2011-01-01

Finishing Up and the Aluminum Silhouette

There's nothing to photograph lately.  But I've taken the whole guitar apart again to apply finish to the neck and body.  For the neck:  Watco Danish Oil.  It's a penetrating, hardening type of varnish.  For the neck: Minwax Wipe-On Poly (gloss).  It's basically a pre-thinned poly that goes on in fine, controllable layers; I picked gloss not because I want the shine, but because satin finishes are "satinized" by the addition of stuff (silicates?) to gloss finishes.  I figure it's better without stuff in it.

The world of finishing can be pretty confusing.  You got shellacs, polyurethanes, other polys, varnishes, and multiple type of lacquer, including nitrocellulose lacquer which is traditional for old guitars.  I literally surfed for 6 or 8 hours before settling on the two I picked.

Currently I'm sanding like crazy.

Also I took delivery of 4 feet of 1/2" aluminum bar stock.  The idea is to make the rest out of it in the form of a guitarish outline.  Unfortunately the stuff is hell to bend - I've got nothing that works on it, and I'll have to go in search of a bender.  On the other hand, if it survives the bending process it'll probably be strong enough to handle the day to day battering a guitar gets.

More soon.

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