Cabronita refinish

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KelvinS1965

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Having finished my Gibson Gold Top refinish, I'm making a start on my Cabronita. I was never happy with the finish as supplied; I usually spray my own, but at the time I thought it would be nice to have a painted body to start the build with. Unfortunately being a custom order I was stuck with it when it arrived: NOS finish wasn't what I thought and had crazing and some (very) light relicing. Also the colour was supposed to be 'Pewter' but this came looking much more of a shade of dark blue.

As supplied, close up I sent to the supplier:

Dull patch and mark.jpg



I'd just lost my Dad at the time, so I couldn't be bothered to argue any further with the supplier, so just put it together as it was, after I gave it a bit of a buff to remove some of the crazing to a degree:

Post machine polish.jpg


While I still wasn't keen on the colour I decided to move on with putting it together. At the time I'd put a MIM 'Fat '51 U' neck on my MIM Classic 50s Telecaster, so the idea was to put the Classic 50s neck on this Cabronita. A pair of TV Jones Classic/Classic + pickups and I found a wiring diagram for the Custom Shop Cabronita that uses a pull switch on the volume pot to engage some capacitors which gives a fixed tone cut (different values for each pickup).

A bit of a squeeze, but I managed to fit the wiring in and not have any shorting:

Last wiring 2.jpg



I used a cheap bridge I found from my usual UK supplier Axecaster. The bottom E string intonation was such that I had to wind the saddle as far back as it would go and it was still a tiny bit sharp on the 12th fret, but otherwise it sounded and played well:

Finished 2.JPG


My wife bought me a neck plate for Christmas and I found a blank Tele control plate at Axecaster, so I put that on the back for some added bling. I recessed the ferrules sometime after this photo was taken:

F plate back.jpg


The completed guitar was really light:

3023g Cabronita.jpg


Eventually I wanted to put the Classic 50s neck back on the MIM Tele, so I could sell it. I've since built a White Blonde Tele that the Fat U '51 neck is on and these days I prefer taller frets than the low vintage ones on the Classic 50s neck.

I bought an Allparts V profile neck with Vintage tall frets, did a level, crown and polish, fitted a bone nut and sprayed the neck in a Vintage Amber tinted clear from NorthWestGuitars.


IMG_5263.jpg



Rolled fretboard.jpg


Around this time I replaced the bridge with a Fender hard tail one:

Fender Bridge fitted with neck.jpg


Yesterday I took the body apart ready to sand it down to refinish it.

Original body 1.jpg



I'm waiting to see if the sides and back look nice enough under the paint, so I can just spray it with a tinted clear, similar to my Gold Top Les Paul. I don't think it will have a faux binding effect, though I might see if I can do something creative with masking and different shades of clear/tint. The front will be sprayed in a base coat of Les Paul Gold Top Gold, then I plan to mix some Cherry clear with some bright yellow, to try to make a more orange tinted clear coat (all the same brand of paint I'm mixing).

Hopefully the end result will be a Candy Apple Tangerine finish.

I'll update the thread once I start making some progress.
 

KelvinS1965

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It was harder to sand than I'd expected. Ended up using some DA sanding discs, then lots of hand sanding to remove the DA marks. After I tried spraying primer on the back yesterday, the grain was showing, so I sanded it back and grain filled the back and also the bare wood front (I always start on the back thankfully incase of any issues, since I'm less bothered about the back).

After the sand back/grain fill, some slight traces of the original white primer coat on the edge, which I later sanded off completely to avoid any reaction with my primer:

Sanded Back.jpg


On the front side, neck pocket sanded back and then masked up:

Sanded front.jpg


The first coat of primer on the front raised some grain, but I later sanded that flat before a second coat of primer, which was still wet in this photo:

Wet primer front.jpg


I left it to dry a while:

Primer front.jpg


Should be a light sand tomorrow before I can start laying on the base coat of gold.

