Sirena Instrumentos Musicales - Expositions and Aspirations Regarding Luthiery in Fillmore, CA

[ardgedee]

Ooof.

I actually like the half-this half-that look, but it's gonna be a pretty idiosyncratic thing for anybody else.

 

[Freekmagnet]

Oh man! I know how that feels. Sorry. What about something like the Createx Flair colors? That’s their color change paint, then a little metallic or pearl over that. I think the Hot Rod Sparkle is the larger metallic.

Yeah I was thinking something like a Createx finish. If they have a blue/green flair, I’m all over it.

 

[TerribleTim68]

...
Unfortunately, the color coat beneath the flake didn’t adhere to the surface underneath.

View attachment 5491581
...

 

[Matt Liebenau]

It’s nice to see the color change on video. They have blue/green and green/turquoise. Some of the others look nice too.

 

[JIO]

View attachment 5491581

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/show-your-distressed-finishes.1028292/page-334#post-28540824 (we've all been there!)

 

[Freekmagnet]

Alright, still working on my niece's guitar. I found that I had to put some more work into repairing the top. The epoxy was unable to seep into some of the areas that were more severely delaminated, and would warp when the water-base paint soaked into the wood. I just had to cut those bits out and fill them completely with epoxy.

Next, I decided to take @Matt Liebenau's advice and go with the Createx Wicked Flair paint. The Wicked Flair calls for a black base coat, so I used the Createx Sealer Black.

I always forget about the Createx Sealers. They're really good paints! Createx Sealers cover up to 320 grit scratches, they lay down really thin, they'll complete cover in 1-2 coats, and they sand like an automotive primer. I really should be using them more often.

After a few coats of the Createx Wicked Flair Blue/Turquoise, I started laying down clear coats with the EM9300. Createx recommends 4 coats, but I did 5. I wanted less black to show through.

I'm diggin' this color shift paint - it's perfect! My niece loves the ocean, and this color mos' def' has that oceanic quality to it. Initially, I thought the sparkle would suit the "girl with an outsized imagination" vibe my niece has going on, but I think this finish will appeal more to her "sophisticated young woman focused on unleashing her creativity upon the world" side. Either way, I am pretty excited about it. Thanks @Matt Liebenau!

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Alright, still working on my niece's guitar. I found that I had to put some more work into repairing the top. The epoxy was unable to seep into some of the areas that were more severely delaminated, and would warp when the water-base paint soaked into the wood. I just had to cut those bits out and fill them completely with epoxy.

Next, I decided to take @Matt Liebenau's advice and go with the Createx Wicked Flair paint. The Wicked Flair calls for a black base coat, so I used the Createx Sealer Black.

I always forget about the Createx Sealers. They're really good paints! Createx Sealers cover up to 320 grit scratches, they lay down really thin, they'll complete cover in 1-2 coats, and they sand like an automotive primer. I really should be using them more often.

After a few coats of the Createx Wicked Flair Blue/Turquoise, I started laying down clear coats with the EM9300. Createx recommends 4 coats, but I did 5. I wanted less black to show through.

I'm diggin' this color shift paint - it's perfect! My niece loves the ocean, and this color mos' def' has that oceanic quality to it. Initially, I thought the sparkle would suit the "girl with an outsized imagination" vibe my niece has going on, but I think this finish will appeal more to her "sophisticated young woman focused on unleashing her creativity upon the world" side. Either way, I am pretty excited about it. Thanks @Matt Liebenau!

That looks fantastic, sir! I can’t wait to see it all done. I want to try one of the Flair colors on the headless guitar I’m working on but it’s going to be a while before I can even think about ordering paint.

 

[Freekmagnet]

That looks fantastic, sir! I can’t wait to see it all done. I want to try one of the Flair colors on the headless guitar I’m working on but it’s going to be a while before I can even think about ordering paint.

Thx!

Yeah I like the Createx stuff - I think that they have a really good product. So far, my experience with Createx has been really good. Their documentation is great, too.

I’ve heard that they have a new architectural-grade exterior clear coat that’s supposedly awesome.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

They came out with a 4053 (I think) high gloss clear and just this week posted a video about a new reducer, 4021. Since you like the Autoborne sealers they also have that in clear. I haven’t tried it yet. I still have most of a gallon of VU. I really want to try Em9300 too but, again, I’m working on building stuff slowly and not in a spot where I can spend a couple of hundred on paint. Or any on parts apparently.

Does that last one count as finally getting a shrug emoji?

