until the sun arrives (if it arrives)
In the meantime I have coated the material in another layer of "glue-wash" - pva mixed with water - to stiffen it up,
Oh - and hunted down the string through holes, bridge screw holes and rear ferrule holes- as they disappeared underneath the fabric -

im really diggin' paisley at the moment - so lovin this

IMO tho, i would go with a pickguard, would look great with that design, but ure tele, go with what makes u smile!

Looks good!

Are you sure about the pick up ring in the neck pup and not clear acrylic pickguard? It may wear out nasty when pick tears thru the clear coat and starts to rip the fabric.

you may well be right - as i noticed that the access slot between the neck pocket and pickup cavity does stand out a little - I could plug it i suppose, but, I will have a look around for a clear guard as an option
cheers
ian

A little more work done over the weekend - basically I have attempted to do a "pink sunburst" front and rear - so
I made a template (tracing round the body) and cut out about 1-2 inches inside the body outline
then weighted this down on guitar, leaving the edges loose - to allow spray to go under.
The cloth really soaks up the paint - but, once it dries its possible to sand it back - to get a translucent effect - a couple of quick pics - the effect looks much more subtle in real life- the pics look a bit too harsh -
Next step is to sand the cloth back a little, then to sand back the sides, repaint, sand back, repaint etc

That's quite a shade of pink you've got there my friend...... Looking good though!

That's quite a shade of pink you've got there my friend...... Looking good though!

Its certainly pink! - my wife took one look and said "good that your in touch with your feminine side" and walked off lol

Looking good.

I would go with the clear pickguard.

Looking good.

I would go with the clear pickguard.

Thanks - and yes - i took advice and have a clear pickguard on order - need to make a plug for the body end truss rod gap though as it really stands out when I mocked up the guitar and neck

Thanks - and yes - i took advice and have a clear pickguard on order - need to make a plug for the body end truss rod gap though as it really stands out when I mocked up the guitar and neck

Do you think that maybe that truss rod thing might get covered by that little blob of pink paint you are going to put around the pickup on the bottom side of the pickup?

:wink:

Do you think that maybe that truss rod thing might get covered by that little blob of pink paint you are going to put around the pickup on the bottom side of the pickup?

:wink:

Now that is an idea! - gotta love this place - so many brains!I'm sure if we put our heads togethwer we would have world peace sorted out in notime - and cold fusion too!

I will try that thanks!

OH- and the Fabric is cotton - I have enough left for about 2-3 guitars - all for £8 on Fleabay

Had a quick search on eBay and couldn't find anything obviously similar.

Would you be kind enough to post a link?

:smile: Peter

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310203617717

Hi - this is the link to the material I bought - I bought 3 metres - which is 8 fat queartes i think
I used 1 lot on the tele, gave enough away for another tele - and I have enough left to do a strat, and possibly 1 more

cheers
ian

Here's a link to a factory Fender PG with the pink paint around the neck pickup cutout:
http://compare.ebay.com/like/250781212752?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&rvr_id=217771864081&crlp=1_263602_309572&UA=M*S%3F&GUID=a9f4c4df12e0a0e1e581e231fff62e07&itemid=250781212752&ff4=263602_309572

You can see that it easily covers the TR access as well as the neck pickup rout.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310203617717

Hi - this is the link to the material I bought - I bought 3 metres - which is 8 fat queartes i think
I used 1 lot on the tele, gave enough away for another tele - and I have enough left to do a strat, and possibly 1 more

cheers
ian

Thanks Ian

:smile: Peter

Here's a link to a factory Fender PG with the pink paint around the neck pickup cutout:
http://compare.ebay.com/like/250781212752?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&rvr_id=217771864081&crlp=1_263602_309572&UA=M*S%3F&GUID=a9f4c4df12e0a0e1e581e231fff62e07&itemid=250781212752&ff4=263602_309572

You can see that it easily covers the TR access as well as the neck pickup rout.


Ah I see !- many thanks - I will make sure I save a dab of paint!