I forgot to put this photo on the first post of all the hardware and neck once I'd removed it:

Hardware removed.jpg


I hope to get the tinted clear and final clear coats on before the end of the month, so I can then leave it to fully harden while we take a holiday with our eldest, her husband and the Grandkids.


Hopefully some gold content next. :)
 

KelvinS1965

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As promised, some gold photos today. :) I did a quick wet sand of the primer on the front, then started on the back (after test spraying on my test wood that I primed previously). Back came out well first go:

Gold base back.jpg


The first coat on the front was a little stripey/patchy on the bottom edge:

Gold base front 1.jpg


Left it 20 minutes, then dusted another coat on. There is a slight blemish/grain show through just behind the neck pickup rout, so I will spot fill that later, spot spray that fill, then another light dust all over the front after that. It might not show through once I've tinted/clear coated it, but I'd rather get it right now:

Gold base front 2.jpg


I quite like it in gold, but will stick to the original plan of Candy Tangerine. :)
 

KelvinS1965

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I filled the grain and a couple of blow holes on the lower bout with cellulose putty. Left it in a very warm garage while we went out with the Grandkids, then sanded it very carefully when I got home again. Just blew over the putty with gold at first, then I did two 'dusty' coats over the whole body.

I still think I see some patches, but then realise it's the light and moving around. My Les Paul Gold Top was the same last week and that turned out nicely once the clear was on, so I think I'll call this it for the base coat of gold:

Gold base front 3.jpg


I love this angle. :)

Gold base front 4.jpg



This was my Les Paul 60s Tribute I did last week with the other half of the 250ml tin of gold nitro. Not bad that I got 2 guitars done for one £8 tin of gold. :) Including the clear gloss, yellow tester and cherry clear, plus sundries, the two jobs probably cost me about £40 in materials.

Finished 9.jpg


Tomorrow I'll attempt to mix some Tangerine clear gloss using the various tins of clear/cherry/yellow paint that I have.
 

KelvinS1965

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Me too! I love the gold but im really looking forward to the tangerine
The back and sides are done now. I might mix a bit more clear for the top so it's less opaque, but the sparkle does show through in person.

My choice of paint. From the left; Fever yellow, clear and Gibson Cherry clear:

Paint mix 1.jpg



Much mixing later and into the spray gun it goes:

Paint mix 2.jpg


I did the sides first, then the whole back, so it might be more of a sort of fade effect, with it more opaque on the sides. Kind of a one shot deal, but I like the colour and can imagine it really popping once it's clear glossed and eventually buffed to a shine:

Back and sides Orange clear 2.jpg





Back and sides Orange clear 1.jpg


Taking my time with a coffee before I flip it over and spray the front after I add a bit more clear to the mix.

Wish me luck. :D
 

KelvinS1965

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Not as easy as I'd hoped, but after some mixing, wet sanding and eeking out my clear gloss so I had just enough to finish the top I think it's worked out OK.

More of a 'Burnt Orange' I guess rather than the more vibrant colour I'd had in mind when I started the job, but I think it'll look great with the chrome once it's buffed and put back together.

I ended up using up my DIY mix of 'clear' on the back and sides to save the actual clear for the front. I don't mind since it's rarely seen and will end up marked with playing eventually as they all do.

Nice gloss from this paint though, when I manage to get the mix of thinners and application just right:

Back and sides orange clear 4.jpg



I left it as long as I could manage before flipping it over on to my temporary screw 'stands' so I could clear coat the front.

Front Orange clear 3.jpg


Front Orange clear 5.jpg


Now the really hard part...waiting for the paint to fully harden before I buff it (a bit more than 2 days this time I promise. :D )

EDIT: Looking at a photo I took of a Custom Shop Tele in Candy Tangerine, I guess it's not that far out:

Custom Shop Candy Tangerine.jpg
 
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KelvinS1965

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Nope, no good. It's too dark/dull even after taking it outside in daylight to check I wasn't imagining it. I'm going to sand to back down, hopefully to the gold/primer level, then respray with an aerosol of bright orange metallic pearl. It's a Kawasaki motorbike colour. Then I'll clear over it with my usual stuff.