I am actually a little unsure on their clears. They say the 4050 series is architectural and suitable for out doors but then also say for automotive top coat with a two part automotive clear. I don’t know if that means the 4050’s are good as a final top coat for instruments. I haven’t tried 4053 but the gloss 4050 seems about like VU. I guess it’s all up to what you want the final coat or three to be like.

 

[13ghosts]

Alright, still working on my niece's guitar. I found that I had to put some more work into repairing the top. The epoxy was unable to seep into some of the areas that were more severely delaminated, and would warp when the water-base paint soaked into the wood. I just had to cut those bits out and fill them completely with epoxy.

Next, I decided to take @Matt Liebenau's advice and go with the Createx Wicked Flair paint. The Wicked Flair calls for a black base coat, so I used the Createx Sealer Black.

I always forget about the Createx Sealers. They're really good paints! Createx Sealers cover up to 320 grit scratches, they lay down really thin, they'll complete cover in 1-2 coats, and they sand like an automotive primer. I really should be using them more often.

After a few coats of the Createx Wicked Flair Blue/Turquoise, I started laying down clear coats with the EM9300. Createx recommends 4 coats, but I did 5. I wanted less black to show through.

I'm diggin' this color shift paint - it's perfect! My niece loves the ocean, and this color mos' def' has that oceanic quality to it. Initially, I thought the sparkle would suit the "girl with an outsized imagination" vibe my niece has going on, but I think this finish will appeal more to her "sophisticated young woman focused on unleashing her creativity upon the world" side. Either way, I am pretty excited about it. Thanks @Matt Liebenau!

Nice color! How did you handle the binding? Did you scrape it free after priming and then masked it?

 

[Freekmagnet]

They came out with a 4053 (I think) high gloss clear and just this week posted a video about a new reducer, 4021. Since you like the Autoborne sealers they also have that in clear. I haven’t tried it yet. I still have most of a gallon of VU. I really want to try Em9300 too but, again, I’m working on building stuff slowly and not in a spot where I can spend a couple of hundred on paint. Or any on parts apparently.

Does that last one count as finally getting a shrug emoji?

I am actually a little unsure on their clears. They say the 4050 series is architectural and suitable for out doors but then also say for automotive top coat with a two part automotive clear. I don’t know if that means the 4050’s are good as a final top coat for instruments. I haven’t tried 4053 but the gloss 4050 seems about like VU. I guess it’s all up to what you want the final coat or three to be like.

If you have a gallon of VU, I'd just use it up first. The EM9300 is a better product in most ways, but not enough to throw away a whole gallon of paint. It also works to use the VU for your initial sanding coats and color coats, and then just do your top coats with the EM9300. That's kind of better in a way, 'cuz you're using the less expensive product for the coats that "don't matter*". The strength of the EM9300 is that is sprays more evenly out of the can and dries to a harder finish for buffing. In other words, its a better finish.

*Obviously, these coats actually do matter. I'm just adding quotes to emphasize within the circumstance of mixing paints, using the less expensive paint for an undercoat makes more sense.

I use the Createx 4050 when I'm mixing colors with Createx products. I've mixed Createx products with other clears, and while nothing overtly terrible happens, the little shiny particles in the metallic colors don't get distributed as evenly within the finish. Other than that, the 4050 is good stuff. It looks and smells pretty much the same as VU, and it seems to dry pretty hard. However, I haven't tried using it as a top coat and buffing it, and I don't know that I ever will. Of the paints we've mentioned here, the 4050 is the most expensive of the bunch.

I imagine that Createx recommends the two-part automotive-grade top coats because they're selling their stuff to automotive guys. I haven't tried spraying a water-based top coat over the Createx Candy2o, but I know they do recommend using 2K clear for that. I did once get a drop of water on one of their Candy2o finishes and all the dye bled out. I had to do the finish over again! I know somebody here claims to have successfully sprayed VU directly onto a Candy2o finish, but I'm not sure who that was. Perhaps that was you, @Matt Liebenau?

Nice color! How did you handle the binding? Did you scrape it free after priming and then masked it?

Thx!

That's a good question! Sorry I forgot to document that. I primed the body with clear, masked the binding with tape, pulled the tape after spraying the color, and used a fine half-round file to clean up the binding. A sharp razor blade works too, but files are kinda my go-to tool for practically everything. A file is just slightly less awkward to hold than a tiny, sharp blade.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

If you have a gallon of VU, I'd just use it up first. The EM9300 is a better product in most ways, but not enough to throw away a whole gallon of paint. It also works to use the VU for your initial sanding coats and color coats, and then just do your top coats with the EM9300. That's kind of better in a way, 'cuz you're using the less expensive product for the coats that "don't matter*". The strength of the EM9300 is that is sprays more evenly out of the can and dries to a harder finish for buffing. In other words, its a better finish.

