Rainbow Tele: build thread with a twist!

[Jackson Jackson]

I was expecting to see something like Les Claypool's famous Carl Thompson "rainbow bass".



May, that is going to be one sweeeeet Tele! I can't wait to see it finished!

[woodman]

that's a huge compliment coming from you, Bucko! appreciate it, bro ... i'm at the point now of agonizing over every little imperfection in the final sand, but soon i'll have to declare victory and pull out.

[woodman]

Originally Posted by Jackson Jackson

Les Claypool's famous Carl Thompson "rainbow bass".

i'm afraid something like that would be a tad over my head right now! thanx man.

[Shoved BassVIII]

Sorry for my late entry. Very nice. Makes me think....I have some purpleheart laying around...

[woodman]

Originally Posted by Shoved BassVIII

Sorry for my late entry. Very nice. Makes me think....I have some purpleheart laying around...

it's a great wood -- harder than maple, tighter-grained than mahogany. i'm told it will eventually darken with age, but that's OK -- my fretboard's almost startlingly bright right now!

[woodman]

put the sandpaper away, cleaned 'er up and applied a thinned coat of wipe-on poly -- about 3 parts poly to 2 parts mineral spirits -- to soak into the pores before applying full-strength coats of poly. when it dried, it brought out some horrifying cross-grain streaks on the top i hadn't seen.

it was too glaring to ignore, so i sanded out the ugly part. the question is: should i take the whole top back down with 400 grit and start over with another thin coat? or could i feather a thin coat over the rough spots only, in hopes that subsequent coats would even everything out?

[boris bubbanov]

I'd take it back down to the wood, and get it super smooth before I start into the final finish again.

2 guitar bodies I did that on, I left minor but visible defects in the wood, hoping I'd get used to them. Well, I never did. I had to strip one back down, sacrificing a lot of hard work in the interim between when I first saw the defect and when I decided it bugged me too much. The other one is still bugging me.

I like my defects on the very top surface, where they are associated by daily use.

[woodman]

Originally Posted by boris bubbanov

I'd take it back down to the wood, and get it super smooth before I start into the final finish again.

2 guitar bodies I did that on, I left minor but visible defects in the wood, hoping I'd get used to them. Well, I never did. I had to strip one back down, sacrificing a lot of hard work in the interim between when I first saw the defect and when I decided it bugged me too much. The other one is still bugging me.

I like my defects on the very top surface, where they are associated by daily use.

somehow i knew that would be the answer. no sense taking shortcuts at this point, right? really appreciate it, bubba.

[woodman]

didn't take long to get back down to bare wood and get another coat on. but it sure jolted my confidence ... things were going awful smoothly and guess i was due for a comeuppance.

this wood is drinking up finish like a sponge ... don't remember my ash builds being this thirsty. may take a while to get any buildup.

meanwhile, i'm getting my hardware organized. (had no idea the blue sky and trees were reflected in the pic, but left it in cuz it has kind of an opalescent Asian art quality ... all you guys know what Tele hardware looks like!)

the control plate assembly is a loaner from Giant Guitars Mike ... i've got a Don Mare pickup set on order, but it'll probly be a couple more weeks before they arrive. assuming i get the finish on before i die of old age, i'll set it up with Mike's Japanese pickups just to get going on working out the kinks. it usually takes me a month to rassle down a new build, so i wanna get on with it! (neck pickup's covered with scotch tape to mark polepiece locations for proper mounting.)

the bridge is a Mike-modified Fender plate, ground flat on the back with lip shaved to my specs, front mounting screwholes drilled and brass saddles he's notch-intonated. gotta go -- i can get one more coat on before dark!

[BillyG]

Originally Posted by woodman

.... and brass saddles he's notch-intonated.

Tell us more about these notched saddles. I'm intrigued.

