GFS kits and parts (get yer wallets out!)

[Cliff Schecht]

Just bought one of the Strat kits from these guys. They have pretty unanimously great reviews on TDPRI and Strat-Talk. I have another guitar to salvage better hardware pickups off of and I figure for the price, I'll make it work. For under $115 shipped you get everything needed to build a Strat or Tele clone albeit the neck and body are unfinished. Still, as the guy I built the KT-120 amp for would say, "it's a shit-fuck good deal man!".

To me the unfinished part is a plus as I would like to play around with linseed oil finished (tung oil?). Not sure how the Paulownia body will handle this type of finish though.. What you guys think? How about the neck? How do I actually apply the finish?

Also I got the rosewood fretboard as all four of my current Fenders are maple caps. I plan on shaping the headstock as a Tele based on my '52 AVRI headstock. Should be cool, it's something I've been itching to do for a while now for whatever reason.


Anywho here's the link. Also look at the guitar bodies/necks and pickups. The bodies/necks and pickups have better reviews that the entire kits (mainly because the kits contain a lot of shitty hardware).

http://www.guitarfetish.com/Guitar-And- ... _c_74.html

Worth note is that these guitar bodies weight ~2.5 pounds. I've had a bad back all of my short life (thanks dad!) and just could never shoulder a 9+ pound guitar for a long time, let alone an entire show. From what I've read these sit pretty well balanced for such a light body. I'm pretty excited to get this build started!

[Bob S]

Wow - they are inexpensive Cliff.
Linseed oil - has a great look but beware - it will bleed out over time.
For guitar necks this means regular polishing.
I submerged a neck in linseed for a week to let it sink in.
Looked very cool when I polished it up.
I did end up putting a coating on to seal it though.
Good luck with the project!
Bob

[Reeltarded]

Paulownia! Excellent! Treat is just as described for swamp ash. It requires LOTS of filler. It looks just like swamp ash with a normal tele blonde or see-thru Fender color. The grain appears as grey/blue under the color. I have an 8 quarters thick piece about 6 feet long and 16 inches wide that weighs less than the finish on a modern Gibson. lol it will be a doubleneck tele when I finally collect all the parts which includes a '66 12 neck and a lefty '66 tele neck.

Paulownia is my favorite bolt-on body material. Use light colored filler or make your own with the dust from sanded pine or ash plus 50/50 water and Elmers plain old wood glue. I would not go with an oil type finish on a wood with so many wide and open pores. There is hardly anything to the wood, mostly space.. like the Universe!

I swab on oil type finishes 4-6 coats then polish with #0000 steel wool. As Bob said, reapplication as needed there. Once every year or two? Mostly I just let it go. I like polished raw wood surfaces.

[tribi9]

Mmmmm... I want a flying V. I do, also have some Tung Oil kicking around that I want to do something with.....

[skyboltone]

Use Birchwood Casey gunstock finish. It's the best hand rubbed finish you can put on there. Linseed oil will go dark.
http://sport.birchwoodcasey.com/Finishi ... 1b8a3f180e

[Reeltarded]

You know how there is always another message in every message if you look closer?

Well, the message I get when reading on the amp garage about finishing a guitar is:

DON'T EFF WITH AN AMP GARAGE DOOD

[Cliff Schecht]

Use Birchwood Casey gunstock finish. It's the best hand rubbed finish you can put on there. Linseed oil will go dark.
http://sport.birchwoodcasey.com/Finishi ... 1b8a3f180e

Is this going to look good on the paulownia body?

[Reeltarded]

Everywhere you find end grain or runout on a face will require several applications of a filler or it will have suck-in all over it. You can apply so much finish that this goes away at first, but it will leave huge pools of finish that will just suck in later. Look at varnish on a 100 year old mandolin, or lacquer on a sunburst Les Paul. Ripples of suck-in on a tight, unfilled surface.

Do you know the actor James Edward Olmos? Well, unkindly as it might sound, his face umm.. kind of looks like a wide pored wood without any filler.

[Reeltarded]

Mmmmm... I want a flying V. I do, also have some Tung Oil kicking around that I want to do something with.....

This is like building an amp because you have 2 extra knobs in a drawer. lol

[Phil_S]

For the more adventurous types, check out the clearance sale
http://www.guitarfetish.com/Factory-Buy ... c_410.html
Prices are so low, I might have to...

[skyboltone]

Use Birchwood Casey gunstock finish. It's the best hand rubbed finish you can put on there. Linseed oil will go dark.
http://sport.birchwoodcasey.com/Finishi ... 1b8a3f180e

Is this going to look good on the paulownia body?

I don't know what Paulownia is. (Dangnabbit, there I go ending a sentence in a preposition) You suggested an oil finish. If an oil finish is going to look good on your guitar then Tru-oil will look good. This is a full system by the way. They have filler and stains too. To elaborate on what Reeltarded says, don't build a guitar because you have some finish left over from something else. If you absolutely MUST use the Tung Oil, make some picture frames or a speaker cab or pour it on your shredded wheat or something.

[tribi9]

Mmmmm... I want a flying V. I do, also have some Tung Oil kicking around that I want to do something with.....

This is like building an amp because you have 2 extra knobs in a drawer. lol

I have wanted a flying V for a while now and having the Tung Oil plus the awesome offer. That's 3 things going in favour of a build. The force is strong and Im weak.

But...
Lol, yeah. but pretty much anything is a good excuse to build something for some of us.

[Bear]

I'd Tru-Oil the neck and do a hard finish on the body.

I've liked using shellac on non-music-instrument projects before -- easy to work with, easy to repair. If you use Bullseye, only use the sealer stuff. The normal Bullseye has additives that slow curing and make it go on thicker. You'll get a better finish slowly building up multiple slow coats. Pure shellac drys in a few hours, making for a quick process. You can mix your own from alcohol and flakes, available in many tints. Downside of shellac is that alcohol will melt it, so you need to be careful with your drinks or put on a top coat of lacquer or poly to protect it. Beautiful thing about shellac is it gets on well with most other finish types below or on top.

TDPRI is the place to read up on grain-filling technique.

[Structo]

Here is a good place to read about finishing a guitar.
http://www.reranch.com/basics.htm

You don't have to use lacquer.

I would not use shellac for anything but sealing the wood as it is not very durable and is not alcohol proof.

Tru Oil really is the best fool proof method if you don't want to paint a color coat + clear coat.

The secret is applying very thin coats and allow drying time between.

[Cliff Schecht]

Pretty sure the neck is going to get a Tru-oil finish. Not sure about the body yet. I've heard this wood is a lot like balsa (i.e. dents with the fingernail) and gets beat to shit easily. I'm not so worried about this, I just want a finish that looks nice and I don't think a natural finish will look good on this wood.

Tom that stuff seems pretty cool. What about local hardware store options? Any way to get a professional looking finish for cheap? I can deal with basic colors if I can save money.