Going to Attempt a Saga Build...

[Olympus]

I'm a newbie here and have found a wealth of information already. I've also been to the Saga Saga's page and learned quite a bit there. I've only been playing guitar for a little less than a year but I'm hooked. I'm also a hobbyist woodworker so trying a kit really appeals to me. I also make custom rifles, so this would be a good way to get my feet wet with guitars. I've actually already got a Tele, so I'm thinking of doing the ST-10, Strat copy Saga. Most of my questions are about the finish on the guitar. The woodworking I do uses all oils to compliment the natural grain. But I want to paint the body of this guitar and I don't have experience.

I don't have any kind of HVLP or airsprayer setup. I think I'm going to be confined to aersol-type of paint. I'm not sure what color I want, but I want the finish to be a high gloss and look like it's wet. What is the best clear coat to use for the body? I plan on using an oil for the fretboard, but should I use the same clear coat for the back of the neck and the headstock? I'm assuming that in order to get the most gloss, that I'll need to wet sand in between coats of clear and apply numerous coats. Is there anything else I should do?

Also, from what I read, I should junk the tuners that come in the kit. What would be a good recommendation for a better set of tuners? I'm not wanting top of the line, but I want something that will be decent. I know Saga guitar won't be a high end, and I doubt I ever get good enough to gig with it. I just want something that I'll have a great deal of pride in and that will also be a good player.

Any help and/or suggestions would be great. I mainly just want the finish on this guitar to be really amazing.

[Ben Jammin']

the bodies were all already sanded and sealed. All you should have to do is paint, finish sand and poly.

Cut your headstock, wire it up, set it up and get to jammin'.

The trick is to take your time, and when you think you've done enough sanding, sand some more. Usually I put at least 5 coats of poly and sanded in between each one with a finer grain sand paper or steel wool.

IF you have access to a car polisher, you can wax away and get that see yourself shine.

Saga kits are a good way to learn, and if you replace just a few components, you can have a killer gig axe. Mine was good enough to fool the "DOODS" down at my local GC (which ain't sayin' much, I know). It is a silver sparkle. I have to say, it has the finish of a Ranger Bass Boat. I spent about 3 days just sanding and polishing, but the looks it gets was worth it. I complimented it with a silver sparkle leather strap. On stage, the lights really work the sparkle over. Kind of reminds me of a 70's disco ball if the spotlight's working just right.


Good luck.

[jrich99]

I also want to do one of these, and would like to hear how it goes. As for the replacement parts, I recommend GFS:

http://store.guitarfetish.com/index.html

The parts are high quality and very affordable.

[Olympus]

Yes, I've read all the posts and I feel confident that I will not have any trouble assembling and cutting out the headstock etc. I've been a woodworker for about 10 years now so I can't imagine that I would run into anything that I've never experienced before.

My main question is concerning the finish and the components to use. Should I just got to a hardware store and select some spray paint? Can I also use a hardware store clear coat or should I purchase something special? I have a lot of experience with poly urethane, but I've read a lot about acrylic laquer and nitrocellulous? I am not familiar with either of these and would not even know if they are available at hardware stores or if they require a compressor and spray gun. Those were my main concerns.

[Joefaity]

You can get most anything in a spraycan at either reranch or stewmac.com. You could also do something like a min-wax wipe-on poly. One of the problems with nitrocellulose is that you need a respirator so that you don't breath it. It's pretty nasty stuff.

[oigun]

When you have some expierience in woodworking why not build from scratch?
I am a cabinetmaker and I did a sagakit... its like putting together an IKEA-table. I found it far more satisfying to start with raw wood.

[Olympus]

I know that the kit will be kind of simple to build. That's why I'm wanting to spend the majority of my time making sure the finish is superb. I would be alright with making the body from scratch, but my first attempt would be too soon to try to tackle making the neck from scratch. I'd get a bunch of hours logged into the project and likely have to scrap it. I don't like to bite off more than I can chew at first.

I guess I will buy the spray-on clear from reranch or stewmac. But on choosing a color, I'd like to be able to see the color first hand instead of looking at a picture online. I might have to stay with the local hardware for color choices.

Also I went to guitarfetish to look at tuners and there is a huge assortment of Fender-style tuners. Having no experience with aftermarket tuners, I have no idea which ones are decent and which ones to stay away from. Suggestions would be helpful.

[hackworth1]

My first, titled - Mahogany Thinline Flame Maple Top Build - is found here on this site. I'm not building the neck - just the body. It is both challenging and great fun.

There are tuners for sale on ebay all the time. I found a set of Fender Starfire (or Starline or something) for $9.95 plus $5 shipping.