The burst pattern looks real good. But, personally, I think the pink is a bit off and doesn't match your paisley. Nothing wrong with pink. But, from my screen, the red is more like a maroon. I would try to find some that matches the red a bit more or go with gold. You might be able to find a nice metallic red at an auto parts store that is close.

You said that the fabric is soaking up the paint. Didn't you clear over the fabric. I would advise it just in case you have to sand back and reshoot the burst. You want a nice flat smooth surface to lay the burst down on.

Just some suggestions. But, I do love your fabric!

The burst pattern looks real good. But, personally, I think the pink is a bit off and doesn't match your paisley. Nothing wrong with pink. But, from my screen, the red is more like a maroon. I would try to find some that matches the red a bit more or go with gold. You might be able to find a nice metallic red at an auto parts store that is close.

You said that the fabric is soaking up the paint. Didn't you clear over the fabric. I would advise it just in case you have to sand back and reshoot the burst. You want a nice flat smooth surface to lay the burst down on.

Just some suggestions. But, I do love your fabric!

Hi - thanks and yes its pink - but not as bad in the flesh as the pics seem to show - (but I do have red/green colour blindness lol)
I didnt shoot clear on the fabric- i laid a couple of layers of watered down pva as a seal - but it didnt seem to seal totally- ah well live and learn!
i have enough fabric left for 1 more shot! if this 1 is a total writeoff

An update - as this project has moved on a bit

The good - I have a very good (classic sounding) Tele - that clicked together and almost plays itself - the bad points - well it doesnt look as good as I would like - here are a few pics - and the lessons learned

In terms of spec -

I fitted a clear guard - from Axesrus - very reasonable!- and fitted a chrome pickup ring too - as I liked the look
The pickups are Wilkinson classics - Imho incredible sound for the cash!
The bridge is a no name, 3 barrel affair - perfectly fine for the time being

Now - the bad stuff (and lessons learned)

The material (though I love the look) - proved to be very (and I mean very) absorbent I made the mistake of not shooting clear before I tried to shoot the burst - and it was very hard to judge how much was enough

When it came time to shoot clear the material soaked up 2 cans - before there was a decent level to sand flat - and a further can and a half to coat after that
The Pink burst - atually looks better in the flesh than the pics - but it was my 1st go at a burst type finish - and its not what I wanted to achieve

The main problem is I used an old body I had around - and that had been stained.waxed before - I musnt have cleaned the sides well enough - as the paint I applied has flaked, bubbled - and generally been a pain
So - I have gone with the flow - and left the sides, (perhaps to revisit)

I have enough material left for another body - and hopefully I will make a better job - but I have a guitar that is great to play - and had fun in the assembling - so its a win!

IB, well looks pretty good in the photos.

Thanks for sharing your project with us. On sealing the fabric, I think many who do a fabric or paper build use either decoupage glue (which goes on very thick and will over the fabric in a few layers) or sanding sealer.

But, from where you are, you can always add more clear to get a smooth surface, ala Bucko's sparkle teles. He just keeps layering the clear until the sparkle texture is gone. That HAS to have more surface variation than the fabric.

On the sides, I woe suggest the following.
1. Sand or brush off anything that's flaking and loose. Just clean it off however you can.
2. Tape off the front and back.
3. Spray the sides with some shellac. This can be clear or a white shellac based primer. Shellac makes a great sealer and generally adheres to almost anything.
4. Respray your pink on the sides.

But, since you just finished, I would enjoy it for a bit. You will find in a year or several months you will have more energy or interest in redoing and getting it right.

Lastly... Head over to the reranch forum and check out some of the fabric refinishes over there. Some really nice examples and good tutorials on how they did them.

Thats all good advice - and thanks - I think I am going to leave it, and play it for a month or two - and then see how I feel
The decoupage glue is probably the way to go, as the pva glue (watered down) that I used on this one seemed to disappear
I have enough of this material (though I am hankering for a blue one) - so I am definately going to have another go- there's always room for one more project! (or 6)