Will dive in and enjoy over the next days!

Thanks Mark!

@markbailey

Thanks so much for doing this Mark, a finishing course is really what I needed the most!

I’ll be watching this over the holidays for sure!

Thanks again dude, you rock!!!

Matt

ATM it is fairly basic but hopefully enough to get you going - any Q's just ask - I'd love to know what you think of it so please do let me know in the comments.

@markbailey I’ve just watched the whole of the finishing course so far. I’m loving it Mark, I’m learning new stuff already. As you know, my spraying experience comes from automotive refinishing so the substrates were mainly metals and plastics. With guitars, obviously it’s mainly wood, although I’m sure other materials are used on some occasions. I’ve learned that different carriers can be used for the dyes and how to change the concentration for a burst effect. 
It’s super important that you have covered the health and safety issues and advice for the correct PPE. 
The course so far provides quite a bit of useful information whilst being succinct enough to not bore the viewer. What I mean by that is that we know that getting a great finish starts with repetitive prep work. Then repetitive intermediate work and then repetitive spraying and sanding, and then more repetitive sanding (going through the grades) before repetitive polishing. Even just describing this is tedious and repetitive. That is the finishing process for spray finishing though, patience is the name of the game. Like you say, more detail can be added as people provide feedback and ask questions. 
I can’t really think of any negatives at this initial stage (apart from there not being any detail about spraying equipment, compressor with settings, spray guns with settings and how to set them up. But this will get added in further down the road) so I’ll move on to more positives.
I think the flow chart is a great help and will really help cement the thought processes needed for decision making when finishing guitars. 
I love “gun cam”, it helps the viewer see how much material is being sprayed on and from what distance.

I can tell Lewis is an experienced and skilled paint sprayer, he does everything effortlessly and makes the job look easy as well as projecting confidence. Clearly the best person for demonstration videos, well done Lewis, nice work (I think you need a pay rise). 

It will be really interesting and exciting to add different finishing products and demonstrations to this course. We are all here to help you do that. 

Anyway, I’ve just realised it’s just turned a Christmas Day so I better go to sleep or Santa may not visit. Happy Christmas to you all. 🎄

Already started on 2 Pinecasters to practice bursting.

I will be ordering some dyes etc from StewMac in the new year so I can get cracking on some new bursting ideas. 

As I am in the UK, I will buy myself the StewMax deal. I will, however, do it on Inauguration Day. I’ve missed boycotting some American products but soon I can return. 

@boo

Fyi: There’s a store in Spain called Madinter that carries a good amount of Stew Mac products, maybe they have what you’re looking for. I’d say you wouldn’t have to hassle with customs but I guess that won’t really apply anymore...

Plus I’ve heard good things about the stains from the shop run by that twat waffle in Dorset 😆

There’s a store in Spain called Madinter that carries a good amount of Stew Mac products, maybe they have what you’re looking for. I’d say you wouldn’t have to hassle with customs but I guess that won’t really apply anymore...

Plus I’ve heard good things about the stains from the shop run by that twat waffle in Dorset

@mattbeels 🤣🤣 Thanks Matt. 

My problem with StewMac wasn’t the customs wait, my American boycott was in protest about the US “president”, not the company. So on Inauguration Day, when sanity is restored, I shall make a point of buying from American companies again, wherever their products are on sale. That is interesting about Madinter, I didn’t know about that shop but I will have a look. I’m not sure how our new Brexit deal will affect customs, maybe it will still be ok, it is a free trade deal after all. I also have a personal boycott on Brazilian products too, their leader is also a far right lunatic, very destructive (although he did say recently that he will not be standing in the next election). The world needs to find equilibrium right now, the last five years has been extreme and out of control. We all need to sit back and breath, we all have a lot in common, we all live on this big rock together and I’d prefer us choose love instead of hate. 

Yeah the Dorset man does have some good products and I do have some of the stunning stains already (orange and black), they are good. I do have friends that use the StewMac range and they say they are superb. I’ve tried a lot of StewMac products in the past but stopped for the reason I’ve explained. I know it’s not their fault but I feel like I can now contribute a tiny bit towards the US economy again now Biden will be president. He is a welcome breath of fresh air even though he is the oldest president ever elected in the US. 

I hope we can all start enjoying life again. 🤘

@mattbeels Hey Matt, have you heard of this store in Portugal? 

https://guitarsandwoods.com/bodies-and-blanks  

@boo

My problem with StewMac wasn’t the customs wait, my American boycott was in protest about the US “president”, not the company. 

Well now you’ve gone too far! I had hoped we wouldn’t have to get political here but now that you’ve insulted DT45 I cannot continue being your friend, virtual or otherwise!

jk🤣 

Well now you’ve gone too far! I had hoped we wouldn’t have to get political here but now that you’ve insulted DT45 I cannot continue being your friend, virtual or otherwise!

@mattbeels 🤣🤣 Just for a second....... 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 🤘

@boo

Sorry, couldn’t resist! Yeah that whole "administration" has been the biggest shit show, well, not like you didn’t know.

We‘re all looking forward to January of course, we’ll see how things go with "Sleepy Joe" 😆 He‘s certainly not the greatest either but pretty much anybody is better than DT aka FuckFace as my mother calls him 🤣

@boo

Yes I know G&W. I‘ve ordered from them a few times with varying results. I had tried one of their alu sanding beams but had to return it as it wasn’t flat. Mine had a rock in the middle and I made a video of it and sent it to them, (which I don’t think they liked very much) they took it back but I had to fight them for return shipping which in the end they only paid half.

They told me that the beams were extruded only and not finished up with a milling machine and the tolerance was within the industry standard or some such horseshit. Sorry but if it ain’t flat I ain’t using it! I recently visited their site and noticed a disclaimer on this product and got a kick out of it, I love feeling (at least partly) responsible for that!

However they do have some good stuff and I will order from them again but I would use caution, I personally wouldn’t order anything from them that needed to be exact or at least very accurate. 

aka FuckFace as my mother calls him

Please wish your mum a very happy Christmas, I like her already. 🤘😁 

Haha, will do!

However they do have some good stuff and I will order from them again but I would use caution, I personally wouldn’t order anything from them that needed to be exact or at least very accurate. 

@mattbeels That’s interesting and good to know, cheers. I have one of their alu radius sanding bars too, 18” long I think. This one seems flat, I’ve not had any trouble with it, thankfully. That other place in Spain looks good, habe you had any issues with them and their stuff? 

@boo

I haven’t yet ordered from Madinter. IIRC their shipping seemed steep and as I have the StewMax membership I haven’t yet bothered. I guess Madinter would be ideal if you wanted the SM buffer or Neck Jig for example.

I guess Madinter would be ideal if you wanted the SM buffer or Neck Jig for example.

@mattbeels Yeah it’s always been a concern that the shipping for something like the buffer from the US would be as much as the thing itself. 🤣 

You can get Angelus Leather dyes on Amazon.

If you're not familiar with them don't be fooled by the name, just watch some videos by Big D guitars on Youtube, that man is a master of hand applied stains, and Angelus Leather Dyes are his usual weapon of choice.

I'm certainly going to give them a try at some point.

Need this finishing course, as my errors on a couple of bodies is creating a backlog!