Stratocaster rules of etiquette?

[cynical1]

Sounds like all is moving forward nicely.

One thing about space heaters and lacquer...on some heaters, milkhouse heaters specifically, the elements stay hot after the unit shuts down. Lacquer, especially nitro, is VERY FLAMMABLE... That's one of the reasons it's fallen out of grace with most manufacturers...it's just too hazardous to justify the cost savings.

As long as the temperature is around 50 degrees you won't need the space heaters. After the last coat sits 30 minutes you can bring it into the basement and let it cure for a few days. Unless it's 10 degrees and more then a short jog from the pump house I'd bring it inside as soon as possible. If you do decide to leave it out there be advised that lacquer fumes say volatile for a long time in an unventilated room.

And if the pump house gets too hot the lacquer won't level as well. It will happily preserve every flaw in the spray job for you to sand and polish out later...

I've got some lacquer to spray on project #2, but in Wisconsin the season for that ended weeks ago and won't come again until May...

Have fun, stay safe...and be post pictures down the road.

Happy Trails

Cynical One

[lynxpilot]

I bought an oil-filled space heater with no fan, so the heater will no longer be the culprit if I blow myself up. I'm now looking at lights for the room. The one I have now is a heat lamp we use to keep the well accumulator and piping warm. I'll probably get a sealed flourescent.

One question, unrelated maybe, is strings. I've been toying with different gauges and I tend to like the heavier gauges. I bought the whole gamut to toy around with, but I'm wondering if a strat-style bolt-on neck would have a hard time with .013 or .014 gauge strings. On another website, somebody said the nut would be a problem before the neck joint was. I hadn't even thought about that, but when you do think about it, it's probably been cut for a standard sized string. I still like the heavy ones and wouldn't mind cutting the nut for larger slots, as I could replace it if need be.

[newey]

Based upon this:

Mcdonald String Tension Calculator

a set of .013-.056 strings will impart about 176 pounds of tension (25.5" scale). That should present no problems to a bolt-on Strat neck. And it's been done many times without problems- SRV used 13s IIRC.

The nut will need some work, but it was probably going to need some work as part of the set-up anyway. This is particularly so if it's got a vibrato (and if you plan to use it . . . )

[lynxpilot]

Thanks newey. Good to know. I guess I'll plan on opening up the nut slots, and yes it does have a vibrato. I'll use the .013's on this build and put the .014's on an LP. The LP has .011's right now and it still feels limp to me. Maybe I just don't practice hard enough or bend enough? They way people talk, I was expecting the fatter strings to shred my fingers.

[sumgai]

Jan 27, 2011 16:51:05 GMT -5 lynxpilot said:

... I was expecting the fatter strings to shred my fingers.

They did. Shred your fingers, that is. You'll figure it out once you come down off that terrific high you've been on for the past few weeks! ;D

Seriously, it's not the size of the string itself, it's the amount of pressure one exerts to depress them onto the fingerboard. But even then, that's not so bad, until you go to do your B.B. King imitation - that's when your fingers are gonna "notice" the extra effort required by the larger-diameter strings.

Good luck!

HTH



sumgai

[cynical1]

Playing heavy guitar strings is really nothing too far removed from playing bass. Granted the B and the high E aren't wound, but everything from the G down are. It becomes a strength and callous issue. You're not going to blaze like Tony MacAlpine, but I doubt you went with heavier stings for that reason to begin with.

Another idea, rarely floated, is flatwound guitar strings. Easier on the frets, easier on the fingers and they offer a very unique tone.



Graphic ala Webstrings. So, for $6.99 a set if you don't like them you can make a wind chime out of them.

I'll be putting the X-Lights on Project #1 and the Mediums on project #2. I like these because of the tone and the wound G string...but that's just me...and Project 2 has a neck like a Louisville Slugger...


HTC1

[lynxpilot]

Sanding sealer spray day today. It was the first time I used my new Grizzly mini-HVLP sprayer. Works like a champ, tolerates lacquer, and was only about $30. I'll sand tonight and start the colored coat tomorrow. Only one sag on this spraying, but what the hay, it's sanding sealer so I'll just sand it. I'll also set up my airbrush rig and start practicing. I think my scheme, although VERY un-traditional for a Strat, will be interesting to say the least.

