Cheers @boo. You're a good man. Thanks for all the advice. 

🎸🙂🎶🙏

@boo. I work in the mechanical side of vehicle repairs and have always been the type to just take apart things to see how they worked and was even able to put the back together and work. The whole finishing things and making them look good was my father. I don't know how many dents, that just "happened" to be the same size of my fist, he made disappear. :). So... I believe I know what most of the tools I have are but there is a difference between knowing what it is and using it in the correct way. Now... saying that.... I was embarrassed a few of weeks ago. One of the apprentices at work was asking if anyone had a tool to take out a windshield. He showed me a picture of one and I say... aahh... I have something that looks like that. I've used it to remove springs from a trampoline. Who knew? 🙂 My biggest thing I'd like to start using is his old spray gun. I remember helping him, as a kid,  prep cars and him using this gun to paint with. He was very meticulous about how he cleaned and stored his tools that, even after about 20 years in my shed, everything still works like new. I'm not sure if the size of the spray gun is overkill for what I want it to do but I would love to see it have some purpose and life again.  

He was very meticulous about how he cleaned and stored his tools that, even after about 20 years in my shed, everything still works like new. I'm not sure if the size of the spray gun is overkill for what I want it to do but I would love to see it have some purpose and life again.  

@bpower Yep, you have to be, keep them clean and they will serve you well. If your dad's gun was put away clean, then it should work still. First thing to do is strip it down, clean it, put it back together and blow some thinner through it. You need to check for wear and tear, and check to see if everything is fully adjustable. If anything isn’t quite right, you may need to replace a part or two. 

Do you know what make and type of gun it is? eg. Devilbiss gravity fed or suction fed? 

@boo. He stored it mostly apart. I have already put it back together and checked as much as I can think of. Even sprayed thinner through it and everything seems to be working. 

He stored it mostly apart. I have already put it back together and checked as much as I can think of. Even sprayed thinner through it and everything seems to be working. 

@bpower Excellent. 👍 

Oh it’s an old Devilbiss suction feed, nice, great gun. I used to use something similar a long time ago as a primer gun. I was using it every day, at the time, and it always had grey celly primer in it. The good thing with celly primer is that you can just leave it in the gun without cleaning it very often. I have also used 2K primer a lot too but you have to clean your gun every single time as it has a catalyst component to it and it will harden in the gun if you leave it. 

Suction feed guns can also be used for topcoats (as you know) but they have a disadvantage too. You can’t spray small amounts of paint, if you just wanted to blow in a small blend. A gravity fed gun can do that. If you are spraying a whole guitar, your suction fed gun will be fine, no matter what type of paint you are using, because you will have mixed enough paint for your pot. Inside that pot is a tube that the paint gets sucked up in and is forced out of the air cap and onto your project. That tube doesn’t go all the way to the bottom of the pot, just most of the way, so it can’t handle only having small amounts in the bottom of the pot. So you either mix more paint than you need every time or use a gravity fed gun for certain situations. 

Either way, I think your Dad’s old gun will serve you well. 👍

@boo. That makes total sense. I never thought of the tube on the inside not going to the bottom and the bit of fluid that it can't reach. I can see me at some point getting a gravity feed one but for now I may as well use what I have. My plan is to use it on my next build so I may be a little while away. Gives me time to build up my courage. 🙂

Now... in canada it is still early. I've only had one cup-o-tea and I've used up my learning for that cup. Thanks boo. I forsee me abusing your knowledge again. 🙂

Now... in canada it is still early. I've only had one cup-o-tea and I've used up my learning for that cup. Thanks boo. I forsee me abusing your knowledge again.

@bpower You live in a beautiful country man, visiting Canada is on my bucket list. Every morning I always have a cup of Earl Grey tea, followed by plenty of coffee. 

You are welcome to ask me anything. I love using gravity fed guns these days, they are so versatile. Imagine if you wanted to do a burst effect paint job on a guitar, you only need a little paint compared to the whole paint job. You can just mix a small amount, throw it into the gravity pot, spray the paint and then clean your gun out. Done. 

I seem to recall I once had a small white plastic internal pot for this gun - It fitted inside the main pot for smaller quantities like bursts etc...maybe still available?

I seem to recall I once had a small white plastic internal pot for this gun - It fitted inside the main pot for smaller quantities like bursts etc...maybe still available?

@markbailey Ahh… interesting, I didn’t know that. I’ve always used gravity fed guns for base and clears. I’ll have a look to see if those small inner pots are still available for suction fed. Every day is a school day. 👍

Unmasking and test fit, I couldn’t resist. I’ll get some paint on the body next and then glue the neck in.  

A couple more pictures from the fretboard side and headstock. 

Look at that velute, mighty fine work there @boo that is some great looking flat black 

I did some final pinhole filling, sanding and prepping today. 

Final sanding was with P600g paper (dry). Then I got some paint on there, I couldn’t resist. The conditions were not ideal but I managed. 
This is the first coat of black (second actually, the first is so thin it dries very quickly indeed and and second is applied almost straight away), first proper coat. This is standard gloss black, I’ll spray clear matt lacquer over the top when the time is right. Can’t wait to see it all in flat matt black. 

@boo

Another top job. I noticed you have a heady 14.3 deg temperature, hope you’re not expecting it to be as warm as that when you move North.

Another top job. I noticed you have a heady 14.3 deg temperature, hope you’re not expecting it to be as warm as that when you move North.

@rocknroller912 Thanks very much. 

I am totally ready for colder temperatures. 😜🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Top Job

I couldn’t resist another test fit. There is no matt lacquer on the body yet and I need to do a final route of the neck joint once it’s glued in. Once I’ve glued the neck in and routed, I’ll fill any holes etc and then prime over it all. When that is dry, I’ll sand it back, clean it, mask it, spray some black over it, reprep the whole body and then give it all several coats of matt lacquer. See how the body has a gloss (ish) finish and the neck is matt, eventually it will all be matt. So, all of that is to come. It’s a lot more work when the customer doesn’t want a scratch plate to cover the joint. Both he and I know the paint will crack and show the join, especially with nitro paint but it’s going to be part of the character of the guitar. He doesn’t want the paint to stay perfect, he wants the natural degradation of the paint, not a forced, intentional relic. Relicing is something I haven’t touched on yet but I’m looking forward to having a go at some point, in the future on another job. For now, I’ll get this one finished. 

I also couldn’t help firing the burner up and a very early mince pie. 🔥🔥🥧🔥🔥

Time to put the two main parts together permanently, neck into body. 

Dry clamp first, then add glue and clamp for real.