[woodman]

Originally Posted by BillyG

Tell us more about these notched saddles. I'm intrigued.

i hope i'm not giving away trade secrets here, but Mike is a pretty open-source guy, always encouraging the do-it-yourselfer. he basically takes a conventional barrel, turns it over so the flat side's up and cuts a notch on the shelf at the point of relative intonation. if you look close, you'll see what i mean. other folks have marketed the same design, but his were the first i ever saw, some years back. i've had these since about '05.

[woodman]

well, the ol' rainbow's starting to build up a finish. the photos below are fourth coat. i'm finally starting to understand and appreciate the finishing proces, thanx largely to the masters on this board.

in previous builds, i would just hastily slather a functional finish of tung oil varnish onto a piece of natural ash and get on with the process of getting it to make noise. this time, i'm trying for something better, and it's paying off. patience is not my strong suit, but i'm trying to take my time on this one.

the big breakthrough was realizing that, at the point of maximum reflection of light off body, you should be seeing a solid integrity of finish, not grain. DUH! i know you old hands are LYAO, but it's taken me all this time to catch on.

after decades of HATING polyester finish due to the trauma of scraping an eighth-inch plastic shield off of a '72 Thinline in '73, i've found the wipe-on poly to be a duffer's dream. forgiving, up to a point, but laying down a nice coat in a minimum of applications.

after some trial and error, i found an application technique that works for me. i sacrificed my ugliest Hawaiian shirt, dang near threadbare (to minimize lint), and rolled it into little tubes the way you'd roll a, um, cigarette. you can load it up with goo and control the amount of finish that goes on with pressure, the way you can with a paintbrush (to a finite degree).

it rained here today, so i had to do everything indoors (except the steel wool). following the Rob DiS. school of procedure, i'd steel wool every coat then buff it up a little with a tack cloth. again following the Rob procedure, i went over it throroughly with a magnet -- an old Tele bridge pickup that will never again honk. i wrapped it in a piece of that threadbare shirt to keep from dinging the finish. it picked up like a vacuum cleaner -- at the end of the run, you see a little mustache of iron filings along the cloth at each magnet. then take the pickup away, shake the cloth and you're ready for the next coat and magnet run.

i'm using a gloss finish ... anybody got ideas how to tone it down from a flash to more of a glow? i've heard this can be done, but now i gotta go about doing it!

won't do another coat til morning, gonna let this one get real solid.

pix:

* front -- the abortive coat i had to sand down obviously had to have penetrated, because the front is building up much better than the back.

* back: not too impressive yet ....

* the remains of the ugly shirt and the finishing tampon

[Ed P]

Wow - that looks amazing. This sure is a fun thread to follow!

[gibsonjunkie]

I agree - this is almost as much fun as doing it myself (although I never could). I love the look of that body!

[superchicken_VI]

woodman, even though we've not met, you do realize I need to pay you a visit when this guitar is finished, right? You're no more than 15 minutes from me, and I need to see this guitar in person!

[woodman]

sure thing! if you take Secrest Short Cut during non-rush hours, it's an easy trip. however, i do have a ways to go!

back to bizness: this morning, the fourth coat had hardened beatifully. the rain's gone, so i can work outside with the steel wool. i've tried to make my little studio (the Woodshed) a clean air zone, running an exhaust fan, air purifier and heater for optimum curing conditions without particulate matter in the air to muck up the finish. but the fumes were oppressive in spite of all that! today, the air is drier and the dust settled by the rain, so i'll be able leave the door open ... whew!

fixin' to scour it down now and apply coat five. film at 11.

[jimd]

Woodman, this is great.

I want to try a poly finish next so keep it coming.

[ThreePlyGuy]

Lovin it
Not a spec of cereal!

[Cyrithicus]

Put it together! Ah I'm droolin!!!

[Little Nip]

Woodman,
Beautiful!
When we're finishing with this type of finish, we leave the steel wool until the end, if we use it at all. Steel wool will smooth but not really flatten. If there are any spots of foreign matter or uneven surfaces, I would suggest a very light touch with fine (600-800) grit sandpaper.

