Blackguard Telecaster

[panther]

Danny;
Great job.
What did you decide as far as neck radius ?
Dan

[dubtrub]

Danny;
Great job.
What did you decide as far as neck radius ?
Dan

It's the vintage spec'd neck with the 7 1/4" radius.

If anyone is interested in a case for their Tele, I got one of these inexpensive cases from Rhondo Music and replaced their funky handle to bring it more inline withe the original poodle case. http://www.rondomusic.com/egc350brngld.html

[panther]

Danny;
Thanks for starting afire under me. I've decided to finish my Blackguard. I'm going with Re-Ranch traditional Fender Butterscotch, and amber on the neck. One question. Is the fretboard coated with clear finish, or is it left alone ?
Dan

[dubtrub]

Danny;
Thanks for starting afire under me. I've decided to finish my Blackguard. I'm going with Re-Ranch traditional Fender Butterscotch, and amber on the neck. One question. Is the fretboard coated with clear finish, or is it left alone ?
Dan

Glad to have inspired you to finish your guitar. I have to admit I'm really enjoying mine now that I have it finished. As for the fretboard, yes, you spray the lacquer right on it and over the the frets. After it dries you can easily scrape the lacquer off the frets. Most of it came off by scraping it with just the edge of my thumbnail but I finished it with the dull side of an exacto knife being extremely careful not to scratch the fretboard. Afterwards I buffed the frets and fretboard with super fine steel wool to brake the shine as I didn't care for that slick/sticky feeling fretboard.

Also, to get the action really low like on a Mosrite, it was necessary to level and re-crown the frets as well as smooth up the edges before it was really comfortable.

Just to get you more motivated here's a couple more shots.

[panther]

Danny;
Could you describe the system used, and grits of paper, for the wet sand portion of the body. How many toner coats, and how many finish coats. Did you sand between toner and finish coat.
Dan

[dubtrub]

(1) Start out spraying several medium coats of lacquer sanding sealer waiting about 3-5 minutes between coats. Let it dry overnight then sand it smooth with fine grit dry sandpaper. Spray several more coats of sealer and repeated the process for a total of four applications.

"I was trying to seal as much of the open grain as possible as I didn't use any grain filler. Grain filler, if you can find it (which I couldn't) would have saved all those extra coats of sealer. I never did get all the grain filled and the slightly opened grain shows through on my finished product when held towards the light. Personally it doesn't bother me and actually gives it character."

(2) Spray on a tack coat of the butterscotch color coat. After that sets for about ten minutes come back with several light to medium coats. Be careful not to spray too thick and hide the all the pretty wood grain as you will do this process one more time. Let that dry for a couple of days then wet sanded with 400 grit, using water containing a drop of dish soap. The dish soap prevents the build up of dried lacquer residue on the sandpaper. After sanding, spray on another tack coat followed by a couple more light to medium coats of color until you achieve the transparency you desire. Let that dry for a few days then sand again. Be careful not to sand through the finish and be extremely careful when sanding near and around the edges.

"I used a rectangular rubber pencil eraser to keep then sanding process nice and flat/level."

(3) Now it's time for the clear coat. Follow the exact same process as with the color coat except spray it on fairly heavy after a good tack coat has been applied. Be careful of developing runs if sprayed too thick. After about three applications of clear, letting it dry and sanding between coats, allowed it to cure for about seven days (some recommend 30 days) then wet sanded with 600 grit then 1200 grit wet sanding paper. Caution: do not use spray cans of Deft or Krylon clear lacquer or Dupli Color acrylic clear lacquer as it will never dry hard.

(4) Polished it out using Meguiars fine grit polishing media.

(5) Next step, assemble and play.

[panther]

Danny;
Thank's for that tutorial, now I feel confident to obtain a good finish. Before I seemed to hurry the process, and never obtained the finish I desired. Thanks for the Deft/Krylon warning. I did buy Re-Ranch Nitro finish, will one can be enough, or should I have purchased 2 ? OR do you have a cheaper acceptable brand ?

Dan

[dubtrub]

One can of each should be enough of the ReRanch products. You might need a little more of the clear. I gave up on finding a decent aerosol can of clear locally so I don't know for sure what to advise there. Maybe go to a store that carries Sherwin Williams, Mohawk or some other commercial brand. The local Home Depot, Lowes and Ace Hardware stores didn't have anything I found that would dry hard. That's why I stay with a compressor and spray gun. Sorry! Maybe check the ReRanch forum http://reranch.com/reranch/ or Tele forum and see what you can find. http://www.tdpri.com/forum/finely-finished/

Good luck and keep us posted. Photos are always nice.

[BRRanger]

Thanks for the finishing tips Danny! I'll use that technique on my next project. I've done two paint jobs so far, and cleared two necks... a black to red to yellow sunburst, and a Rickenbacker red to clear...both came out nice (to my suprise) but I didn't go through all the steps you mentioned. Plan to do a butterscotch/blond finish on a Ventures model and will follow your instructions.
Scott

[dubtrub]

Thanks for the finishing tips Danny! I'll use that technique on my next project. I've done two paint jobs so far, and cleared two necks... a black to red to yellow sunburst, and a Rickenbacker red to clear...both came out nice (to my suprise) but I didn't go through all the steps you mentioned. Plan to do a butterscotch/blond finish on a Ventures model and will follow your instructions.
Scott

You are welcome! These are the basic steps I always use. They are not set in stone as everyone has their own technique but this has always worked for me.