[Olympus]

Are the Starfire/Starline tuners good? Are you recommending them?

Also, where can I find headstock patterns on line? I would use my Squier, but I like the looks of the tradition Fender headstock pattern.

[garymaddox]

I got my feet wet with one of the Saga builds. It's a good way to start. They are fun and hard to mess up.

[Olympus]

It looks like Reranch and StewMac only have nitrocellulose clear coat. Should I just go ahead and use that or should I find an acrylic laquer?

What should I use to get the back of the neck to have that vintage amber color as opposed that the really light colored natural tone?

[Olympus]

*crickets*

[garymaddox]

I used Painter's Friend for the paint and clear coat. It's enamel not lacquer but it was easy to find. I tinted the neck with Behlen's Fruitwood toner and clear coated with lacquer. I had to order the Behlen's Fruitwood toner.

[Olympus]

Well I've got my primer, paint, and clear coat. If it looks like crap then I'll sand it off and redo it. I also found a wonderful source of headstock templates. And the best part is that they are correctly scaled and ready to go.

[pchilson]

Go to a local auto parts and find some Dupli-Color acrylic lacquer. Many colors to choose from depending on the store. I found the best selection at Checker Auto Parts here. Get a can of color and a can of clear and have at it. About $6.50 a can here.

Edit: Shoot, I didn't notice you already got your paint. What did you get?
Also, where did you find the headstock patterns?

[Olympus]

Well I'm using a kelly green color used for a certain specific maker of farm equipment. But I got just regular hi gloss laquer clear coat. I think I might try to return that and use the Dupli-Color acrylic laquer. I've read a lot of good things about the acrylic laquer. As for the headstock patterns, I can't remember the website. I just did a google search. The website had patterns for numerous different styles.

[pchilson]

Yeah, send that green back with a Deer John letter...hehe

[Olympus]

No, I'm keeping the green. That's the beauty of doing a custom build. I doubt anyone else will have one like it. And John Deere green has a special significance to me and if I can put a finish on this guitar that I'm happy with, every time I play it, it'll mean more to me than something I picked up at a guitar shop.

It's the same with guns. Nobody understands why I spend twice and sometimes three times as much to make a custom rifle as it would to simply buy one brand new that will shoot just as good. It's the subtle details and sentimental reasons for things that make building something so much more valueable. At least to me...

[Olympus]

Well I received the ST-10 kit yesterday and I went right to work. All of the holes were drilled correctly and all the electronics were already wired and mounted in the pickguard. The body and neck were in great shape. I took some 0000 steel wool and went over the body then hit it with a primer. I took my headstock template and traced it out on the paddle. I used a bandsaw to make the rough cuts. Then I smoothed out the edges on a benchtop sander. I have one that has a vertical belt and a disc on the other side. Worked really well except for the inside curve. I went to Lowes and bought a little sanding drum kit that goes in the chuck of a drill press. It essentially turns into a spindle sander. That made quick work of the inside curve. I took a little Tru-Oil and worked over the fretboard. It looked decent like it was, but it had a cloudy look to it. The Tru-Oil really made the dark wood pop! Now it has a deep chocolate color. I taped the fretboard off and hit the back of the neck and headstock with clear. I used Dupli-Color acrylic laquer. I was NOT impressed. It wanted to orange peel on me. I went sanded and gave it another couple rounds. Same result whether I applied a lighter coating or a heavier coating. Luckily, I bought some Valspar Hi-Gloss Laquer spray when I bought my paint. I gave it a try and worked like magic. No orange peel. I've already put three or four coats of clear on the neck. After the primer dried on the body I started applying paint. It's not acrylic so it takes a lot longer to dry. I plan on coming home tonight and using a little 800 grit wet to smooth out some dust spots in the paint that I think I'll have.

I still need recommendations on tuners though! Here's the ones I have in mind, but I have no experience with aftermarket tuners so I need opinions on these. http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/G...6-In-Line.html

[Olympus]

Well I think I might have really goofed this time. I was working on the neck and decided it was time to take the tape off the fretboard. I had wrapped the tape around the edges of the edge just enough to cover the dary edge of the fretboard where it meets the light wood of the neck. I peeled the tape away where the clear coat stopped, it was raised compared to the edge of the fretboard that didn't get sprayed. I rand my fretting hand along like I was playing a few places along the neck, the clear coat peeled up. One peeled away in a good size triangle shape all the way to the smooth wood! I can't decide if I should try to spot fix the little triangle or just completey strip the neck and leave it smooth with no finish. I'm really REALLY bummed about this. What should I do?

I completely fixed the spot in the paint that I messed up. You can't tell it's there now.