Lap Steel Build Thread - Page 3

aznrambo481 · October 26th, 2007, 01:38 PM

I decided I'd prefer not spending 6 weeks on the grain fill process... so I got filler. Mayber for another time!

Nothing could have prepared me for the grain that popped out when I spread that stuff on. It was deep, beautiful grain that I never would have expected! It's really hard to take pictures of grain, especially when it's on a coat hanger swaying in the wind (going in and out of focus on the camera

). But I tried anyways.

Here's the back. The white is grain filler(dries clear)

Here's the body (on the right) compared to a piece of mahogany I cut off a month ago. Again, it's kind of hard to see an improvement...

Oddly enough, the most beautiful grain turned up in the places where I least expected it. One of those was the back of the headstock, on the transition of thicknesses. The slope was an ugly mess, but now it gleams.

aznrambo481 · October 26th, 2007, 01:38 PM

The fretboard seems to have changed colors with the application. Now it's a slight orange color too!

Is this how the finished product will look? If so, I'm really excited for the project!!

aznrambo481 · December 27th, 2007, 02:17 PM

It's been sealed.
It's been sanded.
It's been coated a couple of times with deft.

It's sitting outside, in the cool shade on a nice day.

No pictures, but nice to get the build going again. The last several seeks have been excruciatingly busy. Hope to get this build going again during my winter break. I did several passes of a light mist coat; it looks as though it's orange peeled quite a bit. I'll let it dry till tomorrow, then knock it down and do some more coats. I have 3 cans of deft, and am planning on doing this till it's a nice, shiny perfect finish.

JohnnyCrash · December 27th, 2007, 02:56 PM

Dang... I lost track of this thread...

Very cool to see the progress.

I can't wait for photos of the completed build!

aznrambo481 · February 15th, 2008, 10:46 PM

The 3 cans of deft are on. It looks nice. there's definitely an eyelash in the finish that I'm not too motivated to sand out. I'm going to give it another 2 weeks to completely dry out. Then I'll start sanding and buffing. I'll get a shot of it later... it's got a nice grain. I love grain.

aznrambo481 · March 4th, 2008, 08:03 PM

Over the last several days, I have been sanding down the orange peel, everything to a dull sheen. Using a combination of 400 and 600 grit, I am wetsanding until the shiny spots are done. It has taken about 3 hours so far, and I can probably finish it up with an additional 1 hour. After that, I am planning a trip to an automotive repair store... where I will get the 800-200 grit sandpaper and the car polish stuff. I am sure that there are a bunch of posts documenting this process... so there probably will not be any pictures until the end (unless any object!!).

October 26th, 2007, 01:38 PM	#81 (permalink)
aznrambo481 Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: La Jolla, California Age: 17 Posts: 2,833 6 Photos	I decided I'd prefer not spending 6 weeks on the grain fill process... so I got filler. Mayber for another time! Nothing could have prepared me for the grain that popped out when I spread that stuff on. It was deep, beautiful grain that I never would have expected! It's really hard to take pictures of grain, especially when it's on a coat hanger swaying in the wind (going in and out of focus on the camera ). But I tried anyways. Here's the back. The white is grain filler(dries clear) Here's the body (on the right) compared to a piece of mahogany I cut off a month ago. Again, it's kind of hard to see an improvement... Oddly enough, the most beautiful grain turned up in the places where I least expected it. One of those was the back of the headstock, on the transition of thicknesses. The slope was an ugly mess, but now it gleams. __________________ "Never age. Never die. Live forever in that one last white-hot moment, when the crowd screamed. When every note was a heartbeat. Burn across the sky."-Terry Pratchett, Soul Music.

October 26th, 2007, 01:38 PM	#82 (permalink)
aznrambo481 Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: La Jolla, California Age: 17 Posts: 2,833 6 Photos	The fretboard seems to have changed colors with the application. Now it's a slight orange color too! Is this how the finished product will look? If so, I'm really excited for the project!! __________________ "Never age. Never die. Live forever in that one last white-hot moment, when the crowd screamed. When every note was a heartbeat. Burn across the sky."-Terry Pratchett, Soul Music.

December 27th, 2007, 02:17 PM	#83 (permalink)
aznrambo481 Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: La Jolla, California Age: 17 Posts: 2,833 6 Photos	It's been sealed. It's been sanded. It's been coated a couple of times with deft. It's sitting outside, in the cool shade on a nice day. No pictures, but nice to get the build going again. The last several seeks have been excruciatingly busy. Hope to get this build going again during my winter break. I did several passes of a light mist coat; it looks as though it's orange peeled quite a bit. I'll let it dry till tomorrow, then knock it down and do some more coats. I have 3 cans of deft, and am planning on doing this till it's a nice, shiny perfect finish. __________________ "Never age. Never die. Live forever in that one last white-hot moment, when the crowd screamed. When every note was a heartbeat. Burn across the sky."-Terry Pratchett, Soul Music.

February 15th, 2008, 10:46 PM	#85 (permalink)
aznrambo481 Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: La Jolla, California Age: 17 Posts: 2,833 6 Photos	The 3 cans of deft are on. It looks nice. there's definitely an eyelash in the finish that I'm not too motivated to sand out. I'm going to give it another 2 weeks to completely dry out. Then I'll start sanding and buffing. I'll get a shot of it later... it's got a nice grain. I love grain. __________________ "Never age. Never die. Live forever in that one last white-hot moment, when the crowd screamed. When every note was a heartbeat. Burn across the sky."-Terry Pratchett, Soul Music.

March 4th, 2008, 08:03 PM	#86 (permalink)
aznrambo481 Friend of Leo's Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: La Jolla, California Age: 17 Posts: 2,833 6 Photos	Over the last several days, I have been sanding down the orange peel, everything to a dull sheen. Using a combination of 400 and 600 grit, I am wetsanding until the shiny spots are done. It has taken about 3 hours so far, and I can probably finish it up with an additional 1 hour. After that, I am planning a trip to an automotive repair store... where I will get the 800-200 grit sandpaper and the car polish stuff. I am sure that there are a bunch of posts documenting this process... so there probably will not be any pictures until the end (unless any object!!). __________________ "Never age. Never die. Live forever in that one last white-hot moment, when the crowd screamed. When every note was a heartbeat. Burn across the sky."-Terry Pratchett, Soul Music.

December 27th, 2007, 02:56 PM	#84 (permalink)
JohnnyCrash Poster Extraordinaire Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Lost Angeles and Orange County Posts: 7,128	Dang... I lost track of this thread... Very cool to see the progress. I can't wait for photos of the completed build!