[woodman]

Originally Posted by jimd

I want to try a poly finish next so keep it coming.

take this tip: don't try to fine-sand after only six hours of drying!

got up early again and applied what i was hoping would be the final coat. the surface seemed totally dry after six hours, and i thought i'd give it a light once-over with some 1200 grit to knock back the gloss a little. DANG! it was still rubbery underneath!!! screwed the whole thing up ....

so i went ahead and smoothed it up with the 1200, buffed it real good and put on a very thin coat hoping it would level up to perhaps where i started today. i'm not optimistic and fear i will be sanding again tomorrow morning, or at least steel-wooling vigorously, to prep for yet another coat. it's got me tearing out what's left of my hair!

so the only constructive thing i accomplished today was apply the decal:
v

[Little Nip]

Sanding will try one's patience!
As the film thickens, the time required to cure sufficiently for light sanding increases dramatically.

[woodman]

Originally Posted by Little Nip

Woodman,
Beautiful!
When we're finishing with this type of finish, we leave the steel wool until the end, if we use it at all. Steel wool will smooth but not really flatten. If there are any spots of foreign matter or uneven surfaces, I would suggest a very light touch with fine (600-800) grit sandpaper.

thanx, Nip, but as you can see from the previous post, i really screwed the pooch in the late going! i think i've salvaged the back and sides -- they came out pretty nice -- but the top, which was looking so good, is now streaked and splotched again.

do you, or does anybody else, have any advice on where to take it from here?

in any case, i'm gonna let it sit overnight, then decide in the morning how to proceed.

[Little Nip]

My suggestion is (and I know how difficult this is for you, me, and most others) be patient. Nothing is terminal. Let the finish dry for several days. Then, when you can lightly scuff it with sandpaper (sand and make fine white dust, not gum) sand it flat (gently but firmly, like it was the first time). You may have to go back to 500-600. Then apply more finish-thin coats-very thin coats and be patient. Wet sanding may help reduce the gumming up of the paper but it will still need to be harder than it is now (or tomorrow).

[woodman]

lord have mercy. well, guess i'll sit here and stare at it til day after tomorrow! a crushing blow, cuz i thought i'd have it done today and start putting it together tomorrow. maybe it will all work out for the better, if i end up with a primo finish. as stated earlier, patience is my biggest downfall!

[woodman]

after five days of obsessing and Mrs. Woodman thinking i've gone mad chasing the White Whale, i've finally got the finish evened out again. i'd like to amend a previous post where i said wipe-on poly was easy to work with and fairly forgiving::: it is -- UNTIL YOU MAKE A MAJOR MISTAKE!

after taking it back down twice, i finally got a nice smooth coat, marred only by a few swipe marks. so yesterday i consulted Rob D. and he suggesting hitting it with a couple of quick mist coats of fast-drying spray-on poly.

that did the trick, the marks are gone and the surface is even, but i might not have hit it hard enough with the spray -- viewed closely, there's a granular quality to the finish, sort of satiny but not much sheen. gonna let it cure another night, give it a buff and figger out what to do next.

given my limited but intense experience, i sorta doubt the texture will buff out. maybe try 1500 grit or something similar? if necessary, i could skim off the top layer with 1200 and give another thin coat of wipe-on. at this point, i just want it to be over ... but i can't give up until it's as good as it can be, at least for my (admittedly dismal) skill level.

[Ed P]

looks great!

[mistermullens]

OMG! That looks awesome!

[woodman]

got the last coat on yesterday, and it came out pretty well. after it gassed off, i noticed a tiny spot right at the edge of the upper bout that, somehow, i missed -- although i thought i'd examined it from every possible angle!

took an artist's paintbrush and dabbed the bare spot, then wrapped a clean rag around a straight-edge and dragged it over the spot like a concrete screed ... gently steel-wooled it this morning, and only the knowing eye (i.e. mine) can spot it. whew!

to reiterate a crucial point re wipe-on poly: DO NOT try to sand it until it's fully dry -- ignore the directions (2-3 hours drying time) on the can and be sure of your ground. find a test spot (under the bridge plate or neck plate) and don't proceed anywhere visible til the sandpaper kicks up fine white dust. thanx to Little Nip for that pointer!

so my first agonizing foray into *real* finishing is thankfully over. here are a coupla pix ... the irregularities are reflections of tree branches. at this point, i can say it was well worth all the fits and starts to get the finish i wanted. now to make it into a guitar!