This is from the advert, compare it to the last photos of my current spray job:

Kawasaki Orange Pearl.jpg


Oh well, 1 out of 3 guitars lately has worked out so far (my White Blonde Tele on another thread is too opaque, so will be getting done again too). At least the Les Paul is looking good and playing better than ever since I put it all back together and set it up again.
 

El Tele Lobo

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Better luck on the next go round. Sometimes it takes a few tries. I know my refin with Tru-Oil did. Enjoying watching your process. And that Les Paul looks awesome. I'd be proud of that.
 

KelvinS1965

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Thanks, it's frustrating because the finish turned out really well...I just don't like the colour, which is where I started. :lol: Shame I didn't leave the back at the point where I first did the tinted clear on it and do the front the same as it might have worked out. Even so I think this new colour will really pop, which is the whole point.
 

KelvinS1965

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Here it is in daylight, then with a few chrome parts placed back on. Still debating just leaving it for now and give it a buff in a few week's time. If I still don't like it, then I'll have time to sand it back, respray it and still leave it for a few weeks while we're on holiday. After that the weather tends to start cooling off and spraying gets harder to do, plus I have other DIY I need to get on with (perils of being retired, there is never enough time :D ).

Daylight 1.jpg



Against a white background:

Daylight 2.jpg


A bit of a mock up:

Daylight 4.jpg
 

KelvinS1965

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I've sanded down the whole body, not through to bare wood, just enough to flatten any minor imperfections and to previde a key for the bright orange metallic that should arrive later this week.

Sanded back 1.jpg


That's just a shadow on the bottom left corner:

Sanded back 2.jpg



Really looking forward to getting the much more lary shade of orange on. I saw another thread on Strat Talk of some Tangerine Strats and one was in 'Autumn Blaze' which was more like what I had in mind. I suspect the Kawasaki Orange Pearl is going to be even brighter, but it will make a change from my other more regular coloured guitars.
 

KelvinS1965

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Back and sides done with the Kawasaki Orange pearl base. Much brighter and managed to get it on evenly...I'm not a fan of aerosols, but needs must. I will clear it with proper spray gun paint to get a nice flat finish to minimise any buffing needed later.

The original colour for comparison, after clear coating:

Back and sides orange clear 4.jpg



Kawasaki Orange pearl base coat:

Back and sides Orange Pearl 3.jpg



Closer view of the lower bout while it was still wet, more how it'll look once clear coated:

Back and sides Orange Pearl 2.jpg


Just posting to fill in time to let it dry enough so I can flip it over and do the front. :)
 

KelvinS1965

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One reason I hate using aerosols is because it's hard to tell when they are about to run out. Of course that's what happened, as I'd used too much on the back, doh! There were a couple of splats on the front before it ran out, which I wet sanded this morning and used the last of the can over the front, but there are a couple of dark patches showing through where I spot sanded/filled. Had it been the other way round I'd have left the back as it'll get scuffed eventually anyway, but I tend to start on the back first just in case any problems occur.

I've ordered another can, so I might have it by the weekend and get the front finished. The back and sides look good so far; I'm itching to put the clear on, but obviously have to wait until I get the front finished.

Front Orange Pearl 5.jpg



Hard to spot the dark areas, but I can see them in person and they will only annoy me if I don't sort it out at this point. Roughly on the arm rest area and also just above the neck as there were a few tiny pin holes I spot filled with cellulose putty:

Front Orange Pearl 3.jpg


I really like how the light catches the corners and brings the colour out. I'm sure the gloss coat will only improve this:

Front Orange Pearl 4.jpg


In the meantime I have to be patient. :)
 
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