*Obviously, these coats actually do matter. I'm just adding quotes to emphasize within the circumstance of mixing paints, using the less expensive paint for an undercoat makes more sense.

I use the Createx 4050 when I'm mixing colors with Createx products. I've mixed Createx products with other clears, and while nothing overtly terrible happens, the little shiny particles in the metallic colors don't get distributed as evenly within the finish. Other than that, the 4050 is good stuff. It looks and smells pretty much the same as VU, and it seems to dry pretty hard. However, I haven't tried using it as a top coat and buffing it, and I don't know that I ever will. Of the paints we've mentioned here, the 4050 is the most expensive of the bunch.

I imagine that Createx recommends the two-part automotive-grade top coats because they're selling their stuff to automotive guys. I haven't tried spraying a water-based top coat over the Createx Candy2o, but I know they do recommend using 2K clear for that. I did once get a drop of water on one of their Candy2o finishes and all the dye bled out. I had to do the finish over again! I know somebody here claims to have successfully sprayed VU directly onto a Candy2o finish, but I'm not sure who that was. Perhaps that was you, @Matt Liebenau?


Thx!

That's a good question! Sorry I forgot to document that. I primed the body with clear, masked the binding with tape, pulled the tape after spraying the color, and used a fine half-round file to clean up the binding. A sharp razor blade works too, but files are kinda my go-to tool for practically everything. A file is just slightly less awkward to hold than a tiny, sharp blade.

Yeah, that was me. I’ve sprayed VU over Candy2o with no issues. That’s what I did in the CAR Harmony and the serape bass back over in my thread and that serape bass had about as much Candy2O as you could get without just drinking a bottle. ( for the record, don’t drink paint, even water based) When I get as far as finishing what I’m currently working on the plan was to do the final coats with EM9300, the rest with Createx and/or VU depending on which one.

 

[Freekmagnet]

I polished up the guitar body yesterday. I used that Meguair's stuff with a rotary buffer. I hit the edges with a polishing wheel on my hand drill.

Next, I joined the body to the neck.

I quickly fabricated a neck plate out of aluminum. Haha I had to make it a little oversized to strategically cover a spot near the screw holes that didn't finish very well.

Here's the parts placed for looks. I have to make a little pickguard for the guitar and find some wood screws before I start putting this thing together.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

I polished up the guitar body yesterday. I used that Meguair's stuff with a rotary buffer. I hit the edges with a polishing wheel on my hand drill.

Next, I joined the body to the neck.

I quickly fabricated a neck plate out of aluminum. Haha I had to make it a little oversized to strategically cover a spot near the screw holes that didn't finish very well.

Here's the parts placed for looks. I have to make a little pickguard for the guitar and find some wood screws before I start putting this thing together.

Looks great! I love the bridge and tailpiece.

 

[Freekmagnet]

Looks great! I love the bridge and tailpiece.

Thx! Yeah that ambered maple against that blue/green/purple/turquoise is pretty hard to beat.

 

[Beej]

Gorgeous! Holy moly...

 

[Freekmagnet]

Gorgeous! Holy moly...

Thx!!

 

[Freekmagnet]

Final assembly! I worked on my niece’s guitar this week. First, I wired up the pickups.

I use the silicone jacketed wire with the little header pin connectors.

From there, this was a fairly basic assembly job.

The set-up was pretty painstaking - the string spacing is pretty narrow, so I had to make a tighter bridge and nut. I think I got it pretty good. I had to move the pickups, too. I assumed (incorrectly) that the pickup holes were lined up along the center of the string path. No way! They were off by at least an eighth of an inch.

Here’s the guitar with strings on it.

Pretty cool! The part is that I took it to my buddy’s house to try it out on his Mesa Boogie amp. This guitar sounds great! I wasn’t sure because I don’t know much about guitar pickups, and I just sort of made these using what I have. My friend was pretty impressed anyway. The guitar plays pretty well, all things considered. It takes a while to tune it - I assume that’s because the body itself flexes like crazy. We’ll see. I’m going to keep it in the shop for a few days and keep checking the tuning.

 

[13ghosts]

Lucky niece! Looks fantastic!

 

[Freekmagnet]

Lucky niece! Looks fantastic!

Thx!!