[Skrik]

That must be the most beautiful piece of wood I have ever seen in my life.

[Lostheart]

Wow...this is an amazing looking hunk of wood!
Reminds me a bit of the Wildwood-Tele that once belonged to Arlen Roth which has been on eBay a few times.
Would love to get my hands on a piece of wood like that!

[wilkat1]

That is drop-dead gorgeous and I am jealous!

[jimd]

Woodman,

That looks fantastic. I'd be grateful for some specifics on the finish.

About how many coats of wipe-on poly ended up on there?

Did you buff with steel wool between coats?

Did you sand and buff afterward; what grit paper did you start with and what did you use for the buffing?

[woodman]

Originally Posted by jimd

Woodman,

That looks fantastic. I'd be grateful for some specifics on the finish.

About how many coats of wipe-on poly ended up on there?

wow, that's hard to say ... i probably applied 10 or so in all, but twice i took it down flat (once after the wet-poly sanding disaster and once after the grainy texture phenomenon. had all gone well (i.e. if i weren't a clueless rookie), i could've possibly had it in three!

Did you buff with steel wool between coats?

yes ... running a magnet over the body to remove the steel wool poop will keep you out of a world of hurt -- well worth the extra step. but in the late going i went to gentle pressure with 1200 and 1500 grit sandpaper.

Did you sand and buff afterward; what grit paper did you start with and what did you use for the buffing?

the finish in the last round of pix is untouched except for a polishing cloth -- as i understand it, you should let the poly cure for a month or even two before buffing out. my big lesson was: if you get the wood surface nice and smooth before you start finishing, good things can happen. my sequence was 120, 220, 400, 800. (finer grits on the poly in the finishing stage.) sanding sponges really helped on the contours. if you sand the wood til you're blue in the face, the finish will eventually work out, no matter how many times you screw up!

[jimd]

Excellent info.!

Thank you.

[TELECASTERbstrd]

Originally Posted by riggergreg

Sweet looking tele there, Woodman.

The contours really make a difference when you play for awhile.

No they don't!

[Trimmed&Burnin]

Hey Woodman, I really like the colors in that wood now that you have a finish on it. It's much richer looking than I thought it would be,,, KILLER!

[woodman]

Originally Posted by TELECASTERbstrd

No they don't!

huh?

to each his own, i reckon.

[jimmybusk]

WOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW ! I wonder if that Sweet baby is gonn'a have tone as sweet as she looks ? I think you got lucky with the neck too.

[woodman]

spent the day putting 'er together and ended up with this. it ain't perfect, but i'll take it! the control plate's just slapped on, haven't done a bit of electronic work on it. but wanted to get strings on it, put some tension on the neck and let it start settling out. might take the rest of the day off and go have a beer to celebrate!

i know i'll get fussed at for some of the peculiarities, like the the mounting ring (don't like body-mounted pickups) and the oversize strap buttons (hate straplocks -- they drill holes in gig bags) ... but these are an old geezer's prerogative, like wearing funny-looking shoes.

i'll start the setup process tomorrow, but i did plunk around on it awhile just now and got some first impressions:

• great neck/body resonance -- you can feel the notes through the neck. my ash-bodied one doesn't do that.
• unplugged, it's not as loud as the ash, but it sustains better.
• the unplugged tone is crisp and articulate ... not as beefy as the ash, though.
• the Earvana nut actually does make cowboy chords sound better!

so the worst part's over for me -- i can quit spending all my time in the workshop and start playing some music again! (i'll try to get some better pix -- this one's kinda washed-out).