[cynical1]

Does the Grizzly mini-HVLP sprayer have any plastic components in the nozzle? I mention this as acetone tends to melt lacquer and some plastics will equal disregard...

And you're right, a sag in the sanding sealer is no big deal. I've gotten to appreciate the wood hardener for the end grain. A few coats of that and the grain is generally filled and once sanded smooth it's a good surface for your primer.

Keep us posted and remember the pictures...and make sure your Emergency Contact information is posted when you get to the lacquer...

Happy Trails

Cynical One

[lynxpilot]

First shot of nitro today. My scheme is dark, so it's easy to see where I missed on the filler and sanding, but it looks pretty good so far. Directions say 4 coats with scuff sand in between each, one hour apart. I'll probably do 2 today because I'm doing an airbrush design, and follow up with clear coats in the end. Pump house is still intact. The 3M respirator works really good too. When it's on, I don't notice any solvent smell at all. That way I can save all the brain cell killing for something a little more enjoyable.

[cynical1]

Jan 30, 2011 13:55:25 GMT -5 lynxpilot said:

First shot of nitro today. My scheme is dark, so it's easy to see where I missed on the filler and sanding, but it looks pretty good so far.

I always set up a bare light bulb across the room to give me a side light to catch the bad sanding and grain spots when I was doing the final body sanding. This was a lot easier when my eyes worked... I always liked a sanding primer if I was going solid on the color. If you sand the first primer coat and find bad spots, sand a little more and re-shoot the primer if necessary.

Once you get all your colors on there's still the clear. I used the clear lacquer on Project 1 to fill in the bad burl spots the grain filler and wood hardener and my fuzzy eyes missed. Sure, it takes a lot of coats and sanding, as lacquer shrinks, but it melts into the previous coats to make it seamless once it's done.

Directions say 4 coats with scuff sand in between each, one hour apart.

You could do that...but honestly, I've been spraying 4-5 light coats, without sanding...let it sit 3-4 days, sand and re-spray as needed for over 35 years...and it's worked fine for me... Lacquer requires the solvents to dissipate in order to dry/harden. Sure, it's dry to the touch in an hour, but I would never attempt to handle it in an hour, much less sand it.

Four coats of lacquer is going to be pretty thin once the solvent dissipates. Unlike polys and catalysts, lacquer will shrink as it hardens. What looked like a decoupage glob on day 1 will show grain in oak after 3-5 days. And depending on the color you're spray, red in particular, 4 coats probably won't cover much if it's thinned properly and sprayed.

My process is to mix about a 1/2 pint for a guitar body, less if you're doing detail work, spray front, sides and back (using a long 1" x 1" screwed to a neck blank and attached to the body through the normal neck mounting holes) let it sit 15-20 minutes, spray front, back and sides again, wait 15 minutes...and repeat this until the pot is empty. Just do light coats and keep moving. I have a cap I shove into the gun, so the nozzle and tip go into a glass jar of acetone between coats. Generally, I get 3-5 coats on before the pot gets too low to trust not to spit.

Remember, there is no recommended re-coat time on lacquer. That's the beauty of it. You can respray in 20 minutes, an hour, 4 hours...two weeks...The next coat you spray will melt into the previous one, no matter how many years are put between coats.

And the more sanding you do, especially on the first few coats, the better chance you have to sand through...and that's a suck in anyone's book...

And try to resist the temptation to sand out a run until the lacquer has a few days to sit. It will shrink in time as the solvent dissipates.

Pump house is still intact.

Always a good thing.

The 3M respirator works really good too. When it's on, I don't notice any solvent smell at all. That way I can save all the brain cell killing for something a little more enjoyable.

A good respirator is worth the money, especially with lacquer. I have an old 3M dual cartridge full face shield that's getting hard to find cartridges for. I rigged the last set and man, did I have a headache from Hell that night.

All sounds like it's progressing well. I'm looking forward to seeing the final results.

Happy Trails

Cynical One

[lynxpilot]

I like the idea of skipping the sanding between the initial coats. Thanks! I had lots of sand-through on the first sanding (not that it's an issue because I'm putting on more coats), but a lot of coats will fill the gaps that show through. I'll have to get a few photos in the intial stages.