Mary Kaye Project -- Update -- One pic

[Kevin]

I've been piddling a little bit with this strat body I made.

I've filled the grain and am about 80% finished with sealing the body. I brushed two coats of sealer and then sanded down with 220 grit. After that, I brushed another coat of sealer and knocked down the runs with a razor blade and sandpaper. I'm gonna spray the final two coats of sealer today (a sprayed coat gives less coverage than a brushed coat) and then let it dry and shrink for about a week before I sand again.

I've ordered some white blonde nitro from ReRanch, so I'll probably be painting in a bit over a week. Here it is at the moment, just waiting for me to take it out to spray.



You can see a pattern of dimples in the pup routs. I set the depth of the drill just a hair too deep when I was drilling them out before routing. I could have set the router a bit deeper to make them flush, but the wood is so thin between the pup routs and the spring cavity that I just left it alone. That won't happen again....

I've not decided, yet, whether to build an entire guitar, or just finish the body. If I do a complete guitar, I'm gonna use a set of Fralin Vintage Hots, an Allparts Maple V neck, and gold hardware. I'm afraid that if I build the whole thing, I'll want to keep it.

Oh, BTW, in the neck pocket I've written:

Mary Kaye
Copy
KB
1/04

and in the spring cavity, I've initialed and dated the body. Both of these markings are under the sealer (the paint stick was not attached while I brushed) and will remain visible under the translucent finish.

[sjfoote]

but where do you find the time to do all these great projects AND have time for work & family! You must not need much sleep!

[Roel from Holland]

Wow, that's a great looking piece of wood. I bet that's gonna look stunning, amazing and spectacular once it's finished in MK-White. Best colour for a Strat i.m.h.o. 8)

[ewan]

hey Kevin that guitar's gonna look great. I don't know what you were going to do with it, but if it's going to look as good as i think it is, I'd build the whole thing and keep it!

[Kevin]

Yeah; I don't know what I'm gonna do with it, either...

I know of a deal on some Fralin pups, so I'm thinking I'll have to jump on those, regardless...

The paint arrived today from ReRanch, but I'm gonna let the sealer sink in for a few days before I sand it. Better to sink now than sink later.

I've got a couple of other bodies to work on, anyway, at the moment.

[Scotland]

To help you decide what to do with that body, well here it is....send it over here....pleeease !
You are a great craftsman and you just get better and better. Another "gem" to add to the list.

[Kevin]

Thanks for the offer of help, John. I'm sure I'll think of something, though... :D

I got the sealer sanded out today. It didn't seem to be sinking any after three days, so I must have filled the grain pretty well. It's ready for the color coats, but we're in the midst of a winter storm at the moment, so I'll hold off a day, or so.

I'm really anxious to see how it turns out. I may just build a matching tele to go with it if it turns out well.

[Kevin]

I'm gonna try to spray the color coats this afternoon, if the temp stays high enough to do it.

Wish me luck.