My Highway 1 partsocaster project

[M29]

Hello,

Well...I am into another project to take me away from my playing. But I am still having fun.:D

Here are some pictures of my U.S.A Highway 1 Strat body. The Highway 1 comes with a matt nitro lacquer finish and I wanted to add a shine to it with some McFadden's gloss nitro lacquer. I still need to get a neck and machine heads but this is where I am at currently. The first image is somewhat light compared to the actual color and the other images are a bit darker then the original color. The actual color is somewhere in between. This may be from the gloss.

http://webpages.charter.net/tankm4/hw1a.jpg



I have let this body set to dry out good for over a month. I don't like to rush this type of finish as you can have shrinking that will allow your sand scratches to come back through and you don't want that to happen.

I try to put quite a few coats of clear on to allow for sanding the orange peal finish that is inevitable. Here is an image of the roughness of the finish that appears like an (orange peal) hence the name.

I don't like using water to sand with when dealing with a piece of wood but I try and be careful to not let any soak into the screw holes. Water is just easier to deal with. I ad a small amount of liquid dish soap to the water.

http://webpages.charter.net/tankm4/hw1c.jpg

These pictures almost look black. The color is really a nice deep transparent burgundy wine color that shows the wood grain nicely.

I start with either 600 grit or 800 grit to level the orange peal as seen in this shot. I will move on to maybe 1000 grit or so and then I want to try out Stewart MacDonald's Micro Mesh pads.
I strive for a smooth finish as seen in this photo before moving on to a finer grit. You can see the orange peal which is not sufficiently sanded yet.

http://webpages.charter.net/tankm4/hw1d.jpg

When sanding your final clear finish, your worst nightmare is to sand through to the color coat and possibly through the base color. This may alter your color and leave an uneven light spot.
I do not sand the edges until the very end and even then I do so lightly and delicately, just enough to get a smooth finish.

http://webpages.charter.net/tankm4/hw1e.jpg

More to come. I hope this helps.

M29

[sunvalleylaw]

I played an Highway One that looked just like that body when I was first shopping. Cool partocaster project! I did not love the satin finish and this looks like a nice upgrade. What neck, fretboard, PG, etc. do you plan to put on it? The one I played was a little darker/duskier than my strat. I wonder what a maple fretboard would do. I think it would look cool also.

[Katastrophe]

I played a Hwy 1 Strat that was the same color as well at GC recently. I loved how the guitar played, but wondered what the finish would look like with some shine, too. Good project, M29!

[Tone2TheBone]

Barry I always enjoy your project posts. :)

[M29]

Thanks guys.

I plan on a maple neck, I think it would look good with the wine color, plus I love maple. I had some mint pickup covers, knobs and pickguard laying around and I think it looks pretty good but that might change. I like white and pearl white with this color as well.
So far I have a set of Tex Mex pickups the original steel block bridge some pots and selector switch. Once I get this polished out I can shield the body and start putting parts back on.

Thank you as well Tone.

M29

[sunvalleylaw]

That sounds like a sweet set up. I wonder how the maple board and nitro will affect the sound. I understood the satin, less finished body was partly responsible for the darker tone.

[mrmudcat]

Great brother ,nice project a pics!!!

[Bloozcat]

Good to see you're getting on with that project M29.

I think half of the feeling of accomplishment on a project like this, comes from finally completing the seemingly endless process of lacquer finishing. But when you do the final buffing and see your smiling face reflected in the finish, you know that all the work was worth it.

I feel for ya' buddy. My Strat project that we discussed is in the final sanding sealer coats right now. White primer next then finally the Lake Placid blue lacquer. I'm several steps behind you right now.

I can't wait to see how that wine red looks when you've got it all buffed out. It ought to be a real beauty! And there won't be another Hwy 1 Strat looking so slick when you're through.

I still think a white pearloid pickguard and trem cover would be killer on that guitar...:AOK:

[ted s]

Nice Barry, just what I needed to see to get my a$$ moving on my Tele project.

[M29]

Thanks guys!

I want to mention here that Bloozcat was instrumental in finding me many deals on parts for this partsocaster. Thank you Blooz!

Yes it is all in the shine, then you get to scratch and ding it all up. That is where the blues start to sink in....:rockon: That pearl white pickguard and trem cover is still on my mind. I just had this stuff laying around and will probably use it to get it set up. I have a rosewood Squier neck around here somewhere as well and might hang that on it too to set it up. I want to get an American Fender neck and that is going to cost me big time. That won't come for a while:D

sunvalleylaw, I did not know the Highway 1 was supposed to be darker. The Tex Mex's will take care of that. I hope:D

Thanks mrmudcat!

ted s...Well...your a$$ better get going...Time is wastin...I get to wonderin if it might be better to do more playin. In my case that is. I really need the practice and this paintin and polishing cuts into it big time!

M29

[sunvalleylaw]

Don't worry, that was my wording. Stock it was a nice sounding guitar. I bet yours will be a bit brighter though with the gloss coat and the maple neck. And you know I love those tex mex pups!

[Bloozcat]

Thanks guys!

I want to mention here that Bloozcat was instrumental in finding me many deals on parts for this partsocaster. Thank you Blooz!
M29

Hey Barry, you know how alcoholics are always trying to get you to drink with them? Come on, have another drink...just one more...

Mod-aholics are the same way....:D

[M29]

Thanks guys.

Well...My project is not going so well. I wet sanded through the clear gloss coat into the original matt coat and had to add more coats of clear gloss.

http://webpages.charter.net/tankm4/sandtru.jpg


Up here in Michigan we are going from winters colder weather to springs warmer and sometimes humid weather. Well... I walked outside to put some clear on and did not check the humidity and when I sprayed the clear on it blushed and turned milky. I immediately added some retarder and resprayed it and took it down to my cool basement to slow the drying time down. The retarder did not work and the moisture was locked in under the clear. I wish I had got a picture of this for those that are new to painting nitro lacquer.
What happens with this is a layer of moisture which you do not see coats the surface of the subject you are painting. When you spray a coat of nitro lacquer over this moisture, it traps this moisture under this layer. There are different grades of lacquer thinner that you can use that have different drying times. If you use a fast dry thinner the paint drys so fast you can trap the moisture in the paint. If you use a slower drying thinner, it (hopefully) drys slow enough to let the moisture evaporate up through the paint and you will not get this milky looking effect in your finish. Sometimes you even need lacquer retarder to slow the paint drying time down and this is what I used. I should not have painted on that day to start with but I don't ever need to worry about this at this time of year and it kind of snuck up on me.
I have since sanded off this layer and resprayed it and it is curing now so we will get back to this project when it has cured enough to give another try at wet sanding and polishing.

I hope this helps.

M29

[sunvalleylaw]

Wow, that is great you know how to work it back into shape. Great info! Keep us posted.

[M29]

Hello Steve,

Thank you for the kind words. I have some experience with this but if someone else has some input please join in I an anxious to learn as I sure don't know it all. I want to share this as I know there are a lot of people that are hesitant to do their own finish work, hopefully this will help others to know what can go wrong and how to recover from it. I wish I would have taken a picture of the milky blushed look of the finish when it does this.
There is always the possibility that you can't recover from something like this as well. One thing you have to be careful of is (too much) retarder. This can cause the nitro lacquer to stay wet too long and melt into, wrinkle, lift or pretty much ruin your project. So be careful when using these products and get help or information to fully understand the workings of these chemicals.

Thanks again Steve and I hope this all helps.

M29

[Bloozcat]

Barry,

Sometimes if you can get the painted item into a low humidity environment right after spraying it, the cloudiness (blush) will slowly release into the air as the lacquer cures. Spraying another coat right on top though, may have made that process much slower and it could possibly prevent it from happening at all.

Since it's humid more months than it's dry down here, I bought a digital temperature and humidity gauge that I use before I do any spraying. I generally won't spray lacquer if the humidity is over 60%, unless I add some retarder. Then I might go to 70%, but when it's that humid here, it's usually hot too. That combination makes it more difficult to paint.

My buddy Pat at Resurrection Guitars swears by R&M lacquer thinner. He says it the best thinner he's ever used, and he claims that he can spray without blushing and without much or any retarder in any weather short of outright raining. Trouble is, R&M lacquer thinner is very hard to find locally here. You may have better luck in Michigan, though.

Well, the good news for you is that you were able to salvage the situation. It's just a setback now, but one that you'll overcome.

I sprayed a couple of coats of clear on my LPB strat body on Sunday. Towards the end, I noticed that little bits of lint-like dust had gotten into the finish. I immediately stopped to prevent matters from getting any worse. Fortunately, with just a slight amount of wet sanding last night, I was able to remove the particles. So, tonight I'll spray another 4-coats.

Lacquer can be a pain alright, but the final results make it worth the pain...:AOK:

[M29]

Thanks for the info Blooz:AOK: I did some basic polishing on it the other day and it is looking good. I started out with the Stewart MacDonald sanding pads and I am not sure I am sold on them yet. I have the finish at a satisfying level at the moment but I am not satisfied yet to go on to the swirl remover and final buffing. It is looking good though. I can't wait so I can get started with the shielding. I want it all finished so all I have to do it get a neck. I have all the parts I need I just need to keep at it. Things have been hectic around here lately.

Thanks again Blooz
M29

[mrmudcat]

Hey ive got some bits of copper sheeting for your sheilding needs.Also a perfect sheet in the h/s/s/ config for the scratchplate.Hollar and its yours free! Need an addy brother.Hit me up in a p.m.:AOK:

Peace Cat.:beer:

[M29]

Thank you for the offer mrmudcat. I have a bunch of it laying around but I am curious where you get yours? I got my sheets at a Michael's craft store. It is kind of thick but once you fit it it works well. I also picked up some of the adhesive backed copper tape.

Thanks again Fellow Fret.netter:rockon:

M29

[Bloozcat]

Thank you for the offer mrmudcat. I have a bunch of it laying around but I am curious where you get yours? I got my sheets at a Michael's craft store. It is kind of thick but once you fit it it works well. I also picked up some of the adhesive backed copper tape.

Thanks again Fellow Fret.netter:rockon:

M29

Michaels Craft should have two different thicknesses of copper foil. One is a med/light, and the other heavier. I usually use the thicker one on the back of the pickguard because that's where it's more likely to tear in places like the point where the pots are attached to the pickguard. The thinner gauge isn't too difficult to mold into the cavities. Here's some pics of that lighter copper that I used in my Agile DC 2500:
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z265/Bloozcat/PickupCavities.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z265/Bloozcat/ControlCavity.jpg
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z265/Bloozcat/SwitchCavity.jpg

[M29]

Man Blooz that is a sweet looking guitar:rockon: I was not aware of the thinner stuff. When I first saw the stuff at Michael's I thought it was all aluminum that had been anodized copper color as they had some that were a brass color and they were not very heavy. I was glad to find out the copper was actually copper.

You sure do nice work there buckshot:AOK:

M29

[mrmudcat]

Hey brother my stuff is from monte.

http://www.monteallums.com/sheilding_supplies.html

Its all the 40 gauge stuff.The pickgaurd piece is also the discontinued 40 gauge one!! Hollar if ya need it!

[Bloozcat]

Man Blooz that is a sweet looking guitar:rockon: I was not aware of the thinner stuff. When I first saw the stuff at Michael's I thought it was all aluminum that had been anodized copper color as they had some that were a brass color and they were not very heavy. I was glad to find out the copper was actually copper.

You sure do nice work there buckshot:AOK:

M29

Thank you my friend...

That Agile guitar with the copper shielding in the cavities was a great deal when I picked it up. Rondo was selling them for $199.99. It's a DC 2500 with P-90's. The fret/neck is actually better than my 2800 DLX. It seemed like the perfect deal for the incurable modder, and it has not disappointed. I put some CTS long shaft 250k pots in it, but not before I had first taken them apart and increased the value to 346k, +/- 2k. I've never liked 250k pots with P-90's - too dark - and the 500k's IMO are too bright. The only 300k long shaft pots I could find were linear taper Gibson's (which are CTS), so I just "made" my own to the spec range I wanted. It worked out well. The tone is right where I wanted it; balanced, with everything from thick, fat, and bluesy, to sweet highs, without any muddiness at one end, nor brightness at the other. In distortion mode, they make my humbuckers seem tame by comparison. The pickups I put in it are Vintage Vibes, which accounts for a lot of the great tone They're some really great pickups.

I had found a site online some time ago that sold copper foil in sheets at a good price. I'll search the records and see if I can find that info.

Another product that I've used to excellent effect, is something called CuPro-Cote that comes from www.lessemf.com. It's a copper shielding paint that works as well as copper, is easier to apply, and takes less time. The down side is that it is a little expensive at $29.95 for a small (4-oz) can. One can will do about three guitars though, so maybe the price isn't so bad. The other caveat is that once you open the can, you have to use it up in about a month or it will dry out. Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do to reconstitute it when it does dry out (I checked with lessemf on that one).

Keep up the good work on that Hwy 1 body, M29...I can't wait to see that nice, shiny, nitro finish when you're through!

[M29]

Well...Here it is. I could hardly hold the camera up my arms were so tired from polishing it.

http://www.thefret.net/imagehosting/thum_100481c8baf1c3df.jpg (http://www.thefret.net/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=470)


The clear gloss I put on is very very thin and I was very careful all the way through that I did not polish through it, how nerve racking that was! I am very happy with it and the Alder looks so good deep in that wine color. I used the Stewart MacDonald micro sanding pads but not all the way through. I went up to around 1800 and I felt that was good enough and I was hesitant to do much more sanding. I then used Turtle wax white polishing compound and Meguiar's swirl remover. There are other products that might be better but are a bit expensive. Now on to the shielding and wiring that pickguard.

mrmudcat, I will PM you, I am interested in that copper for the back of the pickguard. Thank you very much:AOK:

Thanks Blooz:AOK:

I hope some of this helps.

M29

[Bloozcat]

Now that looks great, M29! :AOK:

There's nothing like that high gloss and depth that you get from nitro.

Find a neck for that baby, and you're going to have one unique and very fine guitar....

It's a little early but what the heck...

Cheers buddy! :beer:

[t_ross33]

Ooooooooo... looks like can-dee! :drool: That's gonna be one suh-weet geetar.

[sunvalleylaw]

Bow Wow WoW - I want Candy!!! That is really nice looking!

[mrmudcat]

oohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh aahhhhhhhhhhhhh:bravo:

Still waiting on an addy brother!!!

[just strum]

M29, very impressive job you've done on the build.:AOK:

[warren0728]

that is looking so sweeeeet..... :drool: :drool: :drool:

ww

[bigoldron]

That's definitely one Red Hot Mama! :drool: Can't wait to see the finished product and to hear some clips! Keep up the great work, M29! :AOK